The New England Patriots are no longer the punching bag team of the AFC East division.

After spending the last five years being treated as little brother to the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots rolled into Orchard Park and punched big brother in the mouth. The game had everything—great defense, highlight reel offensive plays, big momentum swings and the crowning of a new primetime star who went toe-to-toe with the reigning NFL MVP.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye completed a game-winning drive to knock off Josh Allen and the Bills in a 23-20 win on the road at Orchard Park. It was a signature win for the second-year signal-caller against arguably the best team in the league.

And Maye wasn’t alone.

Four-time Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs had a massive performance in his return to Buffalo by hauling in 10 receptions for 146 yards in the game. Emotions were clearly high for Diggs, who served as Allen’s No. 1 receiver for the four years he spent in Buffalo. However, this time, he arrived as a member of the rival Patriots and helped Maye hand Allen his first loss of the season.

The Patriots’ defense deserves a lot of credit for the win as well. They forced three turnovers, including a Marcus Jones interception on Allen. The unit also held Bills running back James Cook to 49 yards rushing. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez came up big late in the game by forcing two incompletions on back-to-back pass attempts by Allen.

Even after a major victory, there are still plenty of things for the Patriots to clean up moving forward. They had a few backbreaking penalties late in the game, including an unnecessary roughness on rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, a roughing the passer on defensive tackle Cory Durden and a false start on offensive tackle Vederian Lowe.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson also had another fumble. However, he bounced back by scoring two touchdowns for the team.

It was far from a perfect performance.

And yet, the Patriots still managed to come out with the victory. An argument could be made that it was the team’s biggest victory since the 2021 season.

The Patriots will take some time to celebrate the win and quickly shift their focus to the Week 6 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Instant analysis of Patriots stunning Bills in 23-20 road upset