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Facing rookie quarterback Drake Maye and the New England Patriots, the Bills gave up back-to-back touchdowns to start the game in a 14-point hole.

You name it, it went wrong. At the end of the first quarter, the Patriots had a seven-point lead and had run 20 plays to the Bills' six. Those 20 plays produced 127 yards, compared to just 11 for Buffalo. New England went 4 of 4 on third down, and possessed the ball for 12:12, compared to just 2:48 for the Bills.

You get the idea. It was domination of the highest degree.

At that point, it would have been lunacy to think the defense would be the unit that spearheaded Buffalo’s comeback victory, but that’s exactly how it played out in the second half of a 24-21 win at Highmark Stadium.

The win improved the Bills to 12-3 on the season and kept alive the team’s faint hopes of securing the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs. For that to happen, the Bills must win out, and the Chiefs must lose their last two games.

For a time, it looked like the Bills would help the Chiefs wrap up the No. 1 seed on Sunday. Kansas City was in the clubhouse for the week, having defeated Houston on Saturday, and a Bills slip-up would have clinched it.

The Buffalo defense, however, rebounded from its tough start to record takeaways on three straight New England drives in the second half. The last of those went for a touchdown that provided some much-needed breathing room against the Patriots (3-12), who played tougher than their record suggested.

The takeaways started in the third quarter when linebacker Terrel Bernard stripped Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson and fellow linebacker Dorian Williams making the recovery. The Bills took advantage of the short field to get a 50-yard field goal from Tyler Bass that put them ahead for the first time in the game, 17-14.

New England marched right down the field on its ensuing possession, but Maye was intercepted in the Buffalo end zone by reserve safety Cam Lewis – his first career pick.

The next takeaway was the biggest. Maye attempted a backward pass to Stevenson, but the running back couldn’t make the catch, leading to a live ball. Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau knocked down Stevenson, and cornerback Taron Johnson jumped on the ball for a touchdown.

Here are some more observations from Buffalo’s win:

2. The defense was shorthanded. Cornerback Rasul Douglas, linebacker Matt Milano and safeties Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp were all declared inactive 90 minutes ahead of kickoff. Douglas (knee), Rapp (neck) and Hamlin (rib) sat out for the second straight week, meaning the secondary was once again down three starters. Milano, meanwhile, missed his first game after playing in three straight upon returning from injured reserve because of a torn biceps, which he'd suffered in the summer. Milano suffered a groin injury in the Bills' win at Detroit last week.

Douglas, Milano, Hamlin and Rapp all practiced on a limited basis all week and were listed as questionable for the game, but the Bills elected to play it safe in an effort to have them ready for the postseason.

Veteran wide receiver Curtis Samuel was also inactive for the Bills. Samuel is dealing with a rib injury. He also practiced on a limited basis during the week and was listed as questionable for the game.

3. Baylon Spector got the start, but not the finish. With Milano out, the Bills turned to Spector instead of Williams as the starter at linebacker next to Terrel Bernard. That was a bit of a surprise, although it may have been related to the elbow injury Williams suffered last week. He was limited in practice all week and questionable for the game on the final injury report.

Williams came into the game on third down in the first half, but he took over an every-down role in the second half because Spector left the game with a calf injury, which has been a recurring problem for him this season.

4. David Edwards was hurt. The Bills’ starting left guard left the game with a little more than 1 minute left in the third quarter. He was replaced by Alec Anderson. Edwards was hurt blocking on a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Josh Allen that went for a first down.

Edwards was able to return to the game.

5. Spencer Brown’s penalty problems continued. The Bills’ starting right tackle has had a strong season, but has had a season-long problem taking penalties. He was called for two more against the Patriots, bringing his total on the season to 13. Penalties were an overall big problem for the Bills, as officials threw 12 flags against them for a loss of 75 yards.

6. The special teams’ problems continued. The Patriots successfully ran a fake punt in the second quarter on fourth-and-1 from their own 23-yard line, snapping the ball to protector Dell Pettus, who ran straight up the gut for 2 yards.

7. Khalil Shakir made a big play. The Bills’ best receiver made a good catch … on special teams. Shakir recovered the Patriots’ onside kick attempt with a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter. At that point, the Patriots trailed by three, 24-21, but still possessed all three timeouts. Running back Ty Johnson put the game away on the first play of the ensuing drive with a 12-yard run.

Johnson then ran three more times for 9 yards, and on fourth-and-1 from the New England 27-yard line with 10 seconds remaining, Allen ran a quarterback sneak to gain 2 yards, allowing the clock to run out.

8. A pair of rookies were inactive. Offensive tackle Tylan Grable and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter were inactive in decisions not related to injury. Grable had been activated to the 53-man roster from injured reserve ahead of the game, so it wasn't a surprise he was inactive.

It was a bit of a surprise that Carter wasn’t in the gameday lineup. Veterans Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson were instead active along the defensive line.