9 takeaways from thrilling Patriots comeback

FOXBOROUGH — Staring a how-did-this-happen loss in the eye, Mac Jones and the Patriots offense engineered a timely two-minute drill to upset the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.

Surprisingly, New England was in control for most of the afternoon, but watched a 22-10 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter. However, Jones led a late touchdown drive and the Patriots stunned the reigning AFC East champions, 29-25.

Here are nine takeaways from a thoroughly entertaining afternoon at Gillette Stadium:

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1. Mac completes the comeback

For the first time since his rookie season — and second time in his career — Jones led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The first came against the lowly Houston Texans, so this really felt like his first signature moment in New England.

Jones played mistake-free football all afternoon, going 25-of-30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and was at his best down the stretch. The third-year quarterback went 6-for-7 for 70 yards in the two-minute drill, and his scoring strike to Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds remaining injected a shot of life into a season that’s been dull as could be.

“It’s just a crumb, right?” Jones said. “That’s what I always say. And you’ve got to build off that. You’ve got to build off that and attack every day the same. It’s all about playing for each other, playing for the guy next to you and understanding why. So we did that today and we need to continue to do that every day in practice and in the games.”

2. Bourne dodges a bullet

The reason the Patriots found themselves behind late?

A costly fumble from Kendrick Bourne, who’d had a productive afternoon (six catches, 63 yards, touchdown) up until that point. Bourne was trying to do too much after catching a pass from Jones with 2:58 remaining and coughed the ball up. He was able to breathe a sigh of relief after Gesicki’s late touchdown.

“Woo. Very relieved. Just got to take care of the ball better,” Bourne said. “Just trying to make a play, trying to be myself and kind of not thinking about the ball in a sense. The drive was kind of funny in a sense. Just trying to be aggressive. I was really trying to get to the sticks, but just got to know I couldn’t really get there and have to secure the ball more when I’m going down.”

3. Pop pops

Demario Douglas continues to electrify any time he gets the ball in his hands. The 5-foot-8 rookie caught four passes for 54 yards, had a 20-yard run, ripped off a 25-yard punt return, and drew a crucial pass interference flag on the game-winning drive. (He caught the pass from Jones, too, but Bill Belichick opted to take the penalty to stop the clock).

“A very big spark,” Bourne said.

4. Fast start sets the tone

For the first time since Week 3, the Patriots took a lead and were able to play from ahead. That proved a huge advantage, as they were able to get the running game going and dictate the tempo. The Patriots scored on their opening drive and led 13-3 at the half.

5. Another takeaway for Peppers

That fast start was aided by Jabrill Peppers, who forced another turnover on Sunday afternoon, reading Josh Allen’s eyes perfectly in the first quarter and intercepting the Buffalo quarterback. One of the emotional leaders of the Patriots, David Andrews had a different way of describing the hard-hitting safety.

“A little bit of a psychopath,” Andrews said. “He screams a lot. You know, he’s from Jersey. I don’t understand half the stuff he says. He’s just screaming.”

Said Peppers: “It’s always good to start fast. You have to have a good start in this league, and I try to be a spark plug in any way possible. That was a play I recognized on tape, just having to play the proper technique and catch the ball, man. I was happy I could get the team one.”

6. Onwenu shores things up

For the first time since 2021, Mike Onwenu kicked out to right tackle, and the change helped to solidify a unit that had been really struggling at that spot. It wasn’t perfect — Jones was hit four times in 31 drop backs — but the Patriots ran the ball for four yards a carry and gave the quarterback more time than he’d been accustomed to. Belichick was tight-lipped on whether this will be how the Patriots operate moving forward, but was clearly pleased with the offensive line.

“I think it was one of our most consistent offensive performances of the year,” Belichick said. “You know, we had a couple long drives last week. You know, today, I don’t know, we had to punt a couple times. It wasn’t very many, which is good. That’s always a good thing.”

7. Diggs doesn’t kill them

Stefon Diggs has been a nightmare for the Patriots in recent matchups, and though he scored a touchdown, he was held somewhat in check. The All-Pro had six catches for 58 yards, but Allen targeted him a dozen times, so the coverage was pretty solid between Jack Jones and JC Jackson.

“How many yards did he get? He wasn’t a problem for us,” Jones said after the game, via NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

8. Tackling needs to improve

The Patriots were lucky to escape with a victory given how shoddy their normally sure-armed tackling was. Jones, Jackson, and Kyle Dugger all whiffed on tackles badly, and poor fundamentals led to the Diggs touchdown. It’s certainly something to clean up this week.

9. Rookie specialists dazzle

Chad Ryland and Bryce Baringer both delivered their best games in New England. On a blustery day, Ryland was 3-for-3 on field goals — including a 49-yarder — while Baringer uncorked a 64-yard punt and executed a perfect coffin corner that kept the Bills pinned deep on their final first half possession. They were terrific.

“Chad made a 49-yarder. And you saw what happened on (Tyler Bass missed) field goal,” Belichick said. “It looked like one of my five irons, straight to the right. It was a tough wind out there today.”