FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The final game of the regular season had no playoff implications and the New England Patriots played like that.

The Buffalo Bills won in New England for the first time since 2000, beating the listless Patriots 17-9 Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Buffalo had lost its last 13 road games against the Patriots.

The Patriots finished 12-4 but have a first-round bye and retain home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Buffalo finished 9-7, but did not make the playoffs.

The Patriots listed six starters on their inactive list before the game, including tight end Rob Gronkowski and two offensive linemen, guard Dan Connolly and tackle Sebastian Vollmer.

Tom Brady played the first half, which ended with Buffalo ahead 17-6. Brady completed only 8 of 16 passes for 80 yards and was sacked once, though under constant pressure.

Brady’s replacement, rookie Jimmy Garoppolo, didn’t fare much better in the second half. He was 10 of 17 for 90 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski provided all the scoring for the Patriots, with field goals of 24, 44 and 35 yards. His last one, with 37 seconds left in the third quarter, brought New England within 17-9. It was the first time the Patriots didn’t score a touchdown in a game since Oct. 6, 2013, a 13-6 loss at Cincinnati.

Kyle Orton had an effective game for Buffalo, completing 16 of 23 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, a 6-yarder to Robert Woods just 3:01 into the game.


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