Thanks to four first-half Patriots' turnovers including three interceptions by Bailey Zappe the Bills built an early advantage on the way to the 27-21 victory over New England on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.
6 Rings Postgame Show reacts to Patriots' loss to Bills
With both quarterbacks under pressure, struggling to complete passes and combining for four interceptions, the Bills owned a 20-14 lead at halftime. Through the first two quarters New England and Buffalo combined to convert just three of 13 third downs.
The teams each made a few more plays and a few less mistakes in the second half on the way to the final score, with 20 of Buffalo's 27 points coming off of New England's turnovers.
Before turning the page to a week of speculation as to whether next Sunday’s season finale against the Jets at Gillette Stadium will be Belichick’s final game in New England, here are the highs and lows from another disappointing loss in Buffalo.
Thumbs up
Jalen Reagor – The Patriots couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in Buffalo when the veteran returner took the kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown. A year removed from a matchup in Buffalo that saw the home team benefit from a pair of kickoff returns for scores, the Patriots returned the favor on Sunday afternoon. Reagor has added a late season spark to the kickoff return game, and then added an impressive body-control 39-yard catch to flip the field on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Harris/Ezekiel Elliott – The young back injected some life into both the running and passing game in Buffalo. His first carry went for 15 yards and then later in the second quarter he helped set up the first Patriots' touchdown with a 48-yard catch-and-run to the Bills 17. Elliott was his usual productive self, both as a pass protector and with extra effort on a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Pass rush – New England’s pass rush, a combination of interior linemen, edge defenders and blitzers, made life very difficult on Allen who seemed to be running for his life early and often Sunday afternoon. Deatrich Wise (sack), Keion White and Mack Wilson all had QB hits in the first half, while Christian Barmore continue to be a beast up the middle.
Run defense -- The Patriots have had one of the best run defenses in the NFL over the second half of the season and that success continued Sunday in Buffalo. Overall the Bills ran for 127 yards, but only averaged 3.4 yards per attempt. James Cook was held to 48 yards on his rushes (3.0 avg.). Josh Allen did have a pair of short rushing touchdowns, but he paid for many of his runs with plenty of hits from the New England D that continues to fight the good fight.
Thumbs down
Trent Brown – New England’s former Pro Bowl left tackle saw his up-and-down season bottom out in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon when he was a healthy scratch against the Bills. Brown had been dealing with ankle and knee injuries while also missing practice this week to illness, but was officially removed from the injury report on Friday. By missing the Bills game it ensured that Brown would not collect on the playing time incentives that were part of the reworked contract he signed this past summer and would seem to indicate he may have played his last game in a Patriots uniform.
Bailey Zappe – For the second week in a row New England’s second-year QB turned the ball over on the first offensive snap of the game. This time around it was a late throw over the middle for Mike Gesicki that was intercepted by Buffalo defensive lineman Ed Oliver. Zappe then earned a second turnover when he tried to force a slant to DeVante Parker on New England’s third offensive possession, an interception by Rasul Douglas giving Buffalo the ball at their 14. Zappe threw a third first-half interception early in the second quarter when he was seemingly not on the same page with Reagor, leading to pick-6 for Douglas. Zappe did find the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown run but finished the day 16 of 26 passes for 209 yards with no touchdowns and the three picks for a 47.3 passer rating.
Chad Ryland – The rookie kicker’s glory of the 56-yard game-winning kick in Denver was short-lived as he got back to business missing field goals in the second quarter in Buffalo. Ryland missed his league-high ninth field goal attempt of the season when his 47-yard attempt sailed wide left. This miss, in a one-score game, came after Ryland missed a field goal and PAT against the Broncos. The fourth-round pick just hasn’t been good enough this season, evening missing an attempt from 53 yards out that didn’t count due to a delay of game penalty.
Kyle Dugger – An impending free agent who’s likely looking to get paid this spring, Dugger remains a work in progress in coverage down the field. That weakness was exposed early in the second half when Dalton Kincaid got behind Dugger for the 51-yard gain down to the Buffalo 13. The big play jumpstarted the Bills passing attack on the way to touchdown to help the home team pull away. Dugger was active at the line and in the run game, tying for a game-high with 10 tackles but he also allowed the biggest, most costly play of the day in the passing game.
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