The Patriots took care of business yesterday, topping the Bills 41-25. With the win, they are three games up in the AFC East with eight games to go, and even blustery Bills head coach Rex Ryan conceded the division crown to the Pats. Next week is a bye, so relax and enjoy an extra long victory lap.
The Pats basically won this game by not making mistakes while the Bills made enough for two games. Overthrown passes, dropped passes, ill-timed penalties, a multiple blown assignments in the defensive secondary. All this would be enough to lose to an average team -- but the Patriots are the class of the league, so the errors were lethal.
Quarterback Tom Brady dominated this game. He completed 22 passes on 33 attempts (66.7%) for 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 137.0 QB rating. Even with pressure in his face or coming around the outside, Brady stayed cool in the pocket and delivered multiple long-strike passes, two of them 53-yard touchdowns. He completed multiple passes to six different receivers, and the Patriots were an efficient 9-of-13 (69%) on third down.
Brady even shut the door when fate seemed to swing things toward Buffalo. On the Bills first possession of the second half, they turned a botched punt play into an accidental first down and scored a touchdown to draw within two scores. On the next drive, Brady went only 3-of-5 for 26 yards, but he ran 15 yards for a first down, and caught the Bills with 12 men on the field for a free five yards -- effectively ending the division race on that touchdown drive.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski (5 receptions for 109 yards) and receiver Chris Hogan (4 for 91) both caught 53-yard touchdowns, both on blown coverages by the Buffalo safeties that Brady recognized immediately. Julian Edelman had four catches and his first touchdown of the season, and Danny Amendola also added a touchdown, along with excellent blocking downfield and an important special teams play (more on that later).
Running back LeGarrette Blount gained 43 yards on 18 carries, but he wasn't as good as usual in pass protection. James White was actually the superior blocker in pass protection, making a key block on the Gronkowski touchdown.
Along the offensive line, Nate Solder and David Andrews struggled. In fairness, the strength of Buffalo's defense is their front four, but Solder whiffed multiple times, and hobbled Bills DT Marcell Dareus pushed around Andrews like he was a rag doll. The line had fewer penalties this week, and appears to be gelling more in the running game; so here's hoping that translates to better pass protection by the end of November.
The defense really misses the old Jamie Collins. The linebacker is fighting a hip injury, so he plays limited snaps and isn't as effective in those plays. LB Dont'a Hightower led the team with six tackles and added a QB hit. And Elandon Roberts (5 tackles) got a quick introduction to bigger players who will run him over; which happened once or twice.
Collins' injury also forced the team to move defensive end Rob Ninkovich to linebacker, and that hurts the pass rush and outside contain against the run. On the first series, Buffalo ran outside at will, pinching in defensive linemen Jabaal Sheard and Chris Jones to make it around end and down the sideline. Later in the game, Ninkovich returned to DE and held the edge brilliantly as the inside players stuffed one running play after another.
But Trey Flowers emerged as the biggest star along the defensive line. He made five tackles, several of them running down backs from behind. He also had the only two sacks for the team (for nine yards in losses), and hit the QB two additional times. In all, the defensive line got enough pressure on the Bills QB to make him throw flat-footed (no room to step into the throws), which forced many of his passes to go high.
In the secondary, cornerback Malcolm Butler continues to be the class of the group. He had four tackles (including two bone-shakers), and his competitive play on every ball made it nearly impossible for receivers to catch the wet football on a rainy day. Eric Rowe got more playing time, and it was a mixed bag. He got two penalties (although one was bogus), one a pass interference call that gave the Bills the ball at the one yard-line. The second corner is the biggest worry on defense; and until either Rowe or Logan Ryan claims it as his own, there will be continued concern.
Safety Patrick Chung had a great game. Among he five tackles were two that saved first downs, and one that saved a long gain when Chung got a guy by the ankle. Devin McCourty had some big hits, and knocked away a pass, and the Bills had very few big plays, so he did his job.
Special teams provided a spark when Amendola returned the second-half kickoff 73 yards to give the Pats a short field and an easy touchdown. They did give up a 35-yard kickoff return, but the Bills turned that one over on downs, so no harm no foul. No missed field goals for Stephen Gostkowski, which is good news. And among punters with at least 25 kicks, Ryan Allen is in the top 5 in fewest returned punts and fewest return yards given up.
