ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It certainly wasn't pretty, but a win is a win.
In a miserable offensive performance, the Patriots were able to make a few defensive plays and stands to come away with a 16-10 win in Buffalo Sunday afternoon.
The Patriots are now 4-0 on the year.
Buffalo's defense did a great job frustrating the Patriots offense all game long, but as expected it came down to the Bills' inability to get anything going on offense.
Here are 10 quick thoughts from the game.
1. The Patriots have a lot of questions on offense. The Bills defense is one of the better units in the game, but it was one of the worst offensive performances in the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era as the unit couldn't do anything -- both in the run game and pass game. The offensive line has struggled a great deal to open the year and is hurting all elements of the offense. Brady didn't have much to work with in the passing game as Josh Gordon and Phillip Dorsett were no-shows. Brady finished 18-for-39 passing with 150 yards and an interception.
2. The defense was the story of the game, but not like it had been in the previous three games. The New England defense stopped the Bills offense on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter, which a touchdown and extra point would have given the Bills the lead at the time. It also stopped the Bills on the final possession when they got into New England territory on a Jamie Collins interception. While it wasn't as dominating as the first three games of the year, the unit showed it is good enough to win games on its own and the offense just needs to play turnover free ball.
3. Josh Allen had a tough day at the office before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a head injury. He finished 13-for-28 with 153 yards and three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 24. He was knocked out of the game on a hit from Jonathan Jones when Allen was running up the middle. He turned things around a bit in the second half when he got rid of the ball quickly, but he is a disaster when he holds onto the ball in the pocket.
4. The Patriots defense allowed its first touchdown since last year's AFC title game when Allen barely got into the end zone on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line on the first drive of the second half. The difference on that drive for the Bills was Allen made quicker decisions and got rid of the ball quickly. The Bills went nine plays in 75 yards. Overall, the touchdown-less streak for the defense lasted 18 quarters.
5. Matthew Slater scored his first career touchdown in the first half when he recovered a blocked punt by J.C. Jackson. It was his first career touchdown. The Bills looked completely lost on the play as the Patriots didn't cover the gunners and thus had 10 players at the line of scrimmage. Buffalo didn't adjust and it was an easy block.
6. Jackson had an outstanding all-around game as he also intercepted two passes. His one in the second half was a tremendous play to keep both his feet in bounds. He became the first Patriots player since Patrick Chung in 2010 to record an interception and a blocked punt in the same game.
7. Stephen Gostkowski missed yet another extra point in his first kick of the game. From this viewpoint, it may not be worth bringing in another kicker even for a workout. In the end, it's hard to find someone better than Gostkowski and bringing in someone else could hurt his confidence even more. If the trend continues and costs the team games then it may be worth reconsidering, but as of now it isn't worth it.
8. Jake Bailey continues to show why the team chose him over Ryan Allen during training camp. Bailey has the ability to completely flip the field, which is something Allen could not do. He was more of a situational punter, which is important, but Bailey is truly a game-changer with his massive leg.
9. It was an ugly game for the officials where there appeared to be a number of missed calls and also just penalty calls in general. Officially, there were 16 accepted penalties between the two teams. This created a total lack of flow for the contest.
10. The Patriots were without Dont'a Hightower, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. Jamie Collins took his place wearing the green dot and Elandon Roberts saw more action because of it. This is the second straight year Hightower has missed the game in Buffalo.
