Top 3 Things We Learned

Presented by

Top 3 things we learned from Bills at Patriots | Week 18

Jan 05, 2025 at 07:00 PM

Alec White

Content Coordinator

The Bills fell to the Patriots on Sunday by a final score of 23-16, though Buffalo opted to rest the majority of their starters with the No. 2 seed locked up prior to the game. The Bills finish the regular season 13-4, marking the third time in the last five years Buffalo has recorded 13 regular season wins.

QB Josh Allen took one snap, a handoff to RB James Cook, then jogged to the bench to continue his 115 consecutive start streak. QBs Mitch Trubisky and Mike White played the rest of the way.

New England's win cost them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, with the Patriots (4-13) sliding to the 4th overall pick. The Patriots also fired head coach Jerod Mayo just over an hour after the game.

Here's the top three things we learned from Bills at Patriots:

1 — Rookies have a day

The Bills got standout rookie performances from RB Ray Davis, LB Joe Andreessen, DE Javon Solomon and more during Sunday's game.

Davis got the scoring started for the Bills with a two-yard touchdown catch from Trubisky in the second quarter. Davis led the offense in total touches (17) and total yards (65) and notched his sixth total touchdown of the season.

LB Joe Andreessen started at linebacker and led the Bills in total tackles with 9.

"When you have that type of production from a middle linebacker that's what you're looking for and then the operation and the communication I thought was pretty darn good," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott.

DE Javon Solomon had several pressures on Patriots QB Joe Milton throughout the day and recovered a fumble in the second half after a botched handoff. Solomon finished the game second on the team in tackles (7) and added one QB hit and a tackle for a loss.

LB Eddie Ulofoshio had a season-high five tackles as did DT DeWayne Carter. Carter also forced an intentional grounding call on Milton in the second half with a QB pressure.

McDermott said he was proud of the team's effort Sunday, knowing that the team had already secured their seed in the postseason.

"Good effort by the guys that were out there playing. I appreciate that effort," he said.

Related Links

Patriots 23, Bills 16 | Final score, stats to know + game highlights | Week 18

2 — Trubisky solid in relief of Allen

QB Josh Allen got the start Sunday to preserve his 115 consecutive start streak (most among active QBs), but his presence was short-lived. Allen took one snap, handed the ball to RB James Cook and promptly jogged off the field.

In came backup QB Mitch Trubisky who had an efficient outing, going 15 of 21 passing for 101 yards and a touchdown.

"I thought I managed the offense, moved the ball pretty well, and scored some points. I mean, we want to come away with wins. That's the toughest thing, but did some positive things out there," Trubisky said.

Trubisky led three scoring drives and Buffalo led 16-14 before he was subbed out. Trubisky played until 1:00 left in the third quarter until the Bills brought in QB Mike White. Buffalo signed White to the active roster from the team's practice squad earlier this week.

"I thought it was important both for Mitch and for Mike to get a little bit of run," McDermott said.

3 — Records broken & incentives met

The team culture is one that makes Buffalo a special place. That was on display several times Sunday as team records were broken and players met season-long incentives on their contract.

The Bills became the first team in NFL history to record 30+ rushing TDs and 30+ passing TDs in the same season.

Edge rusher Von Miller played one snap, but it was an important one. Miller sacked QB Drake Maye on the opening series to bring him to six this season and earn an incentive.

"It felt good to have all my teammates supportive of it," Miller said. "But we've got bigger fish to try coming up."

RB James Cook tied the franchise record with his 16th rushing touchdown of the season. Cook also went over the 100-yard mark in four straight games, the longest streak of his career.

"It was huge. Jimbo runs his tail off all year long, so to be able to get him an accolade like that, I think it's important for all the guys and the team. We support our teammates here," Trubisky said.

Later in the game, P Sam Martin pinned a punt in the second half inside the New England 20-yard line. That marked his 25th punt inside the 20-yard line this season, triggering a contract incentive.

"It says a lot about this locker room, this team. There were a handful of guys who were chasing some incentives today. Everyone was rooting for each other. It's just a little microcosm of the bigger picture, but it makes it fun, especially going into a week like this," Martin said.