Josh Allen's final throw decided this one, and not in Buffalo's favor. The Bills lost 29-26 to the Patriots in Week 4, dropping from 3-0 to 3-1, and the game-losing interception is on Allen's ledger.
Ryan Clark didn't soften it. He called the mistake "unacceptable" and said there was "no reason for that throw."
That's a fair read on the play itself, because the ball didn't need to come out. But the box score says something more useful about how New England got to 29 points.
Drake Maye threw three touchdowns on 22-of-37 for 269 yards, a 97.7 passer rating and a 91.0 QBR. He also put the ball on the ground three times and lost one. That's the trade the Patriots accepted all afternoon: high-value passing, live-wire ball security. They won the exchange because the supporting cast converted. Romeo Doubs caught 6 of 9 targets for 58 yards and two scores. Hunter Henry added 5 catches for 62. Efton Chism III turned 2 targets into 42 yards and a touchdown.
The run game was ordinary. Rhamondre Stevenson carried 13 times for 47 yards and a score, TreVeyon Henderson 14 for 42. New England won through the air and in the red zone, which is precisely where one Allen interception costs a full possession. In a three-point game, that's the result.
Buffalo entered Week 4 at 3-0 against a 1-2 division opponent. One loss in October doesn't define a season, and I won't pretend this is a referendum on Allen, who has spent years being the reason the Bills win these games. But the criticism lands on the decision, not the quarterback. The throw was forced. It was the last mistake of the game, which makes it the loudest.
The sharper number: Buffalo let a quarterback who fumbled three times beat them. Maye recovered two of his own and gave the ball away once. If the Bills turn one more of those loose balls into a possession, nobody is writing about Allen's throw at all. That's the part of this loss the film will show and the reaction won't. The Bills get a week to fix it, and the division gap is exactly one game thin.
