The New England Patriots handed the Buffalo Bills their first loss of the 2026 season, winning 29-26 on Sunday, October 4, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. New England improved to 2-2, while Buffalo fell to 3-1.
The Patriots scored in every quarter and produced the decisive touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. The result also gave New England the early head-to-head advantage in the AFC East.
Chism’s late catch decided it
Buffalo moved ahead 26-21 late in the fourth quarter when Josh Allen connected with Keon Coleman for a 34-yard touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, leaving New England needing a touchdown rather than a field goal.
Drake Maye answered by moving the Patriots into Buffalo territory with completions to Hunter Henry and Romeo Doubs. At the two-minute warning, New England faced a 28-yard trip to the end zone. On the next play, Efton Chism made a one-handed touchdown catch to put the Patriots back in front.
Maye then completed a two-point pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, giving New England a three-point lead with 1:50 left.
Woodson sealed the upset
Buffalo had time for one final drive, but Patriots safety Craig Woodson intercepted a deep Allen pass with 1:05 remaining. New England still needed a first down to finish the game, and Maye found Henry for 12 yards on third-and-10 before the Patriots took a knee.
The winning sequence completed a rebound for a short-handed New England team that entered Sunday after a 35-6 loss to Jacksonville. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore were among the Patriots ruled out before the game.
How the game developed
New England opened the scoring with a 12-play, 97-yard drive that ended in a 14-yard Maye touchdown pass to Doubs. Buffalo answered with a James Cook touchdown run, then took a 17-14 halftime lead after capitalizing on a Maye fumble.
The Patriots shut out the Bills in the third quarter and carried a 21-17 lead into the fourth. Buffalo scored nine points in the final period, but New England’s eight-point response on Chism’s touchdown and the conversion proved decisive.
The official scoring by quarter was New England 7, 7, 7 and 8; Buffalo 0, 17, 0 and 9.
What the result means
Buffalo remains atop the AFC East at 3-1, but its unbeaten start is over. New England reached .500 and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker for now. The teams meet again in Foxborough on December 6.
The Patriots-Bills finish was the headline result of the early Sunday window. Other completed games included Baltimore over Tennessee 24-18, Chicago over the New York Jets 23-12, Jacksonville over Cincinnati 22-17, Dallas over Houston 34-30, the New York Giants over Arizona 36-24, the Los Angeles Rams over Philadelphia 24-20, and Green Bay over Tampa Bay 17-14.
For more Week 4 coverage, see AskNovus’s report on the Colts’ 30-13 win over the Commanders in London.
Sources
- NFL game center and official final score, October 4, 2026
- NFL Week 4 Sunday results, October 4, 2026
- Pats Pulpit game recap and play-by-play, updated October 4, 2026
Illustrative photo: Dave Adamson/Unsplash.
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