The coaching yesterday was excellent, especially the defensive game plan. Knowing the Bills were short on good receivers, defenders hit every receiver hard on every play, sending a few of them to the sidelines. And the replacements were not as good as the people leaving the game, who were already not as good as the best on the Buffalo roster.
On offense, they played the Bills D like a fiddle. Brady didn't need to manipulate the safeties to make completions; he broke them down by formation and motion. Most of the long passes, Brady almost certainly knew what he was going to do before the snap. It was beautiful to watch.
So where does that leave us? 7-1 and atop the AFC (and the entire league) is not a bad place to take a week off. The team should work on pass protection schemes and skills during the bye, and hopefully, Collins will come back fully healthy. That is the one injury that will really hurt if it lingers.
Non-Brady MVP of the Week: It has to be Gronkowski. Lead the team in receptions, receiving yards, had the long touchdown, and as usual did a great job blocking.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: The Patriots had more penalty yards than the Bills in both games this year. Trivia question: How many times have the the Patriots had as many, or more, penalty yards as the Bills in both games in a season (answer below)?
Non-Statistical Oddity of the Week: Someone threw a dildo on the field during the game yesterday. When I mentioned it on Facebook, my friend Rick had the best line: "Are you referring to Rex Ryan or that pink thing [pictured]?"
And here I thought Ryan was into feet...
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "For once I'm with Rex Ryan: the Patriots will win the division."
Keep the faith, and enjoy the bye,
- Scott
PS. 7-1!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
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Including yesterday, it's happened four times: 2016, 2003, 2001, and 2000. Interestingly, two of the previous three times the Patriots won the Super Bowl the same year.
The Patriots continued their recent dominance over Pittsburgh yesterday, outlasting the Roethlisberger-less Steelers, 27-16. The win, coupled with Buffalo's loss to Miami, gives the Pats a two-game lead in the AFC East, and a one-game lead over the Oakland Raiders for the top spot in the AFC. Next week is a chance to avenge their only loss of the year, when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills -- this time with Tom Brady.
Yesterday's contest came down to the Patriots ability to cash in their opportunities for touchdowns and their ability to make the Steelers take field goals instead. Both teams scored four times, but the final wasn't all that close because New England scored three touchdowns on three trips to the red zone and Pittsburgh was 1-of-4 in similar circumstances.
The Patriots offense was hot-and-cold. Quarterback Tom Brady completed his first 11 of his first 12 passes, then cooled off until midway through the third quarter, when he heated up on two consecutive touchdown drives. He finished the day 19 of 26 (73%) for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 124.2 QB rating.
Brady also also finished as the highest rated quarterback in the league for the season, with a 132.6 rating. (Trivia question #1: name the second-rated QB in the league; answer below.) What Brady is doing is astonishing, almost as amazing as the team going nearly half a season without throwing a single interception yet.
Helping out Brady was a dominant running game, which was all LeGarrette Blount. Blount ran, pushed, bullied, and fought his way to 127 yards on 24 carries and 2 touchdowns. Brady had the other 13 yards on the ground. Blount ran under control and found some gaping holes, thanks to...
The offensive line is getting a lot of good pub online for their performance yesterday. They did open huge holes in the running game, aided by the double-threat tight ends (more on them later). However, the Steelers rarely blitzed but seemed to get to Brady whenever he had to go past his first read. This was acceptable given the game result, but they'll have to play much better when they face the blitzing Bills next week.
On the line, Nate Solder and Joe Thuney blocked very well on the run. Even center David Andrews did some damage at the second level. However, the holding calls went thusly: Solder had two, Shaq Mason had one, and Andrews had one. Thuney pitched in with a false start penalty -- all of which is to say it wasn't all roses for the O-line.
The tight ends and receivers provided some extra help in the running game. Martellus Bennett did more damage run blocking than in the passing game, and as always, Rob Gronkowski was a mismatch whomever he blocked. Gronkowski did a great job sealing the edge, and to mix it up, several of the runs had the two blocking away from each other and Blount running through the vacated hole. Also, Julian Edelman has some key blocks at the edge, both downfield and near the line of scrimmage.
As for actually catching the ball, it started as the Edelman show (9 catches for 60 yards), then morphed into the Gronkowski show (4 for 93 and 1 touchdown). James White contributed another TD catch, making some nifty moves and getting great blocking down near the goal line. The only big disappointment was Chris Hogan's fumble on the first offensive play of the game.
