NEW ENGLAND vs BUFFALO
- Story of the Game – Josh Allen’s Heroics and a Defensive Turnaround Spoil New Englands Dominant First Half
With an all around dominant performance from New England in the first half the Bills were heading into halftime with their only positive takeaway being their kick return unit. Buffalo’s run game struggled which led to them being put in obvious passing downs with a passing game that is entirely reliant on Josh Allen being as close to perfect as possible. Along with the struggling offense their defense looked out coached and schemed from the jump and their inability to stop the opposing team’s run game was even worse. New England on the hand had everything going on both offense and defense as they owned the LOS on both sides and their run game was breaking off explosive after explosive which allowed them to stress the Buffalo defense at every level of the field. The second half on the other hand was a completely different story. The Bills owned the LOS on offense which allowed their run game to finally get going and win on early downs which took just enough pressure off of Josh Allen to lift up this passing game. The Bills defense while being better in the run game up front the biggest difference was how tied together they were on the backend of their defense. Their secondary gave Drake Maye and this passing a lot of trouble which also allowed their defensive line to effect this game later on as well. As for the Patriots their offense lost control of the LOS and had a number of penalties that a drive or two along with their passing game really struggling with the adjustments from HC Sean McDermott and this Buffalo defense. While it was an impressive win for the Bills considering what position they were in heading into the half this way of winning is not sustainable going into the playoffs and if they were to face the Patriots again I wouldn’t expect them to win a game if this is the game script. The Patriots still may be a year away from being a true Super Bowl contender but this team is going to give any team trouble this year despite lacking some talent in the receiving room.
Key Notes for the Bills
While this may be getting old as it’s been a constant talking point for me surrounding the Bills I can’t help to point or the lack of run defense once again. Through 15 weeks of the NFL season the Bills run defense continues to be an issue. Especially along the defensive line where they get moved off the ball nearly every snap. Along with the lack of push and play strength along the front of the Bills defense their linebackers are not moving to the ball and to gaps fast enough to help take advantage of any quick up field wins they do have in the run game. New England took advantage of this all game with both under center and shotguns run through the interior of the Buffalo front. The biggest issue with the run defense this game was the explosives they gave up. Rhamondre Stevenson broke off a couple of very nice 15-20+ yard runs along with rookie TreVeyon Henderson who broke off a 65 yard touchdown. It’s been an issue for years now and it not only continues to be a problem but it’s getting worse. They were able to lean on Josh Allen and his heroics once again to come out of this game with a win but if this is the game plan moving forward, especially in the playoffs, I wouldn’t expect to win the majority of games with this game script.
The defense also looked outmatched in terms of coaching and games plan through the entire first half. McDaniels and this Patriots offense looked like they were 2-3 plays ahead of everything the Bills threw at them and when you pair along with the poor run defense it got ugly quick. But for all the faults and issues I can bring up with this defense through the first half they deserve their respect as they came out and looked like a completely revitalized unit in the second half. Flying to the ball, being tied together in coverage, great post snap rolls and disguises to slow Maye’s processor down, and the defensive line stepping up and making some crucial plays down the stretch the group looked entirely different in all of the right ways.
Josh Allen continues to carry this offense game after game, drive after drive, and play after play. We’re creeping into Mahomes territory with his last 2 years in Kansas Cuty where if Josh is not deadly accurate this passing game doesn’t work. Tied along with Josh and his effect with both his legs and arm in the passing game the Bills’ running game is the motor of this offense. You saw the struggles of this running game early on which echoed across the entire offense. But as the game wore on and the Bills offensive line started to wear on the Patriots defensive front you saw this offense come back to life as the Patriots not only had to focus on Josh and his effect as a runner but now they had to step up and bite on play action fakes which gave more windows for Josh to hit. They’re incredibly one dimensional in their way of winning but when you have a superhuman at QB like this team does you can trust him to make up for the lack of diversity and effectiveness in this offense.
The Bills kickoff return unit was phenomenal this game. They consistently put their offense near midfield and while early on it may not have led to points as their offense struggled that certainly was not due to their starting field position. Ray Davis ended the game with 164 yards along with a 41 yard average on returns this game.
