The AFC East has a new boss following a wild Thursday Night Football contest. For years, the Buffalo Bills lived in the shadow of the New England Patriots dynasty and Tom Brady, but they bided their time and now rule a division where the Miami Dolphins (8-3) are trying to compete this season.
With a comfortable 24-10 victory, Buffalo snatched their fourth win from the Patriots in the last five meetings between the two. That also gave them a 9-3 record in the AFC East and pushed them in front of the Dolphins.
QB Josh Allen again commanded the victory for the Bills, throwing for 223 yards and two touchdowns without making any errors. After the Pats temporarily confused and dazed Buffalo, Allen put his helmet on straight and took control.
Pats Pull A Fast One
The Pats grabbed an early 7-3 lead in the first quarter after New England QB Mac Jones hooked up with Marcus Jones for a 48-yard touchdown run. That’s the same Jones who normally lines up on the Pats’ defense, not offense.
Jones is a first-year player who serves as a cornerback and return specialist. Last night, however, he became a receiver and showed that he has the chops for it.
From there, however, the Bills took over. They only had a field goal in the first quarter, but added 14 points in the second. Both went scoreless in the third before the Bills added another TD in the fourth.
Allen and company controlled almost every bit of the second half. A 15-play drive that chewed up nine minutes showed other teams how to properly manage the clock, and Buffalo never let go.
Just one more angle of Josh Allen's wild TD pass
@nflonprime | @buffalobills#BUFvsNE on Prime Video
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The Patriots barely managed a consolation field goal in the final minutes of the game. Jones didn’t live up to expectations throughout the game, suffering a fumble and moving slow in the pocket, prompting complaints from fans.
The outlook is bleak for the Patriots, who might need to start thinking about next season already. They face the Arizona Cardinals next week and close out the year against the Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals and Dolphins before taking on the Bills one last time.
Buffalo, 0-2 in the AFC East before last night, still has three divisional games in the pipeline. They meet the New York Jets next, then Miami and the meeting with the Pats. In between, they’ll battle the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati.
With Jones having another off night, the favorited Bills met sportsbooks’ prediction. However, the game fell short of the expected 43 over/under, which is bad news for bettors who took the over.
Buffalo Back On Top
Allen’s performance and solid play on both sides of the ball ensured that Buffalo stayed in control. Recently, there were doubts about whether the Bills were still contenders for the Super Bowl, but the team silenced those doubts last night.
At the very least, the Bills are setting themselves up for an AFC win. The result allows Buffalo to put pressure on the Dolphins, who will have to overcome a difficult visit to San Francisco if they want to get back on top of the AFC East.
As of right now, the Bills are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs as the favorites to win the AFC championship. Both are getting +200 on FanDuel and BetMGM, although Caesars puts KC in front, +200 to +210.
Both teams are also at the top of the list to win the Super Bowl, getting about the same odds there (about +400), as well. They’re in front of the Philadelphia Eagles, who are getting +600 across the board.
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