If you check the stat sheet, it looks like the defensive secondary got burned a lot. But the reality was much different; with excellent play from corners Malcolm Butler and Eric Rowe, and outstanding play from safety Patrick Chung. There were some long completions that hurt. But Butler undercut a route perfectly on the interception, and then covered a hobbling Antonio Brown one-on-one most of the second half.
Rowe had six tackles and one pass defended. In fact, the Pats got deflected passes from Butler, Rowe, Logan Ryan, and even Leonard Coleman. A total team effort -- although in the spirit of competition, Rowe might be ready to challenge Ryan for the second starting spot.
Chung was everywhere. He led the team with ten tackles, including some for very short gains. He also knocked down two passes of his own, and was a force in slowing down the short passing game of Pittsburgh.
Rob Ninkovich and Elandon Roberts pitched in at linebacker this week, and starter Jamie Collins returned with a vengeance. Collins missed a few plays by inches, and still totaled eight tackles. Roberts saw less time than Ninkovich, though it's tough to tell sometimes, because Nink moves from defensive end to linebacker with ease.
Along the defensive line, they miss Ninkovich's ability to hold the edge. Jabaal Sheard was decent at it last year, but not in this game. And newcomer Chris Long hasn't been good at it yet. In fact, I'll make the blanket statement that all the outside linemen got pinched inside at least once in this game, all of them allowing Steelers running plays to get outside of them.
But the D-line wasn't a total disaster. Inside lineman Malcom Brown still crushed it, and Alan Branch came up with three tackles and a forced fumble. But the team will need more consistency from the defensive ends if they hope to hold up against balanced offenses moving forward.
Special teams continues to be a source of worry. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski pushed an extra point wide right, a line that seems to be a weekly staple of this column. Edelman fumbled a punt return, and even old reliable, punter Ryan Allen, shanked one at a very inopportune time.
One other gaffe was a punt that Brandon Bolden should have touched out of bounds at the six yard-line was reviewed by replay and it was determined to be a touchback instead (and placed at the 20 yard-line).
Also, their strategy of kicking to the one yard-line to force a kickoff return backfired thrice yesterday. Of the five kickoffs, Pittsburgh returned four of them, and three times they got past the 25 yard-line (the benchmark for a good return).
Eventually the Pats had Gostkowski kick it out of the end zone on the last kick, but it appears teams have figured out this strategy and they are ready to make the Patriots pay with good returns. Might be time to do this more sparingly, just to give them the element of surprise.
In the end, none of these things killed the Patriots. But in close games against good teams with their starting quarterbacks, all of them could make the difference between a W and an L. As Pete Carroll used to say, "Gotta clean it up!"
The coaching plan was excellent. The Steelers defense played to stop the pass with drops into deep zones, so the Patriots emphasis on the running attack exploited that perfectly. And the Pats defense played to make Pittsburgh drive a long field with a backup quarterback. So when he couldn't go all the way for the touchdown, the Steelers settled for field goals.
So where does that leave us? 6-1 ain't half bad, especially when it has you sitting pretty atop the AFC heap. Buffalo will be a significant challenge next week. Bills head coach Rex Ryan knows a loss here puts the division title out of reach, so he'll pull out all the stops to stay in the race. But bear in mind, the Pats actually play better against the Bills in Buffalo than at home in Foxboro.
Non-Brady MVP of the Week: Malcolm Butler with the INT, three passes defended, and six tackles. (Note: it was going to be Edelman, until he fumbled a punt. Then it was going to be Chung, but Butler had impact plays down the stretch.)
Statistical Oddity of the Week: Yesterday's broadcast joined the game late, so for the first time since 1994, I missed a play in a Patriots game. But the oddity isn't that I missed a play, it's that the first play I missed yesterday was a kickoff, and the last play I missed in 1994 was also a kickoff -- in fact it was a kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Bill Parcels coached Patriots.
(Trivia question #2: can you name the team that scored that touchdown against the Pats in 1994? Answer below... and yes, you can use the Internet if you like.)
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "When you give up 15 points a game, it's pretty easy to win against a backup QB."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 6-1!
PPS. Trivia Answers:
(1) Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo is the second-rated quarterback in the league, with a 117.1.
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(2) The Pats gave up a kickoff return touchdown to the San Diego Chargers; but they still won the game, 23-17 -- November 20, 1994.
The Patriots outdistanced the Bengals in the second half yesterday, claiming a 35-17 win in Foxboro. The victory keeps the Pats a game ahead of the surging Bills. Next week they face an ailing Steelers team in Pittsburgh, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger undergoing surgery that will keep him off the field.
