Joe Milton III passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his NFL debut, and the New England Patriots cost themselves the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft with a 23-16 win over the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The Patriots (4-13) snapped a six-game skid when a loss would have guaranteed them the top draft pick. Instead, they fell to No. 4 behind Tennessee, Cleveland and the New York Giants.
Milton finished 22 of 29 for 241 yards in relief of rookie Drake Maye, who played only one series. Kayshon Boutte had seven catches for 117 yards and TD, and Joey Slye kicked three field goals.
With coach Jerod Mayo’s future in question, he ended up playing some starters and resting others.
Mayo took a preseason-style approach with franchise quarterback Maye. New England also had four healthy scratches and rested other key players, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Tight end Hunter Henry was inactive with a foot issue.
Mitchell Trubisky was 15 of 21 for 101 yards for the Bills (13-4), who had already wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and rested most of their starters.
Quarterback and MVP candidate Josh Allen played one snap, handing off to James Cook to extend his streak of consecutive starts to 115 games, including the playoffs. Trubisky played until late in the third quarter, when he was replaced by Mike White.
Cook rushed for his 16th TD of the season to tie O.J. Simpson’s Bills franchise record.
The Patriots extended their lead to 23-16 with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard field goal by Slye. The Bills then turned it over on downs when White’s pass fell incomplete.
Injuries
Patriots: S Marte Mapu left in the first quarter with a neck injury and was ruled out in the second half. WR Kayshon Boutte left in the fourth quarter with a head injury.
30-30 Club
Trubisky’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Ray Davis in the first quarter was the Bills’ 30th passing TD, making them the first team in NFL history with 30 or more TDs through the air and on the ground in a season.
Memorable debut
Milton’s teammates have lauded the rookie’s athletic ability, though he hadn’t gotten to showcase it beyond the preseason and in closed sessions as a member of the Patriots’ practice squad.
That changed Sunday.
Taking over for Maye to begin New England’s second series, Milton had passes of 12 and 11 yards to get the Patriots near the goal line. He then capped the 13-play, 55-yard drive with a 1-yard run and celebrated his first career NFL TD with a backflip.
He added a 48-yard TD pass to Kayshon Boutte in the second quarter that put New England in front 14-7.
Bonus money
Bills veteran linebacker Von Miller earned a $1.5 million bonus with his sixth sack of the season, taking down Maye on the third play of the game.
Bills punter Sam Martin also cashed in a $100,000 bonus in the third quarter for his 25th punt inside an opponent’s 20-yard line. Cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram kept Martin’s 29-yard punt from rolling into the end zone and it was downed on the 6.
The Bills passed up a 53-yard field goal attempt for the punt.
Up next
Bills: Host the AFC’s No. 7 seed next weekend.
Patriots: An offseason of big decisions awaits.
