The Buffalo Bills experienced their first defeat of the 2025 NFL season, falling to the New England Patriots 23-20 at Highmark Stadium on Sunday night. The loss dropped the Bills’ record to 4-1, while the Patriots improved to 3-2.
Buffalo tied the game at 20 with a 45-yard field goal by Matt Prater late in the fourth quarter. However, New England responded with a drive that ended in a successful 52-yard field goal by Andres Borregales, putting them ahead with less than 20 seconds remaining. The Bills were unable to mount a final comeback from their own 18-yard line.
Josh Allen completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw multiple touchdowns for the fourth straight home game this season. This achievement places him alongside Matt Ryan (2018), Drew Brees (2011), and Kurt Warner (2008) as one of four NFL quarterbacks to do so in their team’s first four home games of a season. Allen also surpassed O.J. Simpson for third-most touchdowns in franchise history and moved into second place on the team’s all-time passing yards list, overtaking Joe Ferguson.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid led Buffalo’s receivers with six catches for 108 yards. Running back James Cook III contributed on the ground but was outpaced by Allen, who rushed for 53 yards compared to Cook’s 49.
Fumbles and penalties impacted both teams during the first half, resulting in only three field goals scored between them before halftime. Buffalo’s first drive ended with a fumble recovered by New England, but Shaq Thompson forced a turnover on the following play that was recovered by Terrel Bernard.
The Patriots held a three-point lead at halftime after Borregales kicked a short field goal as time expired in the second quarter. Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter, including a six-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Curtis Samuel.
A key moment came early in the fourth quarter when Allen was intercepted by Marcus Jones following an offensive pass interference penalty against Buffalo. The Patriots converted that turnover into a touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
Thompson made significant contributions on defense for Buffalo, finishing with four tackles and one sack for a loss of two yards. He also helped force New England into punting situations late in the game.
With this loss, Buffalo’s streaks were broken: they missed an opportunity to tie their franchise record for consecutive home regular season wins and saw their run of victories against New England at home come to an end. Despite these setbacks, Buffalo matched its franchise record of 13 consecutive regular season games with at least one rushing touchdown—a mark last achieved during the 2016-17 seasons.
The Bills will look to rebound when they face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, October 13 at 7:15 p.m. EST.
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