The Pats started slowly against the Cincy, scoring just before the half for a 10-7 lead at the break. But in the second half, it was all New England: 25-10 and not even that close. The Bengals that offense could do no wrong in the first half-hour couldn't do much right for the last 30 minutes, and I credit the Patriots defense more than failures by the Bengals offense.
And that defense was led by linebacker Dont'a Hightower. For the second consecutive week, Hightower pressured the quarterback into a safety; this time with a sack of Andy Dalton in the third quarter. That play turned momentum in the Patriots favor, and started a string of 15 straight points scored by the Patriots.
Hightower also led the team with 13 tackles, almost double the second-best total. With starter Jamie Collins out with an injury, rookie Elandon Roberts stepped up with seven tackles of his own, and he was a factor in forcing running backs to change direction in the backfield. These two used delayed-blitzes up the A-gap to great effect against both the run and pass game. And if Roberts have broken through more under control, he would have had at least two additional tackles for a loss.
Malcom Brown and Alan Branch performed the best among defensive linemen. Branch made six tackles and Brown 5, but Brown's run-stuffing was more impactful. The rest of the line was decent, but Brown and Branch stood out.
It appeared to be a mixed bag in the secondary. Safety Devin McCourty was late on a few throws but made big hits after the catch. And though he wasn't perfect, corner Malcolm Butler ended up with three tackles and three passes defended. Logan Ryan got beaten a few times and did not have a great game, before being replaced by newcomer Eric Rowe (who played pretty well).
The offense was all about the passing game. Quarterback Tom Brady made his Gillette Stadium debut count: 29 of 35 (83%) for 376 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 140.0 QB rating. And those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he had a slow start: four of his six incompletions, and only 36% of his yards came in the first half.
Brady's most devastating receiver was tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had 7 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. His tight end partner in crime, Martellus Bennett had 5 for 48, and the other receivers had pretty pedestrian numbers.
The other receiving weapon was running back James White, who had one of his best games as a professional. White had 8 receptions on 9 targets, for just 47 yards but two touchdowns out of the backfield. In the AFC Championship Game last year, Brady and White just missed on two similar passes. So it's good to see progress on that front.
LeGarrette Blount had a trick-or-treat game. He led the team with 50 yards on the ground and scored a late touchdown. But he lost his temper with the Cincinnati thugs, and got a 15-yard penalty. Gronkowski also lost his cool, being flagged for taunting after getting into it with the Cincy linebackers and secondary. Neither penalty cost the team in the end, but Gronk was right after the game: you never know when it will cost the team, so both players have to clean that up.
The offensive line had a bad first half and a slightly better second half. They still have trouble when the other defense has a front-four that can pressure the QB without blitzing. And Brady was under constant pressure in the first half. Their run-blocking is better, but I'd hoped to see more progress in pass protection.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed again, this time an extra point in the third quarter. And this is about the fourth consecutive update where I wrote that the special teams coach needs to earn his money on this. Missing a field goal now could cost you the game, but eventually, it could cost you the season.
On the plus side, Ryan Allen's punting and Gostkowski's kickoffs have been excellent. And Brandon King is making as many special teams tackles as long-time captain Matthew Slater.
As for coaching, the defense did a great job stopping the run, but seemed a little slow to adjust to the Bengals' passing attack. And at some point, you have to pull back Gronkowski; once his behavior starts hurting the team.
So where does that leave us? 5-1 sounds good, and with a wounded Pittsburgh team up next. The Bills are now 4-2, and the Pats play them the following week in Buffalo. So winning the next two games could go a long way toward a division title and playoff positioning.
Non-Brady MVP of the Week: It's Hightower; his safety turned the tide in the Pats favor and his overall outstanding play was central to the defensive effort. (Narrow win over Gronkowski.)
Statistical Oddity of the Week: There are two active cornerbacks in the NFL with the last name Butler (Darius with the Colts, and Malcolm with the Pats) -- and both started their careers in New England.
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "Not bad when a sloppy effort gets you an 18-point win."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 5-1!
By now you probably know the Patriots handled the Cleveland Browns easily on Sunday, winning 33-13. The win put them at 4-1 on the season, a game ahead of 3-2 Buffalo and four full games ahead of the fading Dolphins and Jets. Next Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Foxboro, and the Patriots can prove themselves against a 2015 playoff participant.
