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Some thoughts from Sunday’s loss:
1) Sunday’s atmosphere at Gillette Stadium mirrored the game we saw back in Week 5 out in Buffalo. Prior to the start of that game, Bills fans were fired up, thinking that their team would get a key win against a Division opponent. The energy was intense, and it felt like Josh Allen and the Bills would roll over New England and keep things rolling during what, at the time, was a 4-0 start.
Obviously, that didn’t happen, and it was the Patriots who quieted the crowd and walked away with a 23-20 victory.
Fast-forward nine games, and that win over Buffalo was the second of what turned out to be 10-straight victories for a Patriots team that now had a chance to finish what they started. This time, they had Allen and the Bills at Gillette Stadium on their turf, with the opportunity to deliver the knockout blow and clinch the Division. Like the Bills fans in Week 5, the fans were fired up and fully expected their team to pull off a statement victory and take back control of the AFC East.
It definitely started out that way. New England went out and scored on the opening drive, going 73 yards on 8 plays, including a 30 yard toss to Kayshon Boutte that helped set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Drake Maye to give them an early 7-0 lead. They later followed that up with two more scoring drives, adding two more touchdowns to go up 21-0.
At that point, Sunday’s contest looked like what everyone believed would be, a statement game for a team that was also in the mix for the top seed.
Instead, it fell apart. A long kickoff return helped set up the Bills’ first touchdown of the game, with Buffalo getting on the board before the half as the Patriots led 24-7. The defense then couldn’t get a stop, allowing four more consecutive touchdown drives as the Bills came roaring back, retaking the lead and ultimately walking away with the 35-31 win.
“We weren’t able to get any stops,” said Vrabel after the game. “When we had an opportunity to make a play, we weren’t able to make it. Penalties, and that’s how this game goes. A few small plays make the difference. We were very prepared for this team that we were going to need 60 minutes to beat this team. This is a good football team. We had a lot of good football in there. We had a lot of plays, a few plays that we’d like to have back that we’ll have to learn from them.”
The Patriots put up 285 yards of offense in the first half but managed just 100 in the second, most of which came on a 65-yard touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson. They also managed just three first downs over the final two quarters after converting on 16 of them in the first half.
While the loss was just their third of the season and things are far from over, it’s not the loss itself but the way they lost. That’s the part that makes what happened Sunday a little tougher to deal with.
2) Drake Maye went from hearing chants of “MVP” the last 10 games to likely becoming the most scrutinized player on the roster this week. Maye finished Sunday’s game 14-of-23 (60.9%) for 155 yards while also running the ball in twice for touchdowns, and he had a terrific first half. He was 9-of-11 (81.8%) for 108 yards along with two rushing touchdowns.
However, the second half was a different story. He finished the final two quarters completing just 5-of-12 for 47 yards, including a fourth quarter where he was just 1-of-4, including just 1-of-3 in what would have been a game-winning drive.
Maye admitted that the message this week was that if they got the lead, they needed to finish because the Bills would fight their way back into it.
“Came out of the second half and just got to make a play, pick up the first first down,” said Maye. “I think that’s the biggest thing. There were some throws I wish I could have back. But at the end of the day, got to keep the foot on the pedal and keep it going and don’t let them dictate.”
“We kind of felt like during the week that we had a chance, this was going to happen. Just got to keep our foot on the pedal. It happened the first game, they came back. Just got to make a play and do my part when we had the ball and the chance to win the game, to go win the game.”
Unfortunately, Maye and the offense couldn’t match Allen score-for-score and the result was Buffalo coming away with the victory. For a quarterback with lofty expectations, based on the initial reactions, his inability to pull off a come-from-behind win at home was part of the discussion in the aftermath of a game that unfortunately slipped through their hands.
3) The defense was obviously the story in this game, and for the first time this season, Zak Kuhr, who has been terrific filling in for Terrell Williams, couldn’t come up with an answer to help get his unit off the field. It didn’t help that Carlton Davis suffered a groin injury in this game, which caused him to miss time as Allen started bringing the offense back. Robert Spillane’s absence Sunday also hurt them, as the Patriots didn’t have the depth behind him to help keep Buffalo’s ground game in check.
As the Bills got the running game going, it opened things up both for the Bills’ passing game and for Allen to start making plays with his legs, which also happened multiple times during Buffalo’s stretch of five-straight touchdowns.
“Yeah, we felt like after going through the warmups and everything, that was what was going to be best for him today,” said Vrabel of Spillane. “We need everybody, certainly Robert, and we’ll have to try to get as healthy as we can as quickly as we can.”
Buffalo ended up rushing for 168 yards, with James Cook finishing with 107 yards and two touchdowns. They were also 8-of-14 (57.1%) on third down.
4) The Bills also got some help from the officiating, with several questionable calls and non-calls playing a key role in the loss. One of the more egregious ones Sunday came on what appeared to be a terrific play by Marcus Jones, who made a nice play against Khalil Shakir and got there just as the ball arrived and snatched it away for what looked to be an interception on a 4th-and-3.
Instead, he was called for pass interference, giving the Bills the ball at the New England 8 yard line and set up the go-ahead touchdown for the Bills. They also later flagged Davis on a 3rd-and-4 after the veteran made a nice diving play to breakup the pass, but the officials ruled that he held despite replay showing little contact.
“The same guy thought it was a penalty the same way,” said Vrabel. “I mean, it’s a judgment call. Whether I disagree with it or not, it doesn’t matter. They called it. That’s how this thing goes.”
5) TreVeyon Henderson ended up being a bright spot Sunday, albeit it’s disappointing that it comes in a losing effort. Twice on Sunday Henderson broke off two long touchdown runs. He scored on runs of 65 and 52 yards, with Maye sprinting downfield with him on the second and making a key block to help Henderson finish things off.
It was the second time this season Henderson had runs of both 50+ and 60+ in a game, with Henderson having done it against the Buccaneers in Week 10 when he rushed for touchdown runs of 55 and 69 yards. He ultimately finished the day with 148 yards on 14 carries, along with his two touchdowns.
“Well, I thought we had a good plan,” said Vrabel on how they were able to spring Henderson free for those plays. “I thought our coaches had a good plan, and did a great job.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a good enough plan to slow Buffalo down. With a key game up next in Baltimore, the pressure is on over these final three games. They also didn’t get any help from the Packers against Denver, with the Broncos widening the gap for the top seed in the conference after a 34-26 win over Green Bay on Sunday.
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This loss was all about the Bills and not the Pats. Did the Bills want to hand the AFC east to NE yesterday with almost a month to go in the season…plus… get swept by NE in doing so? Nooooo! Are the Bills even solidly locked into the playoffs? Not quite yet. The Bills team is alike KC in some ways in terms of having the mental toughness that comes with the experience of playing in huge games, and losing some of those big games. The Pats are way far from that, and have already banked a great season. The… Read more »