Buffalo Falls to New England, Losing 23-20

The Bills' Rivalries game started with a bang as more than 70,000 people filled Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, all while dressed in white as part of the NFL Rivalries Weekend. There is something special about being a Buffalo Bills fan and seeing so many people dressed in the Cold Front-themed gear, and that's what you saw all over Buffalo this weekend.

It's a fitting scene for the Bills as they host the New England Patriots for this first meeting of the 2025 NFL Season, the 132nd time these two teams have faced each other since September 1960.

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The game got off to a slow start for both teams as the Bills and Patriots traded fumbles with each other before New England put the first points on the board when Patriots kicker Andres Borregales booted a 30-yard kick for 3 points with just 56 seconds left in the first quarter. It took the Bills about 5 minutes before they were able to put their first points on the scoreboard as future Hall-of-Fame kicker Matt Prater kicked a 31-yard field goal through the uprights, tying the game for the Bills.

After several bad plays by the Bills and several penalties, 8 total for Buffalo, the Patriots were able to kick a last-second field goal as the clock expired on the first half, sending the teams into halftime with New England leading 6-3.

After the halftime break, the Bills' offense and defense must've had a good conversation because Buffalo came out and took the 1st drive of the 3rd quarter 71 yards down the field for the first touchdown of the game. Josh Allen floated a short pass to Curtis Samuel, who skipped 6 yards into the end zone for the score.

That score gave Buffalo the lead, but New England didn't take long to regain the lead as the Patriots responded with Rhamondre Stevenson running 4 yards for a touchdown. That wasn't Stevenson's only score of the second half, either. In the fourth quarter, he took a halfback pitch 7 yards into the end zone for his second score, giving the Patriots a 10-point lead.

On the ensuing drive, the Bills got some needed help from the Patriots, who committed two personal fouls to help Buffalo get in position for Josh Allen to toss his second touchdown of the game to Keon Coleman, who caught a 2-yard pass in the back of the end zone.

The Bills weren't done scoring in the 2nd half as the Bills got the ball back from New England and were able to drive down the field and put Matt Prater in position to kick his second field goal of the game as he booted the ball 45 yards for three points, allowing the Bills to tie the game at 20 with just over two minutes left.

The score didn't stay tied for very long as the Patriots used their two-minute offense to put kicker Andres Borregales in position to hit a 52-yard field goal, giving New England the lead with just seconds left on the clock. That field goal was the game-winning score as the Bills weren't able to make any happen with less than 20 seconds left in the game.

This game marks the first loss of the 2025 NFL season for the Bills, who still remain atop the AFC with a record of 4-1