Quarterback Tom Brady's triumphant return couldn't have gone much better. He was hit rarely, sacked just once, and led the team to an easy victory. He ended the day 28 of 40 (70%) for 406 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 127.7 QB rating that ranks him #1 in the league already. He was smooth and in control, spreading the ball to seven different receivers, deftly avoiding pressure, and just looking like he was on a different level (as we would expect).
Brady's favorite receiver was tight end Martellus Bennett, who not only caught six passes but was on the receiving end of all three of Brady's touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski (5 for 109) and Chris Hogan (4 for 114) both topped 100 yards, and not only did Julian Edelman have five grabs, but his downfield blocking was crucial to several big plays.
They balanced the load pretty evenly between running backs James White (48% of the offensive plays) and LeGarrette Blount, (39%). But the only real news in the running attack was rookie D.J. Foster's six carries and 15% of the offensive plays. It appears the team plans to replace Brandon Bolden on third-down with Foster, and they might be looking to upgrade the third-down back position with Foster's speed until Dion Lewis returns (if he does).
The offensive line did a great job in pass protection. They were more mixed in the running game, sometimes doing a great job controlling the edge and sometimes having runs go for little gain. Notable was Nate Solder's excellent work in both areas, and some nice decisions on the fly by center David Andrews.
On one play, the pocket moved to the left, and Andrews slid from his position out to the right to protect Brady from an unblocked lineman -- this allowed Brady to throw a 43-yard strike to Hogan, which led to a touchdown. A nice, heads-up play by Andrews.
One of the stars of the game defensive lineman Malcom Brown. His play inside helped shut down the second most productive running back in the league. And Brown added 2 sacks for 14 yards lost and 2 QB hits. Former Browns lineman Jabaal Sheard (1 tackle for a loss, one pass defended) and Alan Branch (2 tackles for a loss) contributed heavily to the excellent defensive line play overall.
However, the most interesting thing going on is at linebacker. 2016 Sixth-round pick Elandon Roberts (#52 in your program) displaced Barkeviovs Mingo to get far more snaps in this game. Roberts played 49% of the defensive snaps and led the team with seven tackles, whereas Mingo, who started, only played 7% of the snaps. No injuries were reported, and Roberts made several impressive plays, so one can only assume that he got the playing time for outperforming former first-rounder Mingo.
The Patriots have long needed someone to compliment starters Dont'a Hightower. Both played well on Sunday, though their stat lines weren't that impressive -- but the Patriots need better play at the third linebacker so teams can't just pick on that one bad player. In the preseason it looked like that might be Mingo. But if Sunday is any indication, you might be seeing #52 in the lineup more and more as the season progresses.
The secondary got carved up on the second Cleveland possession of the day, but held together until the game was out of reach. All the longest Browns' plays are in the third and fourth quarter, and by that time, the outcome was assured. Safeties Patrick Chung (6) and Devin McCourty (5) were second and third on the team in tackles, respectively. The corners didn't do anything special, unless you count the multiple times Justin Coleman gave up big plays.
Note: the entire team tackled much better this week, so kudos to them and the coaching staff for getting back to basics.
The biggest special teams concern is getting worse: kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed yet another field goal. Granted it was from 50 yards, but he needs to improve his consistency, because sometime this season a game will come down to a kick, and the team has to be able to trust him.
The coaching staff deserves to take a bow for the 3-1 start and for reintegrating Brady without a hitch. Cincinnati will be a bigger test this weekend, but don't expect them to upset the Patriots -- without the crowd to disrupt the Patriots offense, Cincy's best bet is to chuck the ball on every play and hope to keep up. And they haven't had much luck with that lately.
So where does that leave us? 4-1 and first in the division -- sounds familiar, doesn't it? The team is gelling along the defensive line, the linebackers appear to be starting to solidify, and the secondary needs work, but the offense looks great with both Gronkowski and Bennett on the field. Looks like the fourth attempt to re-invent the two-tight end offense has finally worked.
Non-Brady MVP of the Week: It's Martellus Bennett again; he's a beast both receiving and blocking, and a great compliment to Gronk.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: There are five African-American coaches in the NFL, and three of them are in the AFC North: Hue Jackson in Cleveland, Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, and Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. (Trivia question: name the other two African-American coaches, answer below.)
