ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – A return to relevance.

That’s what a 23-20 win over the Bills, on the road in a hostile environment at Highmark Stadium in primetime on national television on “Sunday Night Football” represented for the Patriots.

For the first time in years, the Patriots matter. They’re 3-2 and just beat the Super Bowl favorites in their home stadium.

It was also young quarterback Drake Maye’s first career game-winning drive, and it couldn’t have come in a more important moment, outdueling the league’s top quarterback and avoiding turnovers as the opposing fans matched the Bills in all-white attire.

Tied 20-20 with just over two minutes left on the clock, the Patriots drove 37 yards on seven plays before rookie kicker Andy Borregales nailed a 52-yard field goal. The play that will be remembered came first, with Maye being dragged to the turf and somehow getting the pass off to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who looked like the best player on the field against his former team, for a 12-yard gain.

The Bills won the coin toss to start the night but elected to defer, giving the Patriots the ball. After a long 15-yard gain from ex-Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs on the first play of the game, the Patriots couldn’t gain another first down and were forced to punt.

The Bills were driving down the field before a botched handoff led to a fumble, which Patriots rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer quickly jumped on for the recovery.

On the Patriots’ very next snap, quarterback Drake Maye completed a 7-yard pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, but he had the ball punched out for his third fumble of the season. The defense bailed out Stevenson by forcing another punt with a fantastic third-down pass breakup from cornerback Marcus Jones over much taller wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Stevenson was immediately replaced by Antonio Gibson, but he came back onto the field later in the Patriots’ fourth offensive drive, which ultimately ended with another punt.

After a penalty pushed the Bills back to their own 7-yard line, Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane caused Coleman to fumble. It was recovered by safety Jaylin Hawkins for the Patriots’ second takeaway of the game. The Patriots couldn’t gain a first down, but Borregales hit a 30-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

The Patriots’ defense bent but didn’t break and forced a 31-yard field goal from veteran kicker Matt Prater, tying the score at 3-3.

After the Patriots punted again, defensive tackle Milton Williams forced the Bills to punt with a key third-down sack.

The Patriots drove downfield with the help of some Bills penalties. With 4 seconds remaining in the half and at the Bills’ 1-yard line, Maye targeted Hunter Henry for a touchdown, but the veteran tight end wasn’t ready for the ball. With 1 second left, they settled for a field goal to take a 6-3 lead into the half.

The self-inflicted errors subsided for the Bills to start the second half as they drove 71 yards for a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from QB Josh Allen to wide receiver Curtis Samuel to take a 10-6 lead.

The Patriots responded with authority on a five-play, 74-yard drive with two long completions from Maye to Diggs. Stevenson plowed forward for a short touchdown run, and the Patriots took a 13-10 lead.

The Bills got down into the red zone on a 52-yard drive, before Jones made a diving interception on a target over the middle to Khalil Shakir.

Maye and the Patriots’ offense then marched 90 yards on 11 plays with Diggs accounting for 52 yards. Stevenson scored on a pitch left from 7 yards out to put the Patriots ahead 20-10.

Allen reponded with an 8-play, 74-yard march and hit Coleman in the end zone from 2 yards out for his second passing touchdown of the day to cut the Patriots’ lead to 20-17. Back-to-back personal foul penalties on Patriots defensive tackles Cory Durden and Joshua Farmer were costly.

Speaking of costly penalties, Patriots offensive tackle Vederian Lowe was flagged for a false start on third-and-1, pushing the Patriots back before a Maye sack. The Patriots punted to the Bills and, once again, bent but didn’t break to allow a field goal, netting the score at 20-20. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez forced the field goal with a massive third-down pass breakup.

BEST

WR Stefon Diggs: What a game against his former team. Diggs led the way with 10 catches on 12 targets for 146 yards.

QB Drake Maye: The young quarterback went 22-of-30 for 273 yards and orchestrated his first career game-winning drive. He avoided turnovers and moved the ball when it mattered most.

CB Marcus Jones: Jones picked off Allen late in the third quarter on a diving interception. He forced a punt with a key pass breakup over Coleman earlier in the game.

LB Robert Spillane: Spillane forced a fumble from Coleman that led to the Patriots’ first score.

DT Milton Williams: The high-priced free agent forced another punt with a key third-down sack.

WORST

RB Rhamondre Stevenson: The fumbling issues continued. He now has three fumbles in five weeks and 10 fumbles dating to last season. That Stevenson’s fumble came one play after the Bills coughed up the ball to the Patriots made it all the more frustrating. It must be mentioned, of course, that Stevenson did score two touchdowns. The Patriots will need to depend on him regardless of the fumbling issues.

LB Jack Gibbens: A defensive pass interference penalty negated an interception late in the fourth quarter.

DT Cory Durden: The young defensive tackle committed a late hit on Josh Allen early in the fourth quarter.

DT Joshua Farmer: On the very next play, Farmer hit running back James Cook well after the play was over. Farmer did also recover a fumble.

OT Vederian Lowe: Used as a sixth offensive lineman, Lowe was flagged for a false start on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter. On third-and-6, Maye ran out of bounds for a sack, and the Patriots were forced to punt.