Patriots cost themselves No. 1 pick by beating Bills
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — 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.
Quarterback and MVP candidate Josh Allen played one snap, handing off to James Cook to extend 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.
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.
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.
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.