Look, we’re all friends here right? I’m going to level with you. When the New England Patriots were driving with a little more than four minutes to go in the first half, I wondered what’s the earliest fans would leave this game. I opened up the program I use to write these blogs and was about to fire up Jeremy White’s snark cannon.That, I guess, is why you should avoid making harsh judgments less than halfway through games, even if it undeniably feels like a horror movie you’ve sadly sat through too many times.Hopefully you’ll forgive me. Another Patriots touchdown there would have made the score 20-0 and, well, you know, an all too familiar throw up in your own mouth sort of feeling was taking hold.Well we at least got to hit pause on that as Micah Hyde intercepted Tom Brady in the end zone. The Buffalo Bills followed that up with a field goal drive, then missed a late field goal, but took the second half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and we had a ballgame at 13-10 New England.Even a third Josh Allen interception only resulted in a Patriots field goal. We still had a one score game heading for the final quarter.As an aside, Zay Jones could’ve taken the rest of the game off following that third Josh Allen pick. Yes, it was a horrendous throw, but Jones, to my eyes, gave up on the play while J.C. Jackson made a leaping catch on the ball for the turnover. What Jones was thinking on the play I can’t say as I write this. Maybe he just thought the ball was going to harmlessly sail out of bounds. Jones enhanced his goat status later when he was unable to haul in a high fourth down pass from Matt Barkley that would have given the Bills an opportunity to take the lead.Yes, you read correctly. Barkley was in the game after Allen took a helmet-to-helmet hit earlier in that drive. With Allen in the locker room being checked for a concussion, the Bills had to ride with Barkley. How long they’ll be without Allen isn’t something we can know at this point. Sean McDermott said after the game that Allen is in the concussion protocol, so we’ll have to see what his status is as the week leading up to next Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans progresses.It’s not often that I spend too much energy thinking about single plays in these write ups. That said, the blocked punt that turned into New England’s second touchdown deserves some attention. Lined up to punt from their own 33-yard line on just their second possession of the day, the Bills not only let an opportunity for an easy pitch and catch fourth down conversion from their punter to the gunner pass by, the punt ends up being blocked and returned for a touchdown.How about some awareness there, Corey Bojorquez?
I have so many questions about this play. Does the punter have the ability to call for the fake if and when he sees a gunner completely uncovered on either side of the formation? Did he just not notice? Is there some subtle means of communication the gunner can use to alert the punter that he’s uncovered? Does Bill Belichick call for that rush formation knowing that Bojorquez lacks the sort of awareness that would allow him to recognize the uncovered gunner? Or does Belichick somehow know that Bojorquez cannot throw? Bojorquez was in training camp with New England before the 2018 season, so maybe?This is the sort of play that would be frustrating if it only turned into a 40-yard punt. The fact that it instead turned into a touchdown on a day when the mighty Tom Brady was made to look completely ordinary by the Bills defense makes it all the more maddening.If there’s one thing we’ve learned over an almost two-decade run of dominance for the Patriots over the Bills, it’s that you need every edge you can find and then maybe even some good luck to go along with it if you intend to beat them. That blocked punt touchdown was that opportunity Sunday and for whatever reason, the Bills were not prepared to take advantage of it.In the big scheme of things, you could come away satisfied that the Bills and Sean McDermott have built a defense that can consistently frustrate Tom Brady and I want to be clear that I have a hearty respect for that. In the end though, it was once again Belichick who found the edge in a close, defensive game, calling for an overload punt rush that for whatever reason, the Bills punter was not prepared to turn into an advantage for his team.If that was a coaching oversight, let’s hope McDermott learns from it. If it was the punter not paying attention? Well then please bring me a new punter.For that matter, Zay Jones can ride shotgun with Bojorquez on the way out of town as far as I’m concerned.