It wasn’t so much a lack of effort in the Patriots meaningless penultimate game of the season Monday night at Gillette Stadium as a continued lack of execution on both sides of the ball that led to a 38-9 beatdown loss at the hands of the Bills.
Buffalo held a 24-9 halftime advantage as the 2020 division champions became the first AFC East squad since 2000 to sweep New England in a season.
Cam Newton struggled mightily to get the Patriots passing game going once again, while Josh Allen spread the ball around to seemingly endless targets with ease against a New England pass defense that played without Stephon Gilmore and Lawrence Guy.
Maybe the lone “bright spot” for New England was extended playing time for Jarrett Stidham, who took over for Newton with 8:20 to play in the third quarter, though that didn’t go all that well. Stidham's three possessions ended in a punt, as he completed just four of 11 passes for 44 yards in the second-worth Patriots loss of the Bill Belichick era.
It was an ugly night down the stretch of an uncharacteristically ugly season for Belichick’s now 6-9 Patriots, assured of a losing record for the first time since 2000, the coach's first season running the show in New England.
Before turning the page to next Sunday night’s season finale against the suddenly-streaking Jets in Foxborough, here are some of the personnel highs and lows from New England’s latest disappointing loss.
Thumbs up
Sony Michel/J.J. Taylor – With Damien Harris inactive with an ankle injury, Michel was back in the lead back role for the Patriots. He hit a couple big runs in the first half – a 29-yarder on the second play of the night and a 21-yarder later that may have been the most physical and impressive of his career. Michel had 63 yards on eight carries at halftime, mostly on the two runs. Taylor also had a big run with a 28-yard burst up the middle in the second quarter. The game then got out of hand on the scoreboard, rendering the running game somewhat irrelevant, but Michel and Taylor ran hard with some impressive production to show for it early on.
Jake Bailey – The newly-minted Pro Bowler had another big night and, sadly, took another step toward being the Patriots 2020 team MVP. Bailey’s first boot of the night went for 62 yards. He had four downed inside the 20, including one at the 5. Bailey finished with a 51.4-yard average on his seven punts. Hey, he does his job.
Thumbs down
Damiere Byrd – The Patriots don’t have many playmakers in the passing game, so when those guys have a chance to make a big play they have to execute. Byrd didn’t do that on New England’s opening drive when he had an ugly drop on what should have been a 36-yard touchdown from Newton, who got the ball tossed back to him from Michel on the trick play. New England settled for a field goal to open the game’s scoring. Would the TD have changed the outcome? Probably not, but New England can’t just give away big plays. Byrd finished with just one catch on three targets for 7 yards.
Cam Newton – If one throw summed up Newton’s game and overall season it was a third down play in the second quarter when he stepped up under pressure and threw toward a wide open N’Keal Harry beyond the sticks, only to bounce the ball a couple yards short. Newton completed just five of 10 passes in the first half for 34 yards, though he did have his team’s first touchdown in two-plus games with a 9-yard scramble in the second quarter. It was his 12th rushing score of the season, tying a franchise record and second all-time behind his own NFL record (14). That wasn’t enough to wipe out another subpar passing performance as Newton was benched in favor of Stidham after a three-and-out on New England’s opening drive of the third quarter.
J.C. Jackson – The third-year corner and supposed Pro Bowl snub had his chance to be the Patriots true No. 1 cornerback with Gilmore now on IR. It didn’t go well as he tried to keep up with Buffalo playmaker Stefon Diggs. The NFL’s receptions leader toasted Jackson for a 50-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Diggs then beat Jackson and a poor hit/tackle attempt by safety Terrence Brooks for an 18-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Jackson is a good corner who’s had a very good year, but Monday night he found out that being the No. 1 corner and going against another team’s elite No. 1 receiver is a whole different ballgame. Jackson was even replaced by little-used second-year corner Joejuan Williams late in the third quarter.
Pass defense – Jackson was in the spotlight against Diggs, but the entire New England pass defense struggled against Allen and the Bills. Diggs beat Jason McCourty for his third touchdown catch of the night. Allen threw for 320 yards, four touchdowns and was not hit once in 36 pass attempts according to NFL stats. As ESPN put it, Buffalo piled it on the Patriots before Allen went to the bench, mostly through the air. Sure, Gilmore is absent. But this was total system failure in coverage, rush and coaching. The Patriots were helpless trying to stop a Bills team that looks awfully dangerous heading toward the playoffs.
