The New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 29-26 on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, winning it on Drake Maye's 23-yard touchdown pass to Efton Chism III with 1:50 left. Maye then hit Rhamondre Stevenson for the two-point conversion, and Buffalo did not score again.

That conversion turned a 1-point lead into a 3-point lead, so Buffalo needed a field goal just to force overtime. The Patriots earned the finish by owning the ball, running 73 plays and holding possession for nearly 34 minutes.

How It Happened

New England struck first. Maye found Romeo Doubs for a 14-yard touchdown at 7:01 of the first quarter, and Andy Borregales added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The second quarter went back and forth. James Cook III tied it with an 8-yard run at 14:15, and Stevenson answered with a 1-yard run at 5:38 to put New England back in front, 14-7.

Buffalo closed the half strong. Josh Allen ran in from 2 yards with a minute left to tie it, and Tyler Bass hit a 27-yard field goal with 2 seconds on the clock to send the Bills into the locker room with a 3-point lead.

The only score of the third quarter belonged to New England. Maye and Doubs connected again, this time from 2 yards out at 8:15, to put the Patriots back on top.

Bass cut the gap to 1 point with a 38-yard field goal at 11:07 of the fourth. Allen then hit Keon Coleman for a 34-yard touchdown at 4:27, but the two-point pass failed, leaving Buffalo with a 5-point lead.

New England needed less than 3 minutes to answer. Maye's strike to Chism and the conversion to Stevenson made it 29-26, and the Bills came up empty from there.

Key Performers

Drake Maye, NE: 3 passing TD (14, 2 and 23 YDS), 1 two-point conversion pass
Patriots passing: 22-37, 262 YDS, 1 INT
Romeo Doubs, NE: 2 receiving TD (14 and 2 YDS)
Patriots rushing: 35 ATT, 143 YDS
Josh Allen, BUF: 1 rushing TD (2 YDS), 1 passing TD (34 YDS to Keon Coleman)
Tyler Bass, BUF: 2 FG (27 and 38 YDS), 2 PAT

Maye accounted for every New England touchdown except Stevenson's short run, and he threw the conversion that decided the margin. Doubs was his finisher in the first three quarters.

The ground game kept the chains moving alongside him. New England ran for 143 yards on 35 carries, piled up 26 first downs to Buffalo's 19 and went 2-for-2 on fourth down.

Buffalo was the more efficient offense, averaging 6.3 yards per play to New England's 5.5. It simply had the ball far less, running only 54 plays.

The red zone separated them. New England scored touchdowns on all 3 of its trips inside the 20, while Buffalo converted 2 of 4. In a game decided by 3 points, the 2 Buffalo trips that ended without a touchdown mattered.

What It Means

The Patriots move to 2-2, and this was their first road win of the season. They are 1-0 at home and now 1-2 away, so winning in Orchard Park is the strongest evidence yet that this team can travel.

The Bills fall to 3-1 and suffer their first home loss, dropping to 2-1 at Highmark Stadium. They split turnovers with New England at 2 apiece, but they could not get the ball back often enough to offset the Patriots' time of possession.