Here's a quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' 38-9 victory over the New England Patriots on Monday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
First quarter
Theme: Trick play succeeds.
Fake punt: Jaquan Johnson, the up-back on the punt team, took a direct snap and threw a 13-yard fake punt pass to Siran Neal to keep the Bills’ second drive alive.
Hot kickers: New England kicker Nick Folk made his 26th straight field-goal attempt, from 45 yards, to open the scoring. Buffalo responded with a 22-yard kick by Tyler Bass. It was Bass’ 14th straight successful kick.
Past Fitz: With his third completion on the opening drive, Josh Allen hit 354 for the season, passing Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 2011 total for second on the Bills’ season list. Drew Bledsoe had 375 in 2002.
Absentee count: Among the Patriots’ inactives were leading rusher Damien Harris, along with their best defensive lineman, Lawrence Guy, and their top linebacker and No. 2 tackler, Ja’Whaun Bentley. That’s in addition to top cornerback Stephon Gilmore, just placed on injured reserve.
Slow starters: New England is the lowest scoring team in the league in the first quarter, getting outscored 69-31. The Bills are fourth best in the first quarter, holding a 90-46 edge.
Second quarter
Theme: Bills offense is a machine.
High powered: Josh Allen was 15 of 21 for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, along with four rushes for 24 yards. That passing total included three drops, two of which (by Dawson Knox and Taiwan Jones) would have been touchdowns.
Record setter: With his 50-yard touchdown catch, Stefon Diggs pushed his season yardage total to 1,383. That broke the Bills’ team single-season record held by Eric Moulds (1,368), set in 1998.
Matchup watch: The Pats have full confidence in J.C. Jackson, even with star Stephon Gilmore out. Jackson shadowed Diggs whenever the Pats went to man coverage, and the former undrafted free agent was burned on the TD pass.
Cam power: Cam Newton rushed for a 9-yard score. It was his 70th career rushing TD, extending his own NFL record for a QB. It was his 12th rushing TD this season, tying ex-Pat Steve Grogan (1976) for second most by a QB. Newton holds the record, 14 in 2011.
First half totals: The Bills have outscored foes 147-95 in the second quarter and are the fifth-highest scoring team in the first half at 15.8 ppg.
Third quarter
Theme: The rout is on.
Big cushion: The Bills took the opening kickoff of the half and drove 75 yards in eight plays to a touchdown that put them ahead 31-9. A 18-yard scoring pass to Stefon Diggs capped the drive.
Phone out of order: Bill Belichick challenged a 17-yard sideline catch by Dawson Knox on the first play from scrimmage of the quarter. It clearly was a catch. ESPN’s cameras then caught Belichick yelling on the sideline phone (presumably at the aide who told him to challenge) and then slamming the phone against the bench. Ouch.
Relief: After the first three-and-out series of the quarter, Belichick pulled Cam Newton in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham, who had thrown just 33 passes in four mop-up duty appearances earlier this season.
Getting closer: The Bills are making up ground in the third quarter. They now have been outscored only 94-84 in the period.
Zebra report. The Bills entered the game as the second most penalized team in the NFL (96 penalties), behind only Arizona (103). But the Bills were called for only two penalties the first three quarters. The Patriots are the least penalized (52) and were flagged four times.
Fourth quarter
Theme: How sweet it is.
Domination: The Bills’ 29-point victory was the worst loss at Gillette Stadium suffered by the Patriots in 21 seasons under Bill Belichick. The previous biggest home loss was the 33-6 defeat to San Francisco earlier this year.
Elite: Josh Allen’s 138.7 passer rating was the seventh highest ever against Belichick. Drew Brees (in 2009) and Peyton Manning (in 2000) share the highest at 158.3.
Big record: Allen pushed his season TD pass total to 34, breaking the mark of 33 set by Jim Kelly in 1991.
Five-hundred: The loss ensured the Pats’ streak of .500-or-better seasons ends at 19, second longest to Dallas at 21, from 1965 to 1985.
Hugs: Belichick sometimes is known for his weak, dismissive handshakes after defeats. Not this time. He gave Sean McDermott an extended hug and exchanged words with the Bills coach.
Sweep success: It was the first time the Patriots were swept by a division foe since 2000 (when the Jets and Dolphins did it). That’s a 19-year streak, the longest since 1970 by far. Dallas (1971-81) and the Rams (1970-80) have the next longest streaks at 11 years.
