ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Jerry Hughes has too often watched the Patriots snatch victory away from the Buffalo Bills in what has been an AFC East rivalry that for too long tilted in New England’s favor.
How exciting it was for Buffalo’s veteran defensive end to eagerly watch from the sideline as Josh Allen knelt three times to run out the clock to close out a 24-21 win Sunday.
“Man, that was fun,” said Hughes, who was 2-12 during his first seven seasons against New England. “It feels good, to be honest with you, to be on the other side of the spectrum, to be watching our offense hit that victory formation. It felt amazing.”
And it nearly didn’t happen.
Bills backup defensive lineman Justin Zimmer, who opened the season on the practice squad, and safety Dean Marlowe, playing in place of injured starter Micah Hyde (concussion), combined to create the decisive play with the Patriots in position to at the very least tie the game.
Zimmer punched punched the ball out of quarterback Cam Newton’s arms. The fumble was recovered by Marlowe at the Buffalo 13 with 31 seconds left to secure what can be regarded as Buffalo’s most meaningful victory in 20 years over the Bill Belichick-coach Patriots.
In getting off to a 6-2 start for a second consecutive season, the Bills did so against a Patriots nemesis that entered the game having beaten Buffalo in each of the past seven meetings and 35 of the previous 40, dating to Belichick’s arrival in Foxborough.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to feel right now,” Zimmer said. “I’m still just like breathing heavy from the game, just excited. It’ll probably take me a good 24 hours to realize kind of everything that happened.”
Of course, Tom Brady had something to do with that string of domination before leaving New England to sign with Tampa Bay this offseason. Brady went 32-3 against Buffalo in setting the NFL record for most wins over one opponent.
Minus Brady, the Patriots are suddenly in freefall. Their 2-5 start is their worst since 2000, and New England’s four-game skid matches its longest since 2002. Their string of an NFL-record 11 straight division titles is suddenly in jeopardy, as might be their 19 consecutive seasons with a winning record.
“This is the third time we’ve been in this situation this year and unfortunately haven’t been able to make enough plays to win,” said Belichick, referring to one-score losses to Seattle and Denver.
Newton called the the fumble “unacceptable.”
“It affects me more that I still am jeopardizing this team’s success because of my lackluster performances protecting the football,” Newton said. “Coach trusts me with the ball in my hands and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve got to do a better job of protecting it.”
Newton finished 15 of 25 for 174 yards passing, and added 54 yards rushing plus a touchdown. Damien Harris had 102 yards rushing and scored on a22-yard run.
In other games Sunday:
DOLPHINS 28, RAMS 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass and then let his teammates take over with a succession of big plays.
The Dolphins stamped themselves as playoff contenders by earning their third consecutive win. They struck for scores 75 seconds apart on Andrew Van Ginkel’s 78-yard fumble return and Jakeem Grant’s team-record 88-yard punt return. They came up with four takeaways in the first half and at halftime led 28-10 despite being outgained 224-54.
The big plays helped Tagovailoa overcome a costly early turnover in his first NFL start. The No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards.
The Rams (5-3) ran 92 plays to the Dolphins’ 48, and Miami won while totaling eight first downs and 145 yards. The Dolphins (4-3) have outscored opponents by a combined 95-34 in the past three games, and they’re above .500 for the first time in their 23 games under second-year coach Brian Flores.
SAINTS 26, BEARS 23, OT
CHICAGO — Drew Brees threw FOR two touchdowns to regain the NFL’s all-time lead from Tom Brady, and Wil Lutz nailed a 35-yard field goal in overtime.
The Bears’ Cairo Santos booted a 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation to force the extra period.
The Saints (5-2) led 23-13 early in the fourth quarter after scoring 20 consecutive points, only to have Chicago rally in the closing minutes of regulation. But the three-time defending NFC South champions pulled out their fourth straight win when Lutz connected on their second possession of OT.
The Saints had a first down at the 16 when coach Sean Payton called on him. And Lutz delivered, sending the Bears (5-3) to their second straight loss. New Orleans tied Tampa Bay for the division lead, with Brady and the Buccaneers meeting the struggling New York Giants on Monday night.
Chicago receiver Javon Wims got ejected for punching New Orleans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the third quarter. Marshon Lattimore then intercepted Nick Foles, leading to a tiebreaking field goal by Lutz.
Brees added a 20-yard touchdown to Taysom Hill to make it 23-13 early in the fourth period. The Bears (5-3) pulled within three with 3:32 remaining on Foles’ 3-yard pass to Darnell Mooney.
After the Saints went three-and-out, Chicago tied it with 13 seconds left on Santos’ field goal into the wind.
SEAHAWKS 37, 49ERS 27
SEATTLE — Russell Wilson threw four more touchdown passes, two to DK Metcalf. Wilson and Metcalf tormented San Francisco and its banged-up secondary as the top-scoring offense in the league continued to pile up points. The Seahawks (6-1) have scored at least 30 points in six of seven games.
Wilson hit Metcalf on a pair of first-half touchdown passes, but it was a 2½-minute sequence midway through the third quarter when Seattle blew the game open.
Wilson found rookie DeeJay Dallas on a 2-yard TD pass after San Francisco went three-and-out to open the second half for a 20-7 lead. Dante Pettis fumbled the ensuing kickoff on a big hit from Cody Barton. Six plays later, Wilson evaded pressure in the pocket and zipped a 6-yard TD pass to David Moore for a 27-7 lead.
