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It was quite clear on Monday night which team will go to the play-offs as the AFC East champions and which team will be watching the play-offs from home for the first time in 12 years.
Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs emphatically carried the Buffalo Bills to a 38-9 victory over the New England Patriots. Allen struck out four touches that night, three of which went to Diggs, as the bills earned the Patriots a season for the first time since 1999. It did not even take four quarters of an hour to do so, as Allen and Diggs both earned a seat on the bench for most of the fourth quarter.
Allen completed 27-of-36 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, while Diggs caught nine of the passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, Allen set the Bills franchise records for touchdowns in a season (34) and completions (375), surpassing previous points by Jim Kelly and Drew Bledsoe respectively.
The Patriots actually took a 3-0 lead after a 45-yard Nick Folk field goal on the opening drive of the game.
It was all bills from there. Buffalo would score on four straight drives, which does not include a lone knee possession, to end the first half.
After a 22-goal Tyler Bass field goal, Zack Moss scored a 5-yard touchdown to give Buffalo a 10-3 lead. Cam Newton scored a 9-yard touchdown to pull the Patriots back within just one point after an extra point from Folk.
Lee Smith got a 4-yard pass from Allen as the lead over Bills grew to 17-9 before Diggs scored the rest of the result. Allen and Diggs shut down at a 50-year mark, while Buffalo led 24-9 at halftime. Diggs would add the 18-meter and 8-meter subtracts before the two sat on the couch for the rest of the night.
Newton completed just 5-of-10 passes for 34 yards before being drawn in the third quarter in favor of Jarrett Stidham. Stidham finished with 44 passing steps on 4-of-11 passes in its limited action. Newton’s 34-yard pass is the least for a Patriots starting quarterback, as Scott Secules transferred just 16 yards against the Bills in 1993. Secules left the game with an injury after only seven attempts.