Will Lack of Momentum Be a Problem for the New England Patriots?

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rest or rust? The debate will rage on for as long as there are first-round byes to be had in the NFL postseason.

The New England Patriots have explored both sides of the debate, and after locking up the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs last week, they went the "safe route" by giving several prominent players a day off in their regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills. 

The result? A 17-9 loss, their first home loss since December 16, 2012. 

The Patriots have rolled through their competition for months with nary a hiccup, and there's no reason to believe this temporary lapse in dominance (one that comes with an asterisk) will make a nightmare of the Patriots' Super Bowl dreams.

For starters, let's talk starters—six of them, in particular, who were not active for Sunday's game: tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Julian Edelman, cornerback Brandon Browner, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and offensive linemen Dan Connolly and Sebastian Vollmer.

Patriots offense	Points	Yards	1st downs
Season avg.	30.6	372.5	23.1
Week 17	9	260	14

Gronkowski has been the Patriots' most valuable non-quarterback all season and probably ever since the Patriots drafted him in 2010. No one will confuse tight ends Michael Hoomanawanui and Tim Wright for Gronkowski any time soon. Hoomanawanui and Wright combined for one catch on four targets. Gronkowski normally has those numbers by the end of the first drive.

"Man, it's a big difference," wide receiver Brandon LaFell said after the game of how the offense functions without Gronkowski in the lineup. "You know that the middle of the field is not so much open when you go across and Gronk is not there. It's a lot of double-teams, a lot of sitting back in zone, trying to wait and catch us instead of a guy or two over the top of Gronk or Gronk getting double-teamed, so it's a big difference."

So it's no surprise that without him in the lineup, the Patriots offense struggled to muster up enough yards and points to knock off the Bills, who have a talented defense in their own right.

Equally unsurprising were the struggles of the offensive line without Connolly and Vollmer, who comprise 40 percent of the Patriots' starting five. Replacement linemen Josh Kline, Cameron Fleming and Marcus Cannon struggled to block a dominant Bills front four that generated four sacks and applied plenty of pressure on quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday.

Edelman may be the only offensive player whose value rivals that of Gronkowski. Danny Amendola finished with four receptions, but even when accounting for his ability and productivity on punt returns, he didn't provide the same spark the Patriots often get from Edelman.

In short, the struggles on offense should be attributed as much to the Bills' strong defense as to the Patriots' lack of several prominent starters.

"It was a good opportunity to get some other guys some reps," offensive guard Ryan Wendell said. "We're going to need everybody moving forward. You never know who's going to get called up, so a game like this was a great opportunity to get a lot of those guys more reps that they normally don't get."

That being said, the Patriots are lucky they didn't exit Sunday's loss without a couple other key starters. Left tackle Nate Solder left the game with a knee injury and did not return. LaFell limped off the field in the fourth quarter after landing awkwardly on his foot but was able to return to the game a couple drives later.

Injuries to key starters in a meaningless Week 17 game would have dramatically changed the tenor of this postgame column. 

If the Patriots are bounced from the playoffs in the first round, it will be because they were outplayed, not because they lost their momentum in the final game of the season when their playoff spot was already locked up.

On the other hand, if they go the distance and get back to the promised land for the third time in the past eight years and the sixth time in the past 15 years, it will likely be because their key players were healthy and not injured in the game that mattered most.

Follow @ErikFrenz