New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots picked up another game in the AFC race Thursday night as the Buffalo Bills were stunned on the road in a 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans.
The Bills dropped to 7-4 on the season. More alarming than the Bills dropping two of the last three is the postseason position they are putting themselves in.
Highmark Stadium in Buffalo is a notoriously hard place to play. But with four losses and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and a rematch with the Patriots remaining on Buffalo’s schedule, the Bills are not in an advantageous position to host a playoff game.
This spells trouble for a team that has struggled on the road. As noted by Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar, the Bills are 2-2 on the road while scoring 24.3 points per game, compared to 5-1 at home with 32.5 points per game.
As if dropping a conference game wasn’t bad enough, the Bills also suffered a slew of injuries coming off the short week.
It started with linebacker Terrell Bernard, who went down with a serious-looking arm injury and later emerged from the locker room in a sling.
Then it was rookie first-round pick Maxwell Hairston who was evaluated for a concussion. The evaluation began in the medical tent, and then he was seen going to the locker room.
The final blow came with starting right tackle Spencer Brown. Brown had been dealing with a shoulder injury prior to the game. He reaggravated his shoulder early on and eventually was forced to the sideline during the Bills’ pivotal final possession.
Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, Dion Dawkins and Connor McGovern all entered the medical tent at one point during the night.
Allen was sacked eight times and threw zero touchdowns and two interceptions in the losing effort.
That’s rutal injury luck for the second-place Bills, who surrendered more ground to the Patriots.
