Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen is the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 25 passing TDs and five rushing; watch the NFL live on Sky Sports on Sundays at 6pm - Week 13 triple-header kicks off with Titans @ Eagles, followed by Chiefs @ Bengals and Colts @ Cowboys
Friday 2 December 2022 08:38, UK
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes as the Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots 24-10 on Thursday Night Football to earn their first divisional win of the season.
The Bills (9-3) had been 0-2 against their division rivals so far this season, suffering defeats to the Miami Dolphins (8-3) and New York Jets (7-4), but victory on Thursday night over the Patriots (6-6) now sees them nudge out into sole possession of first place in the AFC East.
The victory was Buffalo's third-straight of the season, and also a third in a row (including playoffs) against Bill Belichick's men, having swept them aside in the wild card round of the playoffs in their most recent meeting.
Allen went 22 of 33 passing, for 223 yards, and with his two touchdown tosses became the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 25 passing TDs and five rushing scores. Running back Devin Singletary added a score from down at the goal line early in the fourth quarter.
Despite playing without top pass rusher Von Miller, who suffered a knee injury in their Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions last week, Buffalo's defense held the Patriots to only three points over the final three-quarters of the contest.
New England quarterback Mac Jones looked flustered for large chunks of the evening. He finished 22 of 36 for 195 yards and a touchdown, which had helped secure the Pats a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.
Jones' touchdown pass was to namesake Marcus Jones, the speedy cornerback and return man playing his first offensive snap of the season caught a screen pass and took it all of 48 yards to the house for a stunning score.
The Bills had started slowly, settling for a field goal on their first possession, but after going behind Allen went to work and led his team on an 82-yard, nine-play scoring drive capped with an eight-yard TD to Stefon Diggs.
Then, following a Patriots punt, Buffalo's offense produced another 56-yard, 14-play epic before Allen eluded the New England pass rush and threw across his body for an eight-yard score to Gabe Davis.
After a scoreless third quarter, Singletary extended Buffalo's lead early in the fourth, before a Nick Folk field goal inside the final two minutes for the Patriots served only to make it a two-score game.
Bills quarterback, Josh Allen: "I thought we played really well tonight. Honestly, it's only 24 points, but our defense played fantastic ball. We didn't feel like we had to press and make any mistakes.
"There are a few plays we would like to have back, but again these are good wins in the division, away, it's hard to win in this league. We'll learn from this one and move on.
"We know these games that are coming up, they matter. The ones in December and January, they matter. We've got to find ways to go win some football games."
Patriots quarterback, Mac Jones: "When you're playing from behind against a pretty good team and a good offense, you need to go out there and make better plays.
"That starts with me. Definitely wasn't good enough by me. I didn't do a good enough job of getting ahead early, making it work. It's tough to watch the defense play a great game, not being able to give them anything back."
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) travel to Cincinnati to take on Joe Burrow and the Bengals (7-4) as part of this Sunday's live NFL coverage on Sky Sports. The two teams met in last year's AFC Championship game, held in Kansas City, in which Burrow's charges came out victorious 27-24 in overtime. Kick off is at 9.25pm, on Sky Sports NFL.
But, before we head to Cincinnati, the Week 13 triple-header kicks off with the NFL's best Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) as they host the Tennessee Titans (7-4), who are hoping to bounce back following defeat to Burrow's Bengals last weekend - this one at Lincoln Financial Field gets under way at 6pm.
And rounding off the Sunday night action, we join our friends at NBC for Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football, with the red-hot Dallas Cowboys (8-3) hosting the Indianapolis Colts (4-7-1), who are battling to stay in the AFC playoff race - kick-off is at 1.20am, early on Monday morning.
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