Week after week it’s felt like the same old story. The Patriots start slow. The Patriots fall behind. The Patriots lose.

Yet on a Sunday that brought no shortage of twists and turns, the most unexpected may have been the way the game began.

The Patriots offense got off to its best start of the season, opening the game with two straight scoring drives to jump out to an early 10-0 lead over the heavily favored Buffalo Bills.

Rookie receiver Demario Douglas powered the quick start with three catches for 35 yards in the opening two drives, and thanks to the interception thrown by Josh Allen on his first pass attempt of the game, the Patriots had a two-score lead before the Bills even really got a chance to touch the ball.

New England tacked on a field goal in the second quarter as well and went into halftime leading 13-3. Considering what a slog it’s been for the Patriots offensively over the past few weeks, Sunday’s fast start was especially satisfying.

“Huge, awesome, it was great for that first series, a couple of explosive plays and staying ahead of the sticks, no negative plays,” said tight end Mike Gesicki. “It was what we’ve been talking about doing and finally went out there and did it.”

The early cushion proved essential after the Bills rallied for three second-half touchdowns, including two in the final six minutes to take a 25-22 lead with 1:58 to play. That set the stage for the big finish, with quarterback Mac Jones leading the Patriots down the field for the game-winning touchdown pass to Gesicki.

All told the Patriots compiled 364 total yards and averaged 6.6 yards per offensive play, the team’s highest average of the season.

“I think it was one of our most consistent offensive performances of the year, we had a couple of long drives last week and today we only punted a couple of times, it wasn’t very many, which is always a good thing,” Bill Belichick said afterwards. “(Bill O’Brien) did a good job all week with the gameplan and the team went in there and played with good competitive level, better fundamentals and better execution, so it’s a good place to start.”

What changed for Mac Jones in Patriots’ first game-winning drive in over two years

A case could be made this wasn’t just one of New England’s best performances this year, but in recent memory. Not only had the Patriots not gotten off to a hot start this season prior to Sunday, but they really didn’t all of last season either.

You could make a case for last year’s Week 17 win over Miami, when the Patriots took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Dolphins tied it 7-7 going into halftime and the game was neck-and-neck after that. Before that New England led Indianapolis 13-0 at halftime in Week 9 but didn’t score in the first quarter, and in Week 5 against Detroit the Patriots led 16-0 at halftime but only managed a field goal in the first.

The last no-doubter was all the way back in Week 17 of the 2021 season, when New England opened a 28-3 halftime lead on the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars in an eventual 50-10 win.

That New England was able to ambush a team like the Bills, a perennial playoff contender against whom the Patriots were 1-6 since 2020 coming in, was especially encouraging. Now the question is whether this was a one-off performance or the start of a major turnaround, and how the Patriots look next weekend against first-place Miami will tell us a lot about this team and its future prospects.

FOXBORO — It’s fair to wonder what exactly took so long for the Patriots to finally move Mike Onwenu to right tackle.

The switch seemingly shored up the Patriots’ offensive line against a team that head coach Bill Belichick deemed the “best pass rush in the league” earlier this week.

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Quarterback Mac Jones had noticeably more time to throw in Sunday’s 29-25 comeback win over the Bills in which he was sacked just once and hit three additional times.

“The offensive line play today really stood out to me,” Jones said. “They made everything work, run game, passing game. I had a couple plays where I dropped my eyes, and that’s not on them, that’s on me.”

Jones played his best game of the season with the improved protection.

“It was just putting everything together,” rookie offensive lineman Sidy Sow said after the game. “And just playing downhill, physical. I feel like sometimes it takes a little while for offensive linemen, five guys to figure out how to play, but today I think we put it all together, and we had a good game.”

Onwenu, who started four games at right guard before being active in an emergency setting last week, was moved to right tackle, where he has thrived in the past but hadn’t played in a game since 2021. Sow started in place of Onwenu at right guard, and 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange returned from injury to play left guard. Trent Brown stayed at left tackle, and David Andrews started at center.

The Patriots have been hesitant to move Onwenu from right guard, in part because he missed most of the summer with an ankle injury. They felt it would be putting too much on his plate to move him to his second-best position as he returned from an injury. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Riley Reiff, who was seemingly signed in free agency to start at right tackle this offseason, was placed on injured reserve this week after playing just one game at guard. Calvin Anderson, also signed in free agency, was benched after two games. Vederian Lowe, who was acquired via trade before the season, struggled in his four starts at right tackle. Sow was moved back to his college position of guard, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr., also acquired via trade before the season, is also on injured reserve. The Patriots signed Conor McDermott back to the practice squad this week, but he wasn’t elevated before the game.

Belichick didn’t address why he moved Onwenu to right tackle, and he was noncommittal if he would stay on the edge.

“We’ll see,” Belichick said. “I’ll talk to Mike about it and see how it goes.”

Onwenu said after the game, “wherever I’m needed, I’m good.”

It’s clearly a collaborative decision between Onwenu and the team where he plays.

“Our first padded practice, I was asked if I felt comfortable enough,” Onwenu said. “I practiced it throughout the week, and they made the final decision.”

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was asked back on media day which player he felt was primed to make a “leap” this season for his franchise.

Anthony Edwards, he noted, was an obvious response. The young superstar guard is seemingly ascending to new heights every season.

But that wasn’t Connelly’s answer.

“You know who had a great summer and isn’t getting talked about enough is Nickeil,” Connelly said.

Which is fitting, because Nickeil Alexander-Walker wasn’t discussed much when he arrived in Minnesota. He was an afterthought for many in the trade that brought Mike Conley to the Timberwolves to replace D’Angelo Russell as the team’s floor general.