- Key Notes for the Patriots
Through the first half of this game the Patriots offense was dominating the Bills in just about every way. They owned the LOS consistent moving the Bills defense line off the ball which led to explosive runs and more importantly consistent gains on 1st and 2nd down. By keeping themselves ahead of the sticks they were able to mix run and pass very effectively and spread the ball around really in any way they wanted to. Through the first half it was dominant performance and it seemed like Sean McDermott and the Bills defense had no answer for what was being thrown at them. But as the second half came around the Bills defense took a new life and the Patriots offense aside from a 65yd TD run from Henderson had nothing going. They had a number of penalties along the offensive line which kept them behind the sticks and having to play catch up on early downs compared to early on where they were completely unpredictable due to them being ahead of the sticks. This bled throughout the entire second half and simply put Drake Maye couldn’t make up for the mistakes the rest of the offense was making as well as Josh Allen was able to on the opposing side.
It obviously wasn’t the performance you were hoping for in the second half from this offense but this was a team lost this game on both sides of the ball. The defense gave up long exhausting drives which kept their offense off the field and out of rhythm and their offense shot themselves in the foot far too often which led to short drives and their defense wearing down by the time the 4th Quarter came around. All together I was impressed by this offense but they have to stay consistent by winning on early downs and keeping Drake Maye in rhythm as this team doesn’t have the playmakers right now to make up for mistakes.
The Patriots defensive line did a phenomenal job through the entire first half and for a good chunk of the second half as well with their pass rush lanes vs Allen. They utilized blitzes and stunts to create free rushers on Allen but their ability to hold rush lanes and stay disciplined when Allen went to scramble or extend a play out of the pocket held Allen and this passing game in check due to the inability of the Bills receivers to win early in routes. The stunts and blitzes they mixed in also kept Allen guessing up front which forced Allen to drop his eyes and sort through pressure instead progressing through reads which also showed up in the 2nd half. As the game wore on the Patriots defensive line wore down as their offense struggled to sustain drives and the Bills started to hammer the running game. While their first half performance was very impressive it was clear that the Bills owned the LOS in the second half which allowed them to find a consistent pulse for their offense that struggled to move the ball with any consistency in the first half.
The Patriots’ special teams units that have been phenomenal all year really struggled in this game which made it all that much harder to win down the stretch of this game. While not having the explosive returns by Marcus Jones certainly didn’t help that was far from the problem as their kickoff coverage unit was awful all game. Despite the Bills not paying it off on offense with any regularity in the first half they allowed nearly every drive of the Bills to start across or near midfield as Ray Davis average 41 yards a return including a 58 yard long as well. Just not what we’re used to seeing from a Patriots’ team that has outplayed most of if not all of their opponents on special teams all year.
- Standout Performers
BUF
Josh Allen – 19/28 193yds 3/0 – 11/48 rush
- Not the flashiest game for Josh ever but he continues to be the only reason this passing game works week to week
James Cook – 22/107 2 TDS – 2/4 1 TD rec
Dawson Knox – 3/37 2 TDs
- Was one of the only consistent targets for Josh and this passing game all game long + his ability to search and find space in the red zone while Josh scrambled around was key to multiple TDs
Tre’Davious White – 2 Tackles 1 TFL 1 Sack 1 PBU
Matt Milano – 10 Tackles (9 Solo) 2 Sacks 2 TFLs 1 FF
NE
Drake Maye – 14/23 155yds 0/1 – 4/43 2 TDs rush
- Wasn’t a perfect day for Maye but his running ability was a huge boost to New England’s red zone offense and he did enough as a passer to march this offense down the field in the first half
TreVeyon Henderson – 14/148 2 TDs – 2/13 rec
Harold Landry III – 1 Tackle 1 Sack 1 TFL
Christian Barmore – 1 Tackle
- Continues to be an overlooked player on this defense as he wrecks plays for others to make in both the run and pass
Christian Gonzalez – 5 Tackles (1 Solo) 1 PBU
- Lockdown on the outside and allows so much freedom for this defense as he eliminates a huge part of the field
Jack Gibbens – 9 Tackles (4 Solo) 1 Sack 2 TFLs
