Joe Milton III threw for one touchdown and rushed for another in his NFL debut to guide the New England Patriots to a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
New England (4-13) would have secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft had it lost.
Instead, the Patriots got an efficient performance from Milton, who hit on 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards. He got off to a roaring start, rattling off 11 straight completions to begin his professional career.
Kayshon Boutte was Milton’s favorite target, hauling in seven receptions for a career-high 117 yards and a TD.
One of the few mistakes Milton made came early in the third quarter, when the 24-year-old fumbled to give Buffalo (13-4) the ball at the New England 16. Five plays later, James Cook ran for a 1-yard touchdown that provided the Bills with a 16-14 edge with 7:56 left in the third quarter.
However, Buffalo never scored again. Joey Slye booted three field goals for the Patriots — from 41, 42 and 50 yards out — for the 20-16 final. The Bills turned the ball over on downs twice and punted twice on their final four drives.
Mitchell Trubisky threw for 101 yards and a TD on 15-for-21 passing for Buffalo, the No. 2 seed in the AFC during the upcoming playoffs. Ray Davis led the Bills’ rushing attack with 64 yards on 15 carries.
Buffalo worked its way to the Patriots’ 45 on its first drive of the game, but Trubisky failed to move the chains with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1.
Milton then checked in under center for Drake Maye, who got the start for New England and lasted only one drive. Milton proceeded to direct a 13-play, 55-yard march that ended with his 1-yard rush to the end zone.
Trubisky made up for the turnover on downs with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Davis that made it 7-7 with 12:09 remaining in the second quarter.
Milton continued to look comfortable, putting the Patriots up 14-7 by finding a wide-open Boutte over the middle for a 48-yard score with 9:10 remaining before halftime.
Tyler Bass made a 49-yard field goal with 4:39 left in the first half to get the Bills within 14-10.
