Buffalo steps up, nabs top spot

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> With their season on the brink and several key players unavailable, the Buffalo Bills trudged into Sunday’s pivotal matchup against the New England Patriots needing somebody to step up.

They wound up having too many to count.

Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns, Isaiah McKenzie had a career-high 11 catches, Micah Hyde made two interceptions and the Bills hung on to beat the Patriots 33-21 to vault themselves back into first place in the AFC East title race.

Buffalo (9-6) now holds tiebreakers over New England (9-6) and Miami, and is in the driver’s seat to win its second straight division title.

“We’ve got two more games left and we’ve gotta keep going,” said Allen, who was 30 of 47 for 314 passing yards and 64 rushing yards on 12 tries.

The Bills are the first team to win at New England in consecutive seasons since the Colts in 2005 and 2006. The loss was the Patriots’ second straight following their seven-game win streak.

McKenzie took the place of Bills receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, who were both on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and had a big day with 125 yards and a score.

“With them being out, I just had to step up,” said McKenzie. “It was my turn and I felt like I had to step up for my team.”

The Bills never trailed and played one of their cleanest offensive games of the season, with no punts or turnovers. They were also aggressive, going for it on fourth down three times in the first half, including a fourthand-2 that helped set up a 12yard pass from Allen to Stefon Diggs for a 17-7 lead.

That grew to 26-14 early in the fourth quarter after running back Devin Singletary’s 2-yard touchdown run.