New England Patriots QB Drake Maye has drawn a lot of flak recently for his play, especially his touchdown-to-turnover ratio, which was 1 passing touchdown to 7 turnovers before last week’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots handed Buffalo their first loss of the season in a crucial AFC East battle, putting the Patriots within one game of the 3-1 Bills instead of three games behind.

Maye led the charge with a strong performance and came up big in big moments, including a game-winning drive capped by a one-handed catch from Efton Chism III.

Head Coach Mike Vrabel praised Maye’s toughness and his confidence that he had in the starter. He stuck with Maye after his early-season slump, and it paid off in one of the year’s biggest games.

“I’m happy for him, I’m proud of him. He deserves all the credit. However things have been, only what we do next matters. Sometimes that’s hard for everybody to understand, but I think he really took that to heart,” said the coach.

Vrabel also praised his leadership and ability to compete after Maye still coughed up two turnovers in their 29-26 win. An interception and a lost fumble will add to his turnover tally this season, but his 269 passing yards and three touchdowns were key to the win.

Fumbles remain an issue for Maye, and he may not be able to get away with them for the rest of the season. Maye only lost one fumble last week, but did have three total (recovering two of them).

The Patriots host the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders this week, fresh off their primetime loss to their own division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders have surprised so far and beat the Patriots early last season.

Joe Brady will be the new Buffalo Bills head coach, promoting him from offensive coordinator. Brady will try to do what Sean McDermott couldn’t: get to a Super Bowl with Josh Allen.

Brady, 36, has been with the Bills since 2021 and has built a strong connection with Allen. Brady was the Bills’ quarterback coach in 2021 and 2022 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023 after Ken Dorsey was fired mid-season.

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Brady was previously the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers before joining the Buffalo Bills, but before that, he was the passing game coordinator for the historic 2019 LSU Tigers National Championship team.

According to Adam Schefter, the Bills are eyeing the Broncos defensive pass coordinator, Jim Leonhard, to be the team’s next defensive coordinator. This would be a huge addition for Brady and the Bills, as Leonhard is a highly coveted defensive mind.

The Bills are desperate to reach the Super Bowl and hope that keeping Brady and promoting him again will help them achieve their goals. The Bills have not missed the playoffs since 2018, so the expectations are huge and the pressure is on Brady to deliver.

Former Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is reportedly losing ground at the Buffalo Bills’ training camp. The deep threat receiver signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal with Buffalo in May but is no longer a sure thing to earn a spot on the final roster.

Buffalo signed Valdes-Scantling, a two-time Super Bowl Champion, with the expectation that he could provide quarterback Josh Allen with a dangerous downfield threat. But after starting training camp taking first-team reps, the 29-year-old has tumbled down the depth chart.

The Bills’ receiving core is still finding its way after Stefon Diggs’ departure, but Valdes-Scantling is still competing with (and reportedly losing out to) rookie Keon Coleman, fellow free agent acquisitions Curtis Samuel and Chase Claypool, and veterans Khalil Shakir and Mack Hollins. Young tight end Dalton Kincaid is also shaping up for a career season, while veteran Dawson Knox remains an option.

Despite Valdes-Scantling’s dio to second- and third-team status, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady said Tuesday that the team was simply taking more time to teach the offense to the veteran receiver.

“One of your older guys, he’s going down there with some of the rookies, but it has nothing to do with performance,” Brady told reporters. “It’s more of, like, I want to make sure you get these plays and you’re getting enough time on task to be able to feel it and roll.”

While Valdes-Scantling’s stock is in an uncertain state, young receiver Tyrell Shavers is on the rise and is reportedly getting more first-team reps than many expected. Shavers, who went undrafted in 2023 out of San Diego State, has been treading water on the Bills’ practice squad for the past year but is currently having a breakout summer in training camp. He remains a long shot to make the roster but is turning heads going into the preseason.

The Bills clinched a NFL Wildcard playoff berth with a 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. This marks only the second time in 20 years the Bills have reached the postseason.

The BIlls looked great on defense, never allowing Pittsburgh to get into a rhythm. Tre’Davious White lead the way for Buffalo with two interceptions and four tackles.

The Steelers relied on third string quarterback Devlin Hodges who replaced Mason Rudolph after the latter’s poor outing in a November 24 game against the Bengals. After last night’s terrible performance it wouldn’t be surprising if Rudolph is named the starter ahead of next week’s matchup against the Jets. Hodges finished the game throwing 23-38 for 202 yards with one touchdown pass and four interceptions. His quarterback rating of 43.5 was his worst of the season.

“You hate to lose, but I think after the first loss, how you respond is going to define who I am. I mean, yeah, I’m disappointed right now, but in a couple days I’m still going to be who I am. I’m still going to be confident, still going to know that I can get the job done,” Hodges said.

The Steelers couldn’t capitalize on their interception and only turnover of the game. After a bad snap in the redzone, Hodges tried to hand off the ball, but it wasn’t secured properly resulting in a recovered fumble by the Bills with two minutes left in the half. The Bills only allowed two scoring drives all game. One in the first half resulting in a field goal, and another early in the third quarter resulting in a touchdown.

Josh Allen didn’t have a stellar game, but did enough to get his team over the hump with a couple of big throws. He hit John Brown for multiple completions downfield, and hooked up with Tyler Kroft on a third down touchdown pass in the redzone during the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 17-10 lead. Allen finished with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and an interception to go along with 139 passing yards. Brown finished with 7 catches for 99 yards.

