ORCHARD PARK - During the week leading up to Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, Dion Dawkins talked about how happy everyone associated with the Buffalo Bills is these days.
And why not? The Bills had won 11 of their first 14 games, they’d scored 30 points in eight in a row which tied an NFL record, they’d clinched their fifth straight AFC East division title before the Thanksgiving leftovers had been consumed, and Josh Allen had recently gotten engaged to a Hollywood starlet.
But during the first half at bitterly cold Highmark Stadium, happy was about the furthest emotion anyone was feeling among the Bills and their fans as the Patriots - one of the worst teams in the NFL who started the day eight games behind Buffalo in the standings - essentially had their way on both sides of the ball in taking a 14-7 lead into the warmth of the locker room.