Remember, remember the fifth of November?
November 5, 2000. That is the last time the Buffalo Bills took down the New England Patriots on their own turf. What's more, Buffalo snapped its 0-12 streak at Gillette Stadium which opened in the 2002 season.
"I think any time you step on the field is important," QB Kyle Orton said after the game. "We played for each other all year. And played hard for each other and its great whenever you get a winning season and win the last game against your rival, you know. It was a good accomplishment for us."
Not only that, it was the first time the Patriots have been held touchdown-less in a game since October 26, 2003 against the Cleveland Browns.
The 17-9 win also broke New England records of 35 consecutive home-wins against AFC teams and 16 consecutive home-wins against any opponent.
"Nobody comes in here and wins," DT Kyle Williams said of the broken streaks. "No matter how it falls or what's going on, it's good to come in here and beat a team like that."
Knowing that the first winning-record in a decade was at stake, Buffalo made quick work by finding the end zone on two of its first three trips.
The opening drive was highlighted by an 18-yard pass to TE Lee Smith and a 43-yard pass to WR Sammy Watkins to move the Bills into the red zone and the eventual TD connection with WR Robert Woods.
The next scoring drive saw Buffalo chip away at New England's defense rather than rely on a few key plays and get out to an early 14-3 lead following RB Boobie Dixon's one-yard touchdown run.
After the game, RB Fred Jackson said getting out to an early lead was a goal of theirs heading into Week 17. He added that the Bills had not 'packed [their] bags yet' and he wanted to continue the hard work the team had put forth all season.
With the win, Buffalo lifted its record to 9-7 for the first time in over a decade and many of the Bills players talked postgame about what this means for the organization.
"It hasn't been done here in a while and the biggest thing was we wanted to go out with a winning record and that's what we were able to do," RB C.J. Spiller said.
"It's a great feeling," Jackson further commented. "To be able to say you had a winning record in a season is something that you'll always be able to say. We got that accomplished. It's bittersweet because it's not what we shot for this year. We obviously wanted to get into the playoffs. But at the end of the year, it's something you can hang your hat on and say we've done something that hasn't been done since 2004. We got a winning record and it's something we can continue to build on."
"Moving in the right direction," Safety Aaron Williams said of what 9-7 means. "I'll be honest-I've been on this team for four years now and I've been 6-10 four years straight. It shows that the guys in the front office are doing a great job of getting this team back into the playoffs."
Although the team's goal was to make the playoffs, there is a lot that can be taken away from Sunday's win as well as the entire 2014 season.
"This is something we can build on," Jackson said. "We were able to come in here and play well enough to get a victory. That's what we can take into the offseason. Knowing that we got that accomplished is something we can learn from and continue to put knowledge on and fall back on down in the future."
