That was ugly.
The Patriots were dominated in all three phases by the Bills in a 38-9 loss on Monday Night Football. New England is now guaranteed a losing season, as it fell to 6-9 with the loss. Meanwhile, the Bills are 12-3 and on their way to a top seed in the AFC playoffs.
It was pretty clear why the Bills came into the game with 11 wins as Josh Allen and Co. put on a clinic offensively and the defense didn’t allow the Patriots to get any momentum all game.
Cam Newton was pulled in the third quarter in favor of Jarrett Stidham.
Meanwhile, Allen finished 27-for-36 with 320 yards and four touchdowns, while Stefon Diggs recorded nine catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Here are 10 quick thoughts from the game.
1. Newton struggled once again as the Patriots offense couldn’t get anything going. The veteran quarterback finished 5-for-10 with 34 yards. He played six series and the Patriots went three-and-out on half of them. His 34 passing yards were the fewest by a Patriots starting QB since 1993. While he was the victim of a drop or two, he wasn’t sharp at all throwing the ball and it seems hard to believe the Patriots feel he’s the answer at the position in 2021.
2. Stidham wasn’t much better as he finished the game 4-for-11 with 44 yards. While it’s unfair since it was mop-up duty and he likely spent all week running the scout team, he didn’t do anything to make it clear he was deserving to start the game to begin with. As many have said all year, it’s hard to envision him as the quarterback of the future.
3. The Patriots defense was flat-out embarrassed by Brian Daboll and Co. With Allen at quarterback, the Bills scored touchdowns on five of their last six possessions. Those drives were: 70 yards, 75, 67, 75 and 95. Buffalo had 10 players record receptions in the game. By contrast, the Patriots have eight players who have more than five receptions all year.
4. JC Jackson got a taste of what life is like a true No. 1 cornerback in the NFL. With Stephon Gilmore out for the year, Jackson got Diggs the majority of the game but did get pulled for a series in favor of Joejuan Williams. While Jackson may be a No. 1 cornerback one day, he doesn’t appear to be at the same level as some of the league’s best when he can shutdown any receiver he goes up against.
5. One of the bright spots in the game was Sony Michel. The running back is running as well as he ever has the last two weeks. Michel finished with 10 carries for 69 yards, but given the deficit didn't do much running past the first quarter.
6. The Patriots’ specialists were once again solid. Jake Bailey flipped the field on a number of his punts and although Nick Folk missed an extra point, he extended his career-high in made field goals to 26.
7. The trend of seeing things that don’t usually happen to the Patriots in 2020 continued. In the first half, the Bills converted a fourth down on a fake punt. This was the second straight week the Patriots’ opponent converted a fake punt, except it was called back last week in Miami because of a penalty.
8. Along the same lines, Bill Belichick challenged a Dawson Knox catch in the third quarter on the Patriots sideline that was clearly a catch. During the review, Belichick slammed a phone down, likely because he got word that it was a bad challenge. There have been several instances of either poor challenges or not challenging certain plays this season.
9. There were a number of injuries once again for the Patriots in the game. Devin McCourty, Tashawn Bower, Terez Hall, Shaq Mason and David Andrews all left the game due to injury. The team came into the game with 21 players on its injury report and could be even longer heading into Week 17 against the Jets.
10. With the Jets beating the Browns on Sunday, next Sunday’s game against the Jets truly really won’t mean much at all since they have no shot at the No. 1 overall pick. It will be interesting to see if Belichick gives any consideration to starting Stidham.
For the first time since 2000 the Patriots were swept by a divisional opponent.