Seattle added one more score on a 1-yard TD run by Dallas with 3:33 left after the 49ers (4-4) pulled within 10.
Wilson finished 27 of 37 for 261 yards and has 26 TD passes on the season, one behind Tom Brady for the most in the first seven games of a season.
BRONCOS 31, CHARGERS 30
DENVER — Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from 1 yard with no time on the clock and Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to win it. The Broncos (3-4) overcame a 24-3 deficit and rallied after being held to 60 first-half yards, including 2 on the ground.
The Chargers (2-5) appeared primed to end their seven-game AFC West losing streak behind another great performance by rookie Justin Herbert, who joined Deshaun Watson as the only QBs in NFL history with four straight games with three TD passes. But the Chargers became the first team to lose three games they led by 17 or more points in the same season since the Atlanta Falcons did it in 2003.
The Broncos got the ball at their 19 with 2:24 remaining and Lock drove them 81 yards in 14 plays, helped by two defensive flags.
On fourth-and-4 from the 18 with 7 seconds left, Lock’s pass to rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam was incomplete, but defensive back Brandon Facyson was whistled for pass interference, giving the Broncos the ball at the 1 with 1 second remaining.
Lock took the snap, rolled right and found Hamler in the back of the end zone. He got down before going out of bounds with no time left.
VIKINGS 28, PACKERS 22
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Dalvin Cook gained 226 yards from scrimmage and became the first Viking in over four decades to score four touchdowns in a single game.
The Vikings withstood a three-touchdown performance from receiver Davante Adams, who had seven catches for 53 yards.
Green Bay had the ball at Minnesota’s 41-yard line with 12 seconds and no timeouts left, but D.J. Wonnum sacked Aaron Rodgers and knocked the ball loose. Eric Wilson recovered at the 24 as time expired.
Cook missed Minnesota’s last game with a groin injury that had him listed as questionable, but he looked just fine while dicing up Green Bay’s defense all day. Each of the Vikings’ first four possessions ended with Cook touchdowns. He ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Cook also had two catches for 63 yards, including a 50-yard score.
The only other Vikings to score four touchdowns in a game are Ahmad Rashad in 1979 and Chuck Foreman in 1975.
RAIDERS 16, BROWNS 6
CLEVELAND — Derek Carr threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow early in the fourth quarter and Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals in windy, wintry conditions along Lake Erie.
Carr’s strike to Renfrow with 14:53 to go was the game’s only TD and helped the Raiders (4-3) bounce back after they fell apart late in last week’s 45-20 loss to Tampa Bay.
Using running back Josh Jacobs and a short passing game, Carr controlled the clock in the second half and kept the ball away from the Browns (5-3).
On the Raiders’ first two drives after halftime, the first leading to their go-ahead TD and the other to Carlson’s 24-yard field goal with 4:24 left, they ate up 17:41. Jacobs finished with a career-high 128 yards — 80 in the second half — on 31 carries. Last week, he had just 17 yards on 10 attempts.
The Raiders had allowed 10-plus points in an NFL-record 116 straight games.
BENGALS 31, TITANS 20
CINCINNATI — After watching Giovani Bernard and Samaje Perine run for early scores, Joe Burrow threw two fourth-quarter TD passes and closed it out with a time-consuming drive.
The Bengals (2-5-1) blew leads each of the previous two weeks, but Burrow would not allow it to happen again. Instead, he threw for 249 yards and the crucial late scores to snap a three-game losing streak. Cincinnati has matched its victory total from last season. And it was the first time second-year head coach Zac Taylor has defeated a team with a winning record.
Tennessee (5-2) has lost two straight and had a five-game road winning streak end. The Titans are now tied with the Indianapolis Colts atop the AFC South.
Cincinnati’s reversal of fortune came on a day that began with five offensive starters on the inactive list and despite A.J. Green again struggling to become a major contributor. Somehow, though, Burrow found a winning combination.
Derrick Henry rushed for 188 yards but it was the first time Tennessee has lost when Henry topped the 100-yard mark.
CHIEFS 35, JETS 9
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 416 yards and five touchdowns, the Kansas City defense shut down Sam Darnold and the inept Jets offense.
Tyreek Hill had 98 yards receiving and two touchdowns, Travis Kelce finished with 109 yards and another score, and Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson also reached the end zone. The Chiefs (7-1) gave Andy Reid his 229th win to move into a tie with Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau for fifth most in NFL history.
Le’Veon Bell, getting a crack at the Jets just a few weeks after they released him, was held to 7 yards rushing with three catches for another 31 yards — though it wasn’t as if Kansas City needed him.
Darnold, who was without top receivers Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman because of injuries, was 18 of 30 for 133 yards as the Jets fell to 0-8 for the first time since the 1996 team of Rich Kotite that went 1-15.
COLTS 41, LIONS 21
DETROIT — Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to give Indianapolis a double-digit lead.
Rivers picked apart Detroit’s defense while completing 23 of 33 attempts, mostly short passes to the outside or over the middle. The 38-year-old quarterback also showed he still has some arm strength to go along with his savvy touch, perfectly throwing a 29-yard pass to Nyheim Hines late in the first half.
The Colts (5-2) were healthy and looked rested and ready to roll after being idle last week and improved to 3-0 after a bye under coach Frank Reich.
The Lions (3-4) lost a seventh straight home game, dating to last season, and missed an opportunity to win three in a row for the first time with coach Matt Patricia.
Matthew Stafford was 24 of 42 for 336 yards with three touchdowns, two to Marvin Jones, and two costly turnovers.
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