Biggest Takeaways from New England Patriots' Week 2 Win

For three quarters, the New England Patriots dominated the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

But in 15 minutes of football, the score flipped so dramatically that the narrative almost flipped with it. What was once a seemingly insurmountable 37-13 lead quickly dwindled to a 40-32 margin that, with 4:15 left in the game, could have been overcome with one bad bounce of the ball or one mistake by the Patriots.

Ultimately, the Patriots' effort was good enough for the win on Sunday, but their mistakes nearly cost them down the stretch. 

What does this mean for the Patriots? Who or what is to blame for the close call? Who was instrumental in giving the Patriots the victory?

Here are five takeaways from the win.

Tom Brady Is off to an MVP Start to the Season

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It's a damn good thing Judge Richard Berman ruled in favor of Tom Brady and allowed the Patriots quarterback to play the first four games of the season. 

Brady is off to an MVP start to the season, and who knows where the Patriots would be without him. He has completed 63 of 91 pass attempts (69.2 percent) for 754 yards (8.3 yards per attempt) and seven touchdowns. He leads the league in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. 

And don't look now, but Brady is on pace for 56 touchdown passes this year, which would break Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning's two-year-old record of 55 touchdown passes in a season. 

Passing stats can sometimes be overrated—in fact, no passing leader in the modern era has ever won a Super Bowl. The last player to do it was Johnny Unitas back in 1959, according to Kerry Byrne of Cold Hard Football Facts. That being said, Brady is on an historic pace to start the season. 

Rob Gronkowski Could Be the Co-MVP

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Quarterbacks are always covered in glory, but Tom Brady can credit a good amount of that glory to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

The 6'6", 265-pound tight end has been a beast through the first two games of the season, tallying 12 receptions for 207 yards and four touchdowns. Right now, he is on pace for 96 receptions, 1,656 yards and 32 touchdowns. He might not finish with the NFL record for receiving touchdowns, but unless teams find a way to stop him, he could get there.

Gronkowski has been a first-team All-Pro in two of his three fully healthy NFL seasons (the only time he wasn't was in his rookie year in 2010). At the very least, he is probably headed to his third All-Pro season. If he puts up numbers that even approach what he's on pace to do right now, he's bound to earn at least some votes for NFL MVP. 

The Patriots Pass Rush Can Rise to the Occasion

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It almost defied logic.

The Patriots were expected to go into Buffalo with a game plan that would contain Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the pocket. As a result, people assumed the Patriots defense would struggle to get consistent pressure on Taylor.

That couldn't have been further from the truth. Taylor dropped back 38 times and was sacked on eight of them. Defensive end Chandler Jones notched three sacks, and linebacker Jamie Collins tallied 2.5 takedowns. 

The Patriots pass rush struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers, tallying just three sacks on opening night. With a dominant outing in Week 2, the front seven showed that it can take over games. 

Make no mistake: The Bills offensive line lacks talent at some key positions (right guard and right tackle), but the Patriots need to be able to take advantage of weak groups in order to help a new coverage unit that is still jelling. 

The Patriots Run Defense Could Be in Trouble

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Right now, "pace stats" and averages are more than a little skewed by a small sample size. That being said, if the Patriots continue to defend the run the way they have through two games this season, they could have one of the league's worst run defenses in history. Thus far, they have allowed 5.65 rushing yards per attempt, which would be the most in NFL history if the Patriots keep it up.

Surely, you have to think that head coach Bill Belichick will make the right adjustments to help the defense plug the gaps in the defensive line. The Patriots allowed 160 yards to the Bills, a team that features one of the league's best backs in LeSean McCoy and a head coach who loves the running game. The Patriots also gave up 134 rushing yards against a Steelers team that had its quarterback drop back 40 times. 

Some of these struggles have been attributed to a game plan that's "inviting the run" so that the opponent doesn't get in too much of a rhythm passing the ball. This game plan has been good enough to win the first two contests against good teams, but at some point, a ball-control offense could get the better of the Patriots. 

The Defense Must Do a Better Job of Closing out Games

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Through two weeks of the regular season, the Patriots defense has allowed just 24 points in the first three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter alone, it has given up 29 points. The Pittsburgh Steelers scored on a meaningless last-second touchdown in a 28-21 win for the Patriots in Week 1, but the Bills' 19-point fourth-quarter flurry gave them a legitimate chance to win the game. 

Inconsistent play has defined the Patriots defense through two games, and head coach Bill Belichick isn't afraid to admit it.

"That's kind of the way we've been these first two games at every position," Belichick said. "We've done some good things, and it's been good enough to beat a couple of good teams, but not consistent and there's a lot of room for improvement."

Actually, this is probably right in Belichick's wheelhouse. The Patriots played well enough to win the game, but there were enough mistakes that he can be critical of the team headed into Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.