Five Best From Sunday's Battle With the Bills
 Garoppolo played well in his first extended action of the season. (USA TODAY Images) |
Sunday's regular season finale against the Bills ended with a 17-9 loss, but despite the outcome there were some things the Patriots can take away from this game as they get set to begin the postseason in two weeks.
1) Garoppolo shows a lot of poise - Tom Brady got the starting nod on Sunday, but Jimmy Garoppolo played the entire second half and did about as much as could be expected. The rookie found himself under duress for most of his outing against a tenacious Bills defense that had him under constant pressure and sacked him three times. Despite that, he still managed to complete 10-of-17 (59%) for 90 yards, and made a couple of gutsy runs, including one that converted a third down and brought Gillette Stadium to their feet after he picked up four yards on a 3rd-and-one. The bad news is, the drive ultimately stalled at the Bills 13 after he tried another run on a 4th-and-1 and got drilled for a loss. Either way, he had some terrific moments while he was out there and considering some of the poor play that's been seen around the league from other inexperienced signal callers, Garoppolo looked more like a veteran than a rookie and it showed with some of his decision-making as well as some of the throws he made. After seeing Aaron Rodgers go down in Sunday's battle with Detroit (although he later returned), Patriots fans can rest a little easier knowing that Garoppolo can come in and at least move the football and not turn it over should Brady ever [gasp] get knocked out of the game. The only knock on the rookie from Sunday's game is that the team failed to score a touchdown while he was in there, which, to be fair, was an issue for Brady as well as the team finished without reaching the end zone against Buffalo.
 Brandon LaFell was among the bright spots for the Patriots offense on Sunday. (USA TODAY Images) |
2) Gostkowski remains solid - The Patriots field goal kicker remained one of the highlights on a day where New England's offense couldn't find the end zone, converting all three field goals that he attempted. Gostkowski connected from 24, 44, and 35 yards on the afternoon, keeping him a perfect 11-of-11 from 20-29 yards on the season, along with 12-of-13 (92%) from 40-49 yards, and 10-of-11 (91%) from 30-39 yards. Overall Gostkowski missed only two kicks all season, and finished with a league best 35 field goals, with his 12 from 40-49 yards as the most in the NFL. Brady said after Sunday's game that he's not concerned about the Patriots recent offensive struggles, and considering that Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski were spectactors, there were obviously reasons why New England wasn't as effective on the offensive side of the football as they normally are. The good news is their kicker appears to be the least of their issues heading into the playoffs.
3) Collins peaking at the right time - Another day, another turnover, and linebacker Jamie Collins has continued to play at an extremely high level in recent weeks. Collins was a big highlight to Sunday's game, including a play where he forced a fumble after fighting off a block and staying with the play, and he even ended up recovering it. He's a player that the Patriots will be counting on quite a bit when the playoffs begin, but Collins has been absolutely outstanding in recent weeks and that continued on Sunday against Buffalo. He's a guy his teammates refer to as a "freak of nature", and he definitely continues to play like one.
4) LaFell remains consistent - With Edelman and Gronkowski sidelined, Brandon LaFell was joined by Brian Tyms and Danny Amendola as the featured players in the Patriots' passing game, and he was once again terrific, although he was seen hobbling off the field in the second half. The good news is despite reports after the game of him being spotted in a walking boot, the veteran responded via Twitter and denied the injury, although he later deleted it. With two weeks to recover, one would hope that he'll be back in the line-up by the time the postseason begins, because he's proven to be so valuable for Brady and the offense. LaFell finishes the regular season with 74 receptions for 953 yards along with seven touchdowns, and it's interesting to note that LaFell actually has the second most receptions for a first down to move the chains with 50 behind Gronkowski (60), and one more than Edelman (49). He's also a guy who catches a lot of balls from Brady on first down, with a team leading 39 receptions, more than Gronkowski (33) and Edelman (32). He's just a terrific possession receiver in an offense that needed a solid contributor, and it should be interesting to see the difference he makes for the Patriots this time around in the playoffs.
5) Allen continues to shine - It's hard not to notice the difference that Ryan Allen makes in the kicking game and his big punts continue to be a massive part of the Patriots' success in changing the battle for field position for the defense. He hit a couple of of big kicks on Sunday that went for 51 yards, and his big leg continues to be a weapon that flies under the radar in terms of his value. Like Gostkowski, Allen's a player who Bill Belichick can count on to come up with a big kick to get the offense out of trouble and give the defense plenty of breathing room at the other end of the field. While it seems strange to give a punter so much praise, it's tough not to considering how solid of a player he's been for this football team and facing better defenses in the weeks ahead, having him on the team will likely make a difference and the Patriots continue to be very fortunate to have him.
New England will next play on January 10th at 4:35pm ET at Gillette Stadium to start the Divisional round of the postseason, although fans will have to wait until after next weekend before we learn who their next opponent will be.
