Patriots defense finally forces the Bills to punt again

It took 23 drives over a four-game span, but the New England Patriots defense has finally managed to stop the Buffalo Bills and force a punt.

In the second quarter of the two teams’ Week 13 meeting, New England was able to keep the Bills from moving into scoring range — something it could not do in each of the last two games and change against its division rivals.

Unfortunately, the punt was a good one and traveled for 54 yards to significantly flip field position in Buffalo’s favor. To make matters worse, the Patriots were already down 17-7 at that point in time, and had shown little resistance on offense and defense.

The possession after the punt was no exception: New England went three-and-out — its fourth such drive in the first five possession of the game. But, hey, at least the defense has finally gotten off the schneid again.