It had to be Stefon Diggs. In his return to Highmark Stadium, the New England Patriots’ wide receiver dominated his former team, single-handedly challenging the notion that the Bills’ offense was more potent without him. The very receiver once pushed away from Buffalo’s locker room came back to haunt them, and no one could be more happier than the Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel who bet on the 31-year-old wide receiver when almost no one wanted to.

Having spent four of his best NFL seasons at Highmark Stadium, Diggs ended the night with 10 catches on 12 targets for 146 yards. No other Patriots player even came close, with the veteran piling up 100 more yards than any of his teammates.

A 19-yard grab on the sideline here, a tough catch served as the foundation for Drake Maye. The sophomore QB was supposed to be rattled under the lights. Instead, he dominated the game along with Diggs. With the game tied and just over two minutes left, Maye went a perfect 6-for-6  for 90 yards on the game-winning drive.

While the Bills’ “balanced” attack sputtered with three turnovers and 11 penalties on its way to a season-low 20 points, New England’s strategy of targeting its top playmaker proved superior. The highlight?

12-YD strike to Diggs, where Maye was literally being dragged to the turf by a defender. He extended the play and his team’s season, setting up Andres Borregales’s 52-yard dagger. And while many expected whether Diggs’ performance was a revenge, the Patriots’ WR made his stance clear. 

Stefon Diggs deals with the receipt

During the postgame presser, when asked if the game was personal to him, Diggs did not mince his words. “100 percent,” Diggs said. “Obviously, I love those guys. Still got a good relationship with those guys. But I love the game of football more.”

With Drake Maye and Diggs playing to their potential, one may want to believe that the dark days in Foxborough are over. For weeks, we’ve heard about Maye’s flashes on RedZone. Now, a national audience saw him go toe-to-toe with Josh Allen and not blink.

But the rub for Buffalo is that it wasn’t just Maye. The Bills hurt themselves all night. The most back-breaking was Marcus Jones jumping a route in the red zone to pick off Allen in the 3rd quarter. New England took that gift and marched 90 yards for a score.

The Pats defense, patched together with free agents, held one of the league’s most explosive offenses to just 20 points. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez and DT Milton Williams were standout performers. Now at 3-2, New England sits just one game behind Buffalo in the AFC East standings.

Diggs provided a benchmark performance, and his QB rose to the occasion. For the Bills, the consequences of the offseason trade were made clear, and the AFC East landscape has become decidedly more competitive.