It took a victory in the last game of the season for the New England Patriots to show coach Jerod Mayo the door.
Joe Milton III passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his NFL debut, and the Pats lost the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft with a 23-16 win over the AFC champions. Buffalo Bills, Sunday.
The Patriots (4-13) ended a six-game streak where a loss would have guaranteed them the top pick in the draft. Instead, they fell to fourth behind the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.
Despite this success against a division rival, Mayo left New England after one season at the helm of the team. Adam SchefterESPN reported the news an hour after the Pats’ victory.
The latter suffered 13 defeats after selecting Drake Maye third overall in the last draft.
Mayo, a former Patriots linebacker, was hired to replace Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with New England.
Milton finished 22 of 29 for 241 yards in relief of rookie Maye, who played just one game. Kayshon Boutte had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
New England rested veterans, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Tight end Hunter Henry was inactive due to a foot issue.
Mitchell Trubisky finished 15 of 21 for 101 yards for the Bills (13-4), who had already clinched second place in the American. Buffalo left several regular players on the bench.
Quarterback Josh Allen made just one offensive play, handing off to James Cook to extend the streak of consecutive starts to 115 games, including the playoffs. Trubisky played until late in the third quarter, when he was replaced by Mike White.
Cook rushed for his 16th touchdown of the season to tie the Bills’ franchise record, owned by OJ Simpson.