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As the Bills’ jet landed in Buffalo at 2 a.m., hundreds of fans were waiting to greet the team. The “Bills Mafia” were going nuts in 25 degree weather as Allen took off his headphones nodding aggressively in their direction. He proceeded to greet the fans and took a “group selfie” with them. The Bills fan are right to be excited because the team hasn’t won ten or more games in a season since 1999. Their 10-4 record guarantees a wild-card spot, but they are still in the running to catch the AFC East division leading Patriots.

The 2019 NFL preseason is entering its third week, and here is what you need to know about the next 16 games scheduled.

On Thursday night, the Green Bay Packers will visit the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Eagles will visit the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals will visit the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets will visit the Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders will visit the Arizona Cardinals.

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Last week, teams that won behind strong performances from their rookies and/or other new players were the New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots, the Carolina Panthers, the Tennessee Titans and the Raiders.

Other teams that will face off include the Giants and the Chicago Bears, the Bills vs. the Panthers and the Dolphins vs. the Buccaneers on Friday night. On Saturday, two games include the Cleveland Browns vs. the Indianapolis Colts and the Patriots vs. the Titans. Also playing each other are the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos (on Monday, Aug. 19), and the New Orleans Saints vs. the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

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On Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys will visit the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions will visit the Houston Texans, while the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tickets for these games start as low as $6, $8 and $11 on stubhub.com, and go as high as $299 for some contests like the Packers at Ravens game in Baltimore. Get your tickets to NFL preseason games now before they sell out!

Full NFL preseason Week 3 schedule:

Thursday, August 15

Philadelphia Eagles @ Jacksonville Jaguars—7 p.m., WJAX, WCAU
New York Jets @ Atlanta Falcons—7:30 p.m., WCBS, WUPA
Green Bay Packers @ Baltimore Ravens—7:30 p.m., WBAL, WTMJ
Cincinnati Bengals @ Washington Redskins—7:30 p.m. WKRC, WRC
Oakland Raiders @ Arizona Cardinals—8 p.m. ESPN

Friday, August 16

Buffalo Bills @ Carolina Panthers—7 p.m. WKBW, WSOC
Chicago Bears @ New York Giants—7:30 p.m., NFL Network, WNBC, WFLD
Miami Dolphins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers—7:30 p.m., WFOR, WTSP, WFTV

Saturday, August 17

Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts—4 p.m. NFL Network, WEWS
New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans—7 p.m. WBZ, WKRN
Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers—7:30 p.m. NFL Network, KCTV, KDKA
Detroit Lions @ Houston Texans—8 p.m. WJBK, KTRK
Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Rams (In Honolulu, Hawaii)—10 p.m. NFL Network, KTVT, KCBS

Sunday, August 18

New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Chargers—4 p.m. CBS
Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings—8 p.m. FOX
San Francisco 49ers @ Denver Broncos—ESPN

Buffalo Bills kicker Dan Carpenter deals with a windy stadium usually in Ralph Wilson Stadium during Bills home games. Yesterday in their season finale against the New York Jets, the wind picked up during the game to give both kickers a hard time when kicking PATs and field goals.

After a two-yard touchdown by running back Karlos Williams in the second quarter, Carpenter had a chance to give the Bills a 14-point lead. For the sixth time this season, he missed the extra point. When returning to the sideline, Carpenter went to slam his helmet on the ground in frustration. Still frustrated, he did not notice his helmet bouncing off the ground and it ended up striking him in the face.

Eventually, the Bills would go on to win the game with a 22-17 defeat on the Jets, knocking them out of playoff contention in the wild-card slot.

Photo: DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 05: Dan Carpenter #2 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates the game winning field goal against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on October 05, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. the Buffalo Bills win 17-14. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

At first, it was an unusual experience for NFL fans to wake up early to watch a NFL football game at 9:30 a.m. EST, but it was another thing to have to stream the game on a computer. This was because Yahoo was streaming the game live on its website because of the game happening at Wembley Stadium in London, showing what seemed to be a close-knit game through the first quarter between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

With Bills quarterback EJ Manuel at the helm replacing starter Tyrod Taylor because of injury, a forced fumble and two interceptions haunted the Bills with a glaring 27-3 deficit before scoring a touchdown and field goal to bring it to 27-13 at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, the Bills then scored 18 unanswered points, which included a 58-yard pass from Manuel to wide receiver Marcus Easley. The Jaguars on the offensive side was a certain help to the explosive defensive stance, with quarterback Blake Bortles going 13-29 for 182 yards and throwing two touchdowns and one interception.

Bills head coach Rex Ryan was not happy with the performance the Bills gave saying, “Anything that could go wrong did go wrong and we are still able to overcome it to take a lead, and then we blew it.” The Bills, who are 3-4 for the season, have a bye week coming up this week and with a couple hurt players still out, Ryan finishes saying, “I’ve never known a team that needed a bye week so badly.” The Jaguars, on the other hand, are now 2-5 and also have a bye week before squaring off against the New York Jets on November 8.

PHOTO: LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: T.J. Yeldon #24 of the Jacksonville Jaguars scores a touchdown during the NFL game between Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills at Wembley Stadium on October 25, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)