The Buffalo Bills experienced their first loss of the 2025 NFL season, falling to the New England Patriots 23-20 at home. The defeat ended Buffalo’s status as the league’s last unbeaten team and left no teams undefeated after five weeks, a scenario that has only occurred four times in the Super Bowl era.
After the Philadelphia Eagles lost earlier on Sunday, the Bills were positioned as the final 4-0 team heading into their primetime game. Despite having more total yards, greater time of possession, and more first downs than their opponent, Buffalo was unable to secure a win.
“We just played sloppy,” said quarterback Josh Allen. “We just did not play good tonight.”
The Bills trailed 6-3 at halftime—their first scoreless half since Week 6 of the 2023 season. Historically, they have maintained a winning record when behind at halftime since 2022.
Head coach Sean McDermott commented: “We played the game that they wanted us to play.”
Buffalo managed to narrow a fourth-quarter deficit with an eight-play drive ending in a touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Keon Coleman. The defense then held New England without points on their next possession. However, after reaching Patriots territory late in the game, Allen completed one pass before three straight incompletions forced Buffalo to settle for a field goal rather than taking the lead.
New England responded with a drive capped by rookie kicker Andres Borregales’ successful 52-yard field goal with fifteen seconds remaining. As a result, Buffalo’s division lead in the AFC East was reduced to one game.
“If you look at it from the paper point of view, I mean, a pretty pivotal game in terms of what we could have done with this and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunity,” Allen said.
Turnovers and penalties also contributed significantly to Buffalo’s loss. The team committed eleven penalties—its highest mark this season—and had multiple turnovers for the first time since early last year. A fumble between Allen and tight end Dawson Knox ended their opening offensive series and set an early tone for mistakes.
“Just a bad snap exchange,” Allen explained regarding one turnover.
“Didn’t seem like we were into a rhythm offensively enough. And when we did, we had penalties, self inflicted wounds, and early on in the game,” McDermott said.
Allen threw his first multi-turnover game since early last season after an interception thrown deep in Patriots territory during the third quarter stalled another potential scoring drive.
“They were playing man, I saw Khalil and I just left (the throw) a little inside,” Allen said about his interception intended for Khalil Shakir.
Despite defensive efforts holding New England without a touchdown in the first half and providing key stops late in regulation, Allen took responsibility for not capitalizing offensively: “I thought our defense played well, and they bailed us out a couple times, but just not going to win many NFL games turning the ball over three times.”
With this loss also came an end to Buffalo’s streak of four consecutive regular-season games scoring over thirty points.
One bright spot was tight end Dalton Kincaid’s performance; he caught six passes for 108 yards—a career high—and now leads all Bills receivers in yards and touchdowns while ranking second among NFL tight ends this season for yardage gained. Three of his catches against man coverage resulted in gains exceeding fifteen yards each.
“He’s beating man coverage,” Allen said about Kincaid’s playmaking ability. “He saw a lot of it tonight. He’s doing a good job of being friendly and making some plays.”
Kincaid reflected: “There’s good, there’s bad. We lost the game, got to watch the tape and correct it.” He currently has accumulated 279 receiving yards through five games along with three touchdowns.
