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WATCH: Buffalo Bills Force 4 Turnovers in First Quarter vs. New England Patriots

The Buffalo Bills defense started strong, intercepting New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe three times early.

Anthony Licciardi

In this story:

The Buffalo Bills started their Week 17 contest with the New England Patriots in just about the worst way possible: allowing a kick return touchdown on the first play of the game.

Since then, though, things have swung in Buffalo’s favor, granting it easy red zone possessions.

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© Brad Mills, USA TODAY

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver intercepted Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe’s first pass of the day.

The ricochet fell into the red-hot defensive tackle’s hands and immediately stunted any momentum New England generated. The Bills would get on the board with a field goal thanks to the earlier turnover, cutting the lead to 7-3.

With 8:41 remaining in the first quarter, Zappe found his second interception of the day, before he registered a completion. Rasul Douglas’ interception once again set the offense up, as the disaster put Buffalo in the red zone. As Bills Mafia has seen so many times before, quarterback Josh Allen finished the drive with a rushing touchdown.

That gave Buffalo a quick 10-7 lead. After two turnovers in the first seven minutes of game action, things somehow got worse for the Patriots,

Zappe’s first completion went to tight end Pharaoh Brown. The relief of getting into the box score was short-lived. Brown fumbled on his way to the ground. Cornerback Christian Benford forced and recovered the fumble.

Buffalo would cash in again, though some may be disappointed by the lack of touchdowns. Tyler Bass’ second field goal of the day gave them a 13-7 lead before the first quarter would come to a close.

Now it's 20-14 ... and the Bills have stolen yet another interception, for four early takeaways.

Bills BREAKING: Von Miller OUT vs. Patriots - But Why?

Simply put, if the defense keeps playing like this, it doesn’t matter how many touchdowns the offense can score.

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Anthony Licciardi
ANTHONY LICCIARDI

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