ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WROC) — Sunday's game against the Patriots was supposed to be a stress-free game against a 3-11 opponent already thinking about the offseason. However, there was plenty of stress for Bills Mafia. The Patriots got out to a 14-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, Josh Allen suffered an injury to his right arm that appeared serious at first. The Patriots made it a three-point game in the final minutes. But the Bills rallied, Allen returned to the game with no apparent issue, and the Bills held on late to take down the Patriots 24-21 to remain in contention for the AFC's top seed. There were no gaudy numbers for Allen this time, he completed 16 of 29 attempts for 154 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He had six carries for 30 yards. Allen said after the game that he hit his right funny bone and it took about 5-10 minutes to have feeling come back to his right hand. Josh Allen said it took about 5-10 minutes to have feeling return to his hand after hitting his funny bone. "Just glad it's gone now."#Bills #BillsMafia— AJ Feldman (@AJFeldmanTV) December 23, 2024 Allen also remarked on how the team's "purgatory" state of playoff positioning is impacting the way they treat the final three games of the regular season. "As an offense, it's how much are we willing to show?" said Allen. "Are we wanting to go extreme and show everything in our arsenal? There's a line that you've got to toe." Josh Allen on fighting for the (unlikely) one seed vs. saving things for the playoffs"As an offense, it's how much are we willing to show? Are we wanting to go extreme and show everything in our arsenal? There's a line that you've got to toe."#Bills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/jkuEWvCF7X— AJ Feldman (@AJFeldmanTV) December 23, 2024 Sean McDermott also remarked that that is a factor in how the team handles injuries. Four defensive starters- Matt Milano, Rasul Douglas, Taylor Rapp, and Damar Hamlin- missed Sunday's game. James Cook had 11 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in receiving yards with three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. Cam Lewis had an interception and Taron Johnson fell on a backward pass in the end zone for a key defensive score. “We came out, didn’t start the way we wanted to, made some adjustments, and then we were able to play more like ourselves down the stretch there,” linebacker Terrel Bernard said. “I think it’s a good learning opportunity for us to come out and have the right mindset to start fast.” Despite throwing a bad interception, Drake Maye impressed with a handful of good throws. He completed 22 of 36 attempts for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Here's how the Bills took down the Patriots in our running game blog: The Bills won the toss and elected to defer. New England took the game's opening kickoff 42 yards and Drake Maye started his first possession in Orchard Park from near midfield. And the rookie was quite impressive. He completed a third and 8 pass for a first down to Hunter Henry with the Bills sending a big blitz. Baylon Spector took a borderline pass interference penalty on the classic underthrown pass play to get the Patriots inside the Buffalo 35. On 3rd and 4, Maye dropped a 28-yard TD throw right in the bucket to Kayshon Boutte. Kaiir Elam had pretty good coverage. The throw was just better. Just like that, the Pats had a 7-0 lead. The Bills got one first down, but had to punt after former Buffalo draft pick Alex Austin knocked away a third and 10 pass intended for Mack Hollins. A Sam Martin punt pinned New England at their own nine-yard line. Three rushes for 24 yards got New England moving. Maye then converted two third and longs with a ten-yard scramble and a 12-yard throw to Henry. An A.J. Epenesa offside on third and 2 gave the Patriots a first and goal. After a New England hold pushed the Patriots back to the 14, Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 14-yard rush up the middle. Cam Lewis couldn't finish a tackle at the five-yard line. Lewis also had a pass interference penalty that saved New England from a third and goal at the nine. The Patriots had a stunning 14-0 lead. The Bills needed only four plays to answer. Allen started the drive with a patient, scrambling 13-yard throw to Dawson Knox. After two plays to get the Bills past midfield, James Cook broke free for a 46-yard touchdown and the Bills cut the New England lead in half at 14-7. New England went three and out on their next drive after electing to punt from fourth and one at their own 36-yard line. The Bills quickly moved the ball into Patriots territory, but the drive stalled after two attempts at receiver screens netted negative-1 yards. A false start set Buffalo up in 3rd and 16. Allen flung a prayer at Keon Coleman in the end zone. Marte Mapu made the easy interception seven yards deep in the end zone, but tried to run the ball out. He was tackled at the 1-yard line and the mistake pinned his team at their own goal line. The Patriots were able to milk six minutes off the clock after the interception thanks to another third-down conversion from Maye to a tight end and a fake punt. Jerod Mayo ran it with blocker Dell Pettus on 4th and 1 at the New England 23 and gained two yards. There were no more first downs, but Buffalo didn't get the ball back until after the two-minute warning. After a pair of first downs, the Bills stalled at their own 44 after three incompletions and punted back to the Pats. New England failed on a lateral miracle as the half expired, but still went to the locker room with an eye-opening seven-point lead. Cook got the Bills even on the first possession of the second half. He opened the drive with a 25-yard gallop. A 17-yard throw to Coleman got Buffalo near the red zone. Allen had to hit Dalton Kincaid on a 3rd and 3 to move the ball inside the 10-yard line. On third and goal from the four, Cook leaked out of the backfield and Allen lofted the ball in for a game-tying touchdown with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Two plays later, Buffalo had the ball right back. Greg Rousseau forced a Stevenson fumble and Dorian Williams recovered. Buffalo took over at the New England 42. A pair of Ray Davis runs got the ball to the New England 30, but the next two plays both went for zero. Allen was sacked on the next play to force a field goal try. It was the first sack the Bills had allowed with a loss of yards since the 4th quarter against Miami in week 10. Ending a streak of 22 straight quarters without such a play. Tyler Bass buried a 50-yard field goal after the sack and the Bills had their first lead at 17-14. Three New England runs gained 17 yards to open the Patriots next drive. Maye then hit a pretty, across-the-body throw to Boutte for 22 yards. A 13-yard screen to Stevenson moved the ball near the Bills 20. On the next snap, Maye tried to force a ball deep into the end zone and Lewis made a diving interception to snuff the drive. A pair of passes to Shakir netted the Bills 22 yards and moved the ball into Patriots territory. On a second and 11, Allen scrambled for seven yards, but came up shaking his right hand. His next snap was a deep pass that came up woefully short. Allen went to the sideline to be checked and threw a number of passes testing his hand. While that was happening, a Martin punt pinned New England at their own 10. Two plays after the punt, Maye threw a swing pass to Stevenson that bounced off the running back and into the end zone. The throw was clearly a lateral and Taron Johnson recovered for an unlikely TD. The Bills suddenly had a ten-point lead. The Patriots moved the ball near midfield but curiously elected to punt on 4th and 6 from their own 46-yard line with 8:33 to play. Allen returned to the game after being cleared with a right elbow contusion. Allen threw the ball on second down, throwing a tight spiral to Dawson Knox. A 17-yard catch and run by Ray Davis gave the team a first down, but they had to punt on their next set of downs. Aided by two defensive penalties, the Patriots drove into the red zone. On third and goal, the Bills were flagged for another penalty as Elam was connected to Boutte and was called for defensive pass interference. The Bills were able to turn first and goal at the one-yard line into third and goal at the four, but Elam was flagged for defensive pass interference once again as he failed to turn around and locate the football, running into Bourne. After an initial touchdown to Douglas was reversed, Maye was sacked but he recovered to throw a touchdown pass to Henry to make it 24-21. The Patriots elected to go for an onside kick, but Shakir recovered to give Buffalo possession. After gaining a first down, the Bills were faced with fourth and one with ten seconds left. Allen converted the QB sneak to win the game. Buffalo moves to 12-3 with the win. They will host the Jets next week. The Chiefs will travel to Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, able to clinch the AFC with a victory over the Steelers.