Alexander-Walker didn’t really enter the Wolves’ conscience on a grand scale until he was pushed into starter duty in Minnesota’s second play-in game against Oklahoma City last season, when he was tasked with guarding his cousin — star Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — as Minnesota was without Jaden McDaniels after McDaniels went down for the season in the regular-season finale.

Alexander-Walker shut down his cousin. He then made life difficult for Denver’s Jamal Murray in Minnesota’s lone playoff series.

Then, he played a large role for Team Canada, as Canada brought home a bronze medal from this summer’s World Cup.

The star of the 25-year-old guard, who signed a two-year deal to stay in Minnesota this offseason, continues to rise. And it all started with that win over the Thunder last season.

“I think it’s unbelievable. I think it’s great. I’ve never seen a player gain so much confidence, and rightfully so, from one game,” Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori said. “He’s found a role, he knows he’s going to play, he knows his niche is defense. He can simplify his game, and I think that’s led to his confidence. He’s had some success, he knows that Finchy and the rest of us believe in him.”

Connelly said Alexander-Walker has “All League” defensive potential. His recent showings suggest as much. Pair him with McDaniels and Edwards, and the Timberwolves suddenly sport three potentially premier perimeter defenders.

Alexander-Walker wins with relentlessness and physicality. The latter, he noted, hasn’t always been a big part of his game.

“As I’ve gotten better, I’ve learned just small things about playing a lot of high-volume players. And one thing I can do is, with physicality as much as you can, you wear him down,” he said. “That allows you to make things difficult. You don’t want to give them a rhythm. Because with a rhythm, it’s going to be a long night.”

Also playing to his advantage is the way he studies the game. Alexander-Walker’s approach is beyond reproach. He’s consistently dialed in to the task at hand. He knows his opponent’s tendencies and how best to mitigate the effectiveness of them.

And now Alexander-Walker believes he knows his own game as effectively as he knows his opponents’. That matters.

“Just kind of being able to make plays, get downhill, guard and just make the right pass. Not so much trying to score or be eager for status like the young player with something to prove,” Alexander-Walker said. “More so just someone who’s finding his footing and carving a role. And then with that small role, making it bigger, and then a bigger one, and just take it one stride at a time, one day at a time.”

Alexander-Walker said his mentality “now more than ever” is what it needs to be. There is no disbelief in regards to his recent success, or belief that his growth will stop anytime soon.

“I’m doing the right things, and I know that these guys are behind me and I’m in a position that I have support and trust and opportunity,” he said.

That that is all finally true entering the fifth year of his NBA career is not a common occurrence. But Alexander-Walker made it happen.

“At some point in time, you had to force yourself to get over that hump. And, at a certain time, you can’t wait for things to change, and you’ve got to be ready for that change,” he said. “And at the same time, having that opportunity to show yourself. And they just go hand in hand, and you start feeding into each other. And, next thing you know, you’re spiraling into the right direction.”

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FOXBORO — Mac Jones’ message to his Patriots teammates during the defining moment of his season was a simple one.

“Take a deep breath, and let’s go do it,” the quarterback said as his offense huddled down by three points with 1:58 left in Sunday’s game against the Bills.

Jones has been in these situations and came up short too many times in his NFL career. His last fourth-quarter comeback and game-winning drive was over two years ago on Oct. 10, 2021, against the Texans.

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But on Sunday, he delivered in the 29-25 win over the Bills, defying odds and orchestrating a seven-play, 74-yard drive before delivering a 1-yard touchdown pass to his “guy,” tight end Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds remaining in the game. They celebrated with the “world’s fastest and most embarrassing griddy,” according to Gesicki.

The game-winning griddy @mikegesicki | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/ixVzUQhl6s

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 22, 2023

Simply leading a game-tying drive culminating with a field goal would have been enough to raise Jones’ standing in the region. A win was obviously even sweeter for the 25-year-old Alabama product.

So, what was different this time than Week 1, when he couldn’t finish a comeback against the Eagles, or Week 2 against the Dolphins or Week 6 against the Raiders or even last season against the Vikings?

“I think when you look at all of them, and I look at all of them a lot, there’s a lot of things that go on around, and I continue to focus on my job and continuing to read the plays that I’m supposed to and just lower my pulse and go out there and execute,” Jones said.

“Half of it’s just belief,” he continued. “And the other half is execution. Gotta continue to grow on that, and I think when you look at the other ones, you look back, it’s hard, right? Because you wish you had more, right? I’m going to look at the positive and grow on this and do it every time I get it.”

Jones went 25-of-30 for 272 with two touchdowns in Sunday’s win. It’s not an exaggeration to call this the best win of the third-year pro’s NFL career. The Patriots — entering the game with a 1-5 record as 7.5-point underdogs to the Bills — had won just two games in which they were not favored with Jones at quarterback during his NFL career. Sunday’s victory was just the second game-winning drive and fourth-quarter comeback of his career.

And all hope looked lost when the Bills took a three-point lead with less than two minutes left in the game.

“Mac made a good check on the blitz, got it to the weak side to (wide receiver DeVante) Parker, hit Pop (wide receiver Demario Douglas) down there, and had a good throw for a touchdown,” head coach Bill Belichick said of the two-minute drive after the game. “A lot of good football.”

Jones had been benched after the score got out of hand in consecutive losses in Weeks 4 and 5 to the Cowboys and Saints. He took a delay of game penalty followed by a safety in the final minutes of a Week 6 loss to the Raiders when he couldn’t outduel former Patriots backup Brian Hoyer in the second half.

It’s certainly too early to make any sweeping generalizations about what this means for Jones this season or even for the future of his career, but it was certainly a step in the right direction and what was needed for a quarterback who had played like one of the NFL’s worst starters through six weeks.

“I thought Mac did a great job today,” center David Andrews said. “Making the right decisions all day. And then obviously the big drive at the end, playing his best football when it mattered.”