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "It was only the Browns, but still nice to see Brady out there."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 4-1!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
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Todd Bowles coaches the New York Jets, and Jim Caldwell is the head man for the Detroit Lions.
The Patriots fell behind early and never recovered, falling to the Bills 16-0. The loss puts them at 3-1, a full-game ahead of the Bills and two games up on the Jets and Dolphins. Up next is the return of Tom Brady for a game in Cleveland against the 0-4 Browns.
You know it's a rough day at the stadium when the best part of the experience was the popovers you had during the pregame meal at Davio's. Buffalo scored on its first three drives of the game, and their defense completely shut down the Patriots offense, so those points pretty much stood up.
This game wasn't exactly the opposite of the 27-0 victory over Houston -- that is to say, whereas the other game was all positives, this game was not all negatives. But you don't get shut out and have much to crow about.
The defense really wasted a half figuring out that Buffalo wanted to target cornerback Logan Ryan. Ryan ended up the undisputed leader in tackles with 17, mostly because he gave up completion after completion after completion in the first half. And most of those passes went for first downs and/or big gains.
But I put this mostly on the defensive coaches. Once they made their halftime adjustments, the Pats held Buffalo to just 3 points. But they took way to long to get help for Ryan and/or have him jam the receivers so he didn't get spun around as much on double-moves.
Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor had the following breakdowns by half:
1st half, 17 of 22 (77.3%), 165 yards, 1 touchdown, 112.9 QB rating
2nd half, 10 of 17 (58.8%), 81 yards, 0 touchdowns, 71.0 QB rating
Earlier adjustments could have kept the game closer. But of course, a better offensive performance, could have done that, too. Problem was, the offense was anemic and self-destructive all day long.
A good example is near the end of the second quarter. The Patriots had a 3rd-and-1 at the Buffalo eight yard-line, looking for sure like they'd score their first points of the game. But a referee screw up cost them one play, they had a hold on the next play, and on 3rd-and-11, quarterback Jacoby Brissett tried too hard for the first down and fumbled it away to the Bills
Combine that with a missed field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, and a game that should have been a one-score affair (13-6) with 25 minutes left to play was 13-0 instead. And at that point, they had to try longer QB drops and passes, and that just played into the Bills' hands.
Here are six things that are difficult to believe, but that were the keys to the why the Patriots lost:
1. The first three Buffalo possessions all ended in scores and all were at least 10 plays each. Time of possession in the first half was 19:49 to 10:11 in favor of Buffalo -- yikes!
2. Third-down conversion rate for the game: Bills 7-of-15 (47%), Patriots 1-of-12 (8%). Double-yikes!
3. Penalties for the game: Bills 6 for 66 yards, Patriots 9 for 74 yards, and 6 for 40 yards of declined penalties. (Note: yes, the Patriots had as many penalties declined as the Bills had total penalties in the game!)
4. The Patriots actually averaged more yards per play than the Bills (5.3 to 5.2), but they ran only 52 offensive plays to Buffalo's 73.
5. Two words: missed tackles. The Patriots defensive tackling was atrocious in this game, whether trying to keep the QB in the pocket or attempting to stop a running back from getting a first down. Disappointing.
6. Three of the Patriots top four receivers were running backs (James White, Brandon Bolden, and LeGarrette Blount). That's not usually a good sign.
The few bright spots in the game:
1. Linebacker Dont'a Hightower returned and saw a decent amount of action. He didn't look great, but he's been out for a few weeks and probably needs time to work his way back into the lineup.
2. Same for tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was his old self blocking but needs time to work his way back into game shape for the passing game.
3. The defensive adjustments in the second half worked out very well; they just need to make them quicker next time.
So where does that leave us? 3-1 is where I thought they'd be after the first four games, so it's not all bad. Some guy named Brady is coming back from suspension next week; maybe that will help right the ship.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: Patriots were shut out at Gillette Stadium for the first time ever. (Trivia question: Name the two other times the Patriots have been shut out under Bill Belichick; answer below.)
Non-Brissett MVP of the Week: not awarded this week.
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "Just glad to get through the suspension at 3-1. Time for Tom Terrific!"
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 3-1!
PPS. Trivia answer:
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These same Bills shut out the Patriots 31-0 opening day of the 2003 season (the Lawyer Milloy Bowl). Another division opponent, the Miami Dolphins, shut out the Patriots 21-0 on December 10, 2006.
PPPS. Any thoughts on when the Jets will finally step up and shut out the Patriots?
