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It was perfectly clear on Monday night which team would make the playoffs as the AFC East champion and which team will watch the playoffs from home for the first time in 12 years.
Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs emphatically led the Buffalo Bills to a 38-9 victory over the New England Patriots on Monday night. Allen hit four touchdowns that night, three of which went to Diggs, when Bills won a season sweep of the Patriots for the first time since 1999. It didn’t take even four whole quarters to do that, as Allen and Diggs won a seat on the bench during most of the fourth quarter.
Allen completed 27 of 36 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, while Diggs took nine of those passes for 145 yards and three scores. In the process, Allen set the Bills franchise records for touchdowns in one season (34) and conclusions (375), overcoming previous marks by Jim Kelly and Drew Bledsoe, respectively.
The Patriots actually led 3-0 after Nick Folk’s 45-yard field goal in the first move of the game.
It was everything that happened from there. Buffalo would score touchdowns on four direct drives that did not include a lone kneeling to finish the first half.
After a 22-yard field goal from Tyler Bass, Zack Moss scored in a 5-yard touchdown run to give Buffalo a 10-3 lead. Cam Newton scored in a 9-yard touchdown race to pull the Patriots back to just one point after an extra lost Folk point.
Lee Smith received a 4-yard touchdown pass from Allen when the Bills’ lead grew to 17-9 before Diggs dominated the rest of the score. Allen and Diggs connected in a 50-yard touchdown, while Buffalo took a 24-9 lead at halftime. Diggs would add 18 and 8-yard touchdowns before the two sat on the bench for the rest of the night.
Newton completed just 5 of 10 passes for 34 yards before being pulled in the third quarter in favor of Jarrett Stidham. Stidham finished 44 yards on 4 of 11 passes in his limited action. Newton’s 34-yard passes are the shortest for a full Patriots quarterback since Scott Secules was only 16 yards past Bills in 1993. Secules left the game with an injury after just seven attempts.