One more game to go in what has been a dismal season for the New England Patriots

It was brutal, unlike any season in recent history for the perennial power New England Patriots.

And, with only a visit from the New York Jets Sunday, the Bill Belichick era suffered this campaign like no other. Now at 6-10 and in third place in the National Football League AFC East that they dominated with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady at quarterback, there will be no postseason for the first time in a dozen years as the East champion Buffalo Bills just rolled it up, 38-9, in Foxborough Sunday nightto sweep the Pats for the first time since 1999.

The last division opponents to sweep New England was the Miami Dolphins and Jets in 2000. The Patriots’ 19 straight seasons without losing both games to a divisional foe was an NFL record, and they will wind down with their initial losing year since Belichick became head coach in 2000. After that, it was Brady showing the way to six winning Super Bowls.

He and his gifted roster included stellar players at about every position. But when Brady, now 45 years old, left the cold, snowy winter and relocated after last season to the sunny skies of Florida to quarterback the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, down went New England and its frontrunning fans while Brady got the Bucs into the playoff with a wild card berth after finishing second behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. It was thought that signing free agent Cam Newton from the Carolina Panthers would bring more success, but it was instead a huge disappointment.

From day one, Belichick would pull Newton for inexperienced back-up Jarrett Stidham. And versus Buffalo, Newton was removed in the third quarter after a touchdown run, the first to reach the end zone in the last three tilts for the Pats, who had only a pair of field goals before this. Newton left after completing only 10 attempts in five tries for 34 yards, the lowest passing yards being the fewest by New England starter quarterback since 1993.

The Bills, in turn, had no trouble moving the ball against a Patriots defense that was missing linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, both inactive with shoulder injuries. And after years of dealing with Brady, Buffalo now has third-year starter Josh Allen doing the same. This time, he threw for four touchdowns, three to leading receiver Stefon Diggs, and totaled 320 aerial yards. Diggs set a franchise single-season record for receiving yards as he made nine catches for 145 yards.

As for Allen, the former Wyoming standout, he now has 34 touchdown passes, surpassing Jim Kelly to set a franchise single-season mark. And with his eighth 300-yard game, he also surpassed Drew Bledsoe’ssingle-season team record of seven. Plus, his team also has hopes of securing a top-three seed for the AFC playoffs. And second place Miami (10-5) currently has the last wild card spot, and plays at 12-3 Buffalo Sunday,

Although New England had 145 rushing yards to the Bills’ 130, it had but 56 passing yards and struggled to move the ball for most of the night with running back Damien Harris out for the second game in a row with an ankle injury. In the remaining statistics, possession belonged heavily to the visitors, 39:41, to 20:19, as did first downs, 31-11, total yards, 472-201, punt returns, 4-25 to 1-5, and while Allen had plenty of time to find receivers, the Patriots were sacked three times for a minus 22 yards. But New England did have more penalties, 4 for 25 yards to 3 for 27.

It was 3-3 after one quarter, both kicking field goals. But in the second quarter, Allen took over by throwing two touchdown passes and getting a 5-yard TD run from Andy Moss, and it was 24-9 after Newton ran the ball in. In the third and fourth quarters, the Pats were shut out and the Bills scored once each to up the lead to the final score and the total yards were the most allowed by New England this season. Fortunately for the home team, the usual die-hard fans were little, which made it even easier for the visitors who had to contend with packed crowds there through the years.

Not only was it a no contest for the Patriots, but they also counted seven injuries to only one for Buffalo. Down went New England defensive end Tashawn Bower with a first quarter neck injury, linebacker Josh Ucheexited with a second-quarter football injury, linebacker Terez Hall left in the third quarter with an ankle injury, safety Devin McCourtywent out in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, center David Andrew left shorty after with with a calf injury, right guard Shaq Mason also in the third quarter with a football injury, and linebacker Anfernee Jackson left in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.

The lone Buffalo injury was safety Jordan Poyer helped off the field in the second quarter to be evaluated for a head injury.

But in all, it was just a brutal setback that caused Belichick to react with anger, especially through the last three quarters of this COPID-19 season, and to make matters worse, Sunday’s finale will bring the Jets, who after losing their first 13 times, have put together back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns, which puts them on a sudden high and New England on an unprecedented low. Does it miss Brady,? It appears so.