ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was straight to the point when asked about his team's offensive first-half issues during its 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
"We just played sloppy," Allen said after the game.
Buffalo suffered its first loss of the season, saw its 14-game home winning streak end and missed an opportunity to take a significant lead in the AFC East. The Bills had 11 penalties and three turnovers, including two fumbles in the first quarter. They didn't score on three drives that ended in Patriots territory.
"Not going to win a football game turning the ball over three times in our red zone," Allen said. "Gave them one in their red zone. That's just bad football, and we just did not play good tonight."
The first fumble occurred on a botched handoff from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox. It appeared there was a miscommunication, and Bills coach Sean McDermott confirmed it was supposed to be a handoff to Knox.
Wide receiver Keon Coleman committed the second fumble after he caught a pass from Allen that gave the Patriots the ball at the Buffalo 11-yard line.
Allen had the Bills' final turnover, throwing his second interception of the season when the Bills were in the red zone in the third quarter.
"We shouldn't have even been in it with three turnovers," Allen said. "So, again, that's just ... piss-poor offense."
Allen finished 22-of-31 for 253 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He led the team with 53 rushing yards on nine carries.
The defense recovered a fumble by Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, but Buffalo finished with more turnovers than New England, ending an NFL-record streak of 26 straight games not losing the turnover margin.
The Bills' eight penalties in the first half tied their second most since McDermott became coach in 2017.
"We got to clean up the penalties," linebacker Shaq Thompson said. "... If we get a turnover, we got to go make a turnover. We got to make sure it evens out."
The Bills' 20 points were their fewest in a home game since they scored 14 in Week 6 of the 2023 season against the New York Giants. Buffalo had scored more than 20 points in 16 straight home games, the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest since the Patriots' streak of 25 from 2016 to 2019.
"We didn't play our game tonight, and that's frustrating," McDermott said. "And this is a pivotal learning opportunity for us right here. So, there were some other moments where I just feel like maybe we were too cute at times. And just overall, we've got to look at some things and just be honest with ourselves and learn from it holistically."