Who Was New England Patriots' 'Spark Plug' Against Buffalo Bills?

Jabrill Peppers' first-quarter interception helped the New England Patriots build early momentum on their way to an upset of the Buffalo Bills.

With a 1-5 start to the season and a matchup against an AFC East rival in the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots needed a spark from someone if they were going to compete against of the league's best teams.

New England got that much-needed boost from safety Jabrill Peppers in its 29-25 win Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Peppers had eight tackles along with an interception and a pass defended. 

"I try to be the spark plug in any way possible," Peppers said. "That was a play I recognized on tape, just had to play the proper technique and catch the ball. I was happy I could get the team going a little bit.

"It's hard to win in this league. We work hard, but working hard doesn't guarantee anything, it just gives you a chance. We executed when it mattered today." 

Jabrill Peppers intercepted Josh Allen's first pass of the game in the Patriots' upset of the Bills / USA Today Sports

With just under 10 minutes left in the first quarter, Peppers jumped in front of a Josh Allen pass that was intended for Dawson Knox. The turnover led to an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown that gave the Patriots a 10-0 lead. 

PICKING PEPPERS!!@JabrillPeppers | #ForeverNE

📺 on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/3j1nqRNxfR

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 22, 2023

The Patriots (2-5) defense turned in one of their better performances this season, holding the potent Bills (4-3) offense to just 10 points in three quarters. Eventually Allen broke through and helped lead Buffalo to 15 straight points to give them a 25-22 lead with 1:58 left in the game. 

With its backs up against the wall similar to last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots offense managed to come through this time. Mac Jones led the offense down the field and found Mike Gesicki for a game-winning one-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the game.

"We watched those guys take ownership in practice," Peppers said of the offense. "They had a great week of preparation. Mac had a great week, the tight ends, the receivers and it showed tonight. They picked us up. I'm happy for Mac. He fought through adversity, came out and had a brilliant game and controlled the ball well."

With the win, Bill Belichick now has 300 career wins in the regular season. He joins Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318) as the only NFL head coaches to accomplish the feat.

"He's probably the best to do it," Peppers said. "He knows how to win, coaches the right way, he knows how to push the right buttons to get guys going and we're going to continuously play hard for him."

New England will look to keep its momentum going on Sunday when they face the Miami Dolphins (5-2) at Hard Rock Stadium at 1 p.m.

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