Late night discussion: Encouraged or discouraged by Sunday's loss?

It was a fight until the very end.

The Buffalo Bills could not slay their demon that is the New England Patriots this past Sunday, falling in a battle of undefeated teams, 16-10.

Despite holding the Patriots' offense to just one touchdown and Tom Brady's lowest passer rating in 13 years, offensive struggles of their own resulted in yet another Buffalo loss to their AFC East rival. 

So the drought continues.

Buffalo has not defeated the Patriots at New Era Field since 2011. What could be seen as just another loss to New England has a chance to be looked at in a better light. 

The Bills are still 3-1 and appear to have one of the best defensive units in the NFL. 

Are fans accepting this as a moral victory? Where do they view this team from a contention perspective? 

Monday's late night discussion featured a mixed bag on whether fans are feeling better or worse about the 2019 season after Sunday's loss:

A sign of legitimacy:

Brady seemingly had no answers for the first time in his entire career against the Bills. The defense held Brady to only 150 yards passing with no touchdowns and an interception. He completed just 46.2% of throws as the Buffalo secondary looked to prove they are an elite unit. 

If you take the blocked punt return for a touchdown out of the equation, Buffalo could have very likely won that game, which gave many contributors to the discussion a good feeling at 3-1. 

They're one blocked punt away from beating the world champs. The defense is legit.

We had a chance on the last possession to beat the reigning super bowl champions... we stop shooting our selves in the foot and that's a win. Shows we can hang with anyone

Better, if the Bills can play with New England there's nobody left on the schedule they can't beat, offense is still a work in progress but that defense is elite and will keep them in every game

There isn't a tougher test on the schedule than the Patriots were. With a few plays going the other way, we could be talking about an undefeated first month of the season. 

The offense might not be ready to join the defense at the top:

The Patriots didn't have any answers on offense. The Bills were no better, turning the football over four times.

Quarterback Josh Allen left the game in the second half after suffering a hit to the head, but before the injury, the second-year signal-caller was struggling in his first real test against a top-tier team. 

Considering Allen looked extraordinarily bad, not too hot.

Worse it's all about Allen and he was really really bad. See how he bounces back.

I'll keep saying it. We have a huge problem at QB. Allen's performance huge step back. Not good.

Allen finished the game with three interceptions and a fumble. 

Author's choice:

It was a very discouraging performance from Allen this past Sunday. He made the head-scratching mistakes that made a lot of teams, media, and fans concerned about his chances at success at the NFL level.

It seemed like he was pressing from the start, throwing the ball inaccurately and forcing passes down the field instead of taking what the defense was giving him. 

It was disappointing to see him fall short in his toughest test as the Bills quarterback. Moving the ball against a talented Patriots secondary would have put the league on notice. 

If you aren't a believer that Allen will continue to develop and eventually kick the Jameis Winston-like mistakes, then you are likely feeling worse about the Bills after this game. 

However, Allen showed a lot of signs over the first three games that he is coming along as a more developed passer, so one game shouldn't make people lose all hope.

Not to mention, this 2019 defense might be as good, if not better than the 2014 version that was atop the NFL. 

With favorable matchups against the Miami Dolphins (twice), Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Pttsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos left, Buffalo is still in great shape to be in position to land a playoff spot at the end of the season. 

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