Patriots beat the Bills in Week 18, costing New England the No. 1 overall pick
FOXBORO -- All the New England Patriots had to do to clinch the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was lose to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. But there was no tanking from Jerod Mayo and his team in Week 18, as they went out and beat Buffalo, 23-16, at Gillette Stadium.
It ended up being Mayo's final game as head coach, as he was fired by team owner Robert Kraft shortly after the game. The Patriots finished the 2024 season at 4-13, matching Bill Belichick's win total in his final season with the team.
"As a player as a coach, we always want to go out and win," Mayo said after the game.
Mayo was asked if ownership or the front office discussed the team's objective for Week 18.
"I'm the head coach of the football team. Anytime we step foot on the field, we want to win," he echoed.
Drake Maye played just one series for the Patriots on Sunday, but Joe Milton III dazzled in his NFL debut. The rookie sixth-round pick completed 22 of his 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for a touchdown for the game's first score. He showed a lot more poise than we saw during the preseason, and made a nice case to be New England's backup next season.
The victory really cost the Patriots. Sunday's win -- mixed with losses by the Browns (on Saturday), Giants, and Titans -- dropped New England to the No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft. At least the Patriots don't need a quarterback with Maye as the face of the franchise, but not having the top pick will hurt their offseason plans.
But the players that took the field on Sunday didn't care about the No. 1 pick in April. With several either making their NFL debut or getting their first extended run in a meaningful game, they played to win. With the Bills already locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC, they were more interested in staying healthy and having players earn bonuses than earning a win on Sunday.
While Mayo, his staff, and the players who took the field on Sunday will feel good about the way they closed the 2024 season, Sunday's victory certainly was not in the best interest for the future of the franchise. Instead of controlling the draft board and potentially picking up a hoard of picks for the No. 1 selection, the Patriots will now draft fourth.
Now we'll see if sweeping changes come to the Patriots in the coming days and weeks, with Mayo and his staff on the hot seat after a
How the Patriots beat the Bills in Week 18
Essentially, Buffalo had no desire to win this game. The Patriots did.
Milton took over for Maye after the starter played just one series, and he was electric.
Milton led the Patriots to back-to-back touchdown drives after taking over. He capped off his first drive -- a 13-play, 55-yard march down the field for New England -- with a one-yard touchdown run and 10/10 backflip to celebrate.
Mitch Trubisky (who replaced Josh Allen after one snap) and the Bills answered to tie the game, but Milton made quick work of the Buffalo defense when he got the ball back. The Pats needed only five plays to cover 70 yards on their second scoring drive, capped off by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Milton to a wide open Kayshon Boutte. Milton took off on his own to escape pressure on a second-and-3, which forced Buffalo's secondary to bite and leave Boutte wide open downfield.
Milton started the game a perfect 10-of-10 for 119 yards and a touchdown. He threw for 78 yards on the team's second scoring drive.
Milton completed his first 11 passes, before he threw a ball away on New England's last possession of the first half after evading a sack. His accuracy and play-making helped the Patriots take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Despite getting to the New England 35, Buffalo punted away its first possession of the second half in order to get punter Sam Martin a bonus. He pinned the Patriots at their own six-yard line, but New England gave the ball right back.
Milton and running back Antonio Gibson let the ball hit the ground on a failed handoff, which the Bills recovered at the Patriots' 16-yard line. James Cook rushed in a one-yard score a few plays later for his 16th touchdown of the season. It gave the Bills their first lead of the game, but it was only a 16-14 lead after Tyler Bass missed the extra point.
Milton didn't lead the Patriots into the end zone his next time out, but he did get them downfield to set up a 41-yard field goal from Joey Slye to take a 17-14 lead -- much to the chagrin of many fans in the stands. Milton was 6-of-8 on the drive for 50 yards, and also ran for 13 yards, including an impressive 9-yard scramble on a third-and-9 at midfield to move the chains for New England.
The Bills sent Mike White out at quarterback for the rest of the way, while Milton continued to impress for the Patriots. (Even the plays that didn't count were pretty incredible.) After another Buffalo punt, Milton made nice passes to Jaheim Bell (19 yards) and Boutte (21 yards) to set up another Slye field goal, which gave the Patriots a 20-16 lead with 8:53 left.
Boutte had a career day for the Patriots, finishing with seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo turned it over on downs and punted away its next two possessions, while New England added a 50-yard Slye field goal right after the two-minute warning. The Bills went four-and-out on their final possession to seal the win for New England.
What's next for the Patriots?
Kraft already made the biggest decision of the offseason in firing Mayo. While Mayo and his staff are gone, executive VIP of player personnel Eliot Wolf is expected to return, according to Chad Graff of The Athletic.
Now Kraft has to go out and find another head coach, with old friend Mike Vrabel and Lions OC Ben Johnson the hot candidates this offseason.
After the head coach is in place, the Patriots need to go out and surround Maye with talent. Give him an actual left tackle and a top receiver. Then add even more depth to the line and Maye's arsenal.
There are plenty of needs on defense too, from more help with the pass rush to another top corner to play opposite Christian Gonzalez. The bottom line is the Patriots need a lot of top-end talent all over the roster.
New England should be able to address most of the team's needs with $130 million in cap space. But that top pick would have looked a lot better than the fourth overall selection when it comes to the future of the franchise.
