FOXBOROUGH – Coming off an ugly loss in Indy, the Patriots returned to Gillette stadium and unfortunately to some degree the ugly followed them back to New England in the 33-21 season-altering loss to the Bills.
Bill Belichick’s team just couldn’t get much going with any regularity on offense and never got the key stops it needed on defense as Buffalo split the season series to pull into a tie atop the AFC East with the teams’ identical 9-6 records with three games to play. New England not only now faces long odds to win the AFC East, but is not yet even assured of a spot in the postseason a couple weeks after falling out of the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Before turning the page to next Sunday’s hosting of the lowly Jaguars, here are the personnel highs and lows from the Patriots second loss in a row:
Thumbs up
Damien Harris – After a one-game absence due to the hamstring injury suffered in the previous battle with the Bills, New England’s lead back was back to work against Buffalo. Harris looked healthy right out of the gates, including a 12-yard fourth-down scamper and then a 16-yard touchdown in a key spot to tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter. He added a jump-starting 31-yard run in the third quarter to try to keep his team alive in a seemingly fading game, pulling to within a score with his 1-yard touchdown to cap the 14-play drive. He added a third touchdown and topped the 100-yard mark with a tough 8-yard score midway through the fourth quarter. Overall, Harris ran it an impressive 18 times on a gimpy hammy for 103 yards and the three scores.
Jakobi Meyers – With Nelson Agholor hurt and Kendrick Bourne seemingly on a rep count after missing practice all week on the COVID list, Meyers had to be Jones' top target almost out of necessity. It wasn’t a great day for the offense or the passing game, but Meyers was his usual reliable self to the tune of six catches on seven targets for 59 yards as needed.
4th Down/Bill Belichick – His team didn’t exactly ooze execution or confidence at times, but New England’s boss showed no hesitation going for fourth downs early and often against the Bills. Belichick didn’t seem to need to consult with his players for the decisions or make them in timeouts, he simply did what he deemed necessary to win the game in as aggressive an approach as he’s had all year. His team rewarded his faith by going a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth downs prior to the final desperation offensive snap.
Thumbs down
Mac Jones – The young starting quarterback looked like a young starting quarterback against Buffalo. Jones never seemed comfortable in the pocket or throwing the ball against the Bills and put the ball in danger far too often in the loss, throwing his third interception in the last two games combined. Jones once again fought to the finish and made the game interesting in the fourth quarter, but wasn’t good enough overall to win. He finished completing 14 of 32 passes for 145 yards with two interceptions for a 31.4 passer rating.
Third down – Part of the reason Belichick had so many fourth-down decisions was his team’s struggles on third down. New England converted just 1 of 10 third downs on the game. That’s generally not good enough to win, even if you do have a good day on fourth down.
Myles Bryant – Spending most of his day chasing Bills receiver Isaiah McKenzie, the former practice squader Bryant struggled in coverage throughout. Allen picked on him at various points, including a key third down play in the fourth quarter that was a 17-yard completion to McKenzie crossing. Overall McKenzie finished with 11 catches for 125 yards against Bryant as the Patriots' lack of secondary depth was exposed.
Pass rush – Allen put on a very impressive performance that his team needed, despite missing key weapons and offensive linemen. The Patriots pass rush couldn’t get pressure on Allen often enough to make the quarterback uncomfortable. He had all the time in the world for a late touchdown throw on fourth down in the first quarter, a play that kind of set the tone for the game. New England’s Matt Judon-led pass rush never sacked Allen in the losing effort and only hit the big, athletic quarterback four times total. It wasn’t nearly enough to help out the coverage as Allen threw for an impressive 300-plus yards with three touchdowns and ran for another 65 yards to carry his team to victory.
Dont’a Hightower – New England’s aging linebacker looked good on the stat sheet with six tackles. But his day wasn’t too stellar. He allowed Devin Singletary to pick up an early first down after a catch, Hightower getting knocked on his butt seemingly assuming either Kyle Dugger had the tackle or the back would go out of bounds. Later in the first half, Hightower kept running with Singletary in coverage even after Josh Allen was clearly scrambling right up middle for 25-yards on a drive to a field goal. All this came just a week removed from his Hightower’s horrible execution on Jonathan Taylor’s game-clinching run in the loss in Indy. It's been a tough couple games for one of New England’s most proven and generally reliable playmakers.
Thanks to MacFarlane Energy, your Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor, where they can very affordably heat your three-season room with a Mitsubishi ductless hyper heat unit. Please visit MacFarlaneEnergy.com.