Relieved Maye rebounds in win vs. Bills that gets Patriots 'back in race' — SkimNews
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- Drake Maye went 22-of-37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, adding 54 rushing yards, to lead the Patriots' 29-26 comeback win over the Bills after New England trailed 26-21 in the fourth quarter.
- Mike Vrabel awarded Maye a game ball and said the victory "gets us back in the race," pulling the Patriots to 2-2 and within a game of the 3-1 Bills in the AFC East.
- Efton Chism III hauled in the go-ahead 23-yard one-handed touchdown with 1:50 left, thrust into a top receiver role after A.J. Brown (high ankle sprain) sat out and Mack Hollins left with a calf injury in the third quarter.
- Craig Woodson sealed the win by intercepting Josh Allen, and Vrabel also gave game balls to Chism and Romeo Doubs, who finished with six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
- Maye had entered Sunday with just one touchdown pass and six interceptions on the season, making his three-touchdown outing a sharp reversal of his early-season slide.
- Bills cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson tipped his cap to Chism's catch while taking a shot at Maye's target selection, saying the QB should have thrown to his top receiver in that spot.
Why it matters: The Patriots close to within one game in the AFC East at 2-2, and Maye's bounce-back after a six-interception opening turns what looked like a sophomore slump into a one-week rough patch — the kind of win that reframes an early-season narrative from crisis to recovery for a defending AFC champion.
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