Bills vs. Patriots: New England Grades, Notes and Quotes
No matter how talented or well-coached a team may be, every squad will have its sloppy showing over the course of a 16-game schedule. The New England Patriots managed to run their record to 10-0 with a 20-13 win over the Buffalo Bills at home in Foxborough, but they did so in their most sloppy and foreboding game of the season.
Apart from a penalty-aided field goal on the Patriots' opening drive, the first quarter was largely marked by ineptness. Rex Ryan's pre-snap disguises flummoxed New England's protection schemes, while Tyrod Taylor's downfield-accuracy limitations prevented the Bills from sustaining any meaningful offense. Despite the Pats holding the 3-0 lead, Buffalo dictated the action, foreshadowing another close affair against a Ryan-led team.
The Bills tied the game at the start of the second quarter with a 11-play drive which ended in a 52-yard Dan Carpenter field goal. Buffalo continued to dominate time of possession in the quarter, with New England picking up just two first downs in the frame. Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung each saved touchdowns on deep wheel routes, and the Pats caught a break when a Carpenter miss from 48 yards out allowed Tom Brady to lead a 62-yard touchdown drive in the final minute.
With a 10-3 lead coming out of halftime, the Pats could have extended their lead to two scores, but a bizarre inadvertent whistle halted a long Danny Amendola reception mid-play. Stephen Gostkowski subsequently missed his first field goal of the season—from 54 yards—and the Bills cashed in on the excellent field position with a touchdown capped off by a 27-yard LeSean McCoy run.
Needing to stem Buffalo's roll, the Patriots offense caught lightning in a bottle midway through the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead. Brady found Amendola wide-open in a zone on 3rd-and-long for 41 yards, and James White finished the drive off on the next play with his second touchdown of the night. Later in the quarter, Gostkowski helped put the Patriots up by 10 after a fumble on a Bills punt return set up the offense in premium field position.
The fourth quarter was a struggle on both sides, with New England's depleted offense attempting to burn time off the clock while largely relying on its defense to finish the game. Buffalo got a field goal with under four minutes left to trim the lead to seven, but a fruitless final drive never crossed midfield and mercifully ended the evening.
The Patriots remain unbeaten, but there will be many more questions than answers after this showing. Read on for analysis of what we should take away from a victory many New England fans will regard ambivalently.
Position Grades for Patriots
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Quarterback: C
Running Back: B
Wide Receiver: C+
Tight End: D+
Offensive Line: C-
Defensive Line: B+
Linebackers: A-
Defensive Backs: B+
Special Teams: A-
Coaching: A-
On a night when virtually nothing went right for the offense, James White and Danny Amendola (before he departed with a knee injury) made some nice contributions for the Patriots.
White scored the first two touchdowns of his career—a 20-yard reception right before halftime in which he broke a tackle to reach the end zone and a six-yard run to help put the Patriots up for good. The second-year pro's solid night bumps up the running back grade on a night where the Pats averaged a modest 3.9 yards per carry.
However, as we'll cover shortly, the offensive line had arguably its worst pass-blocking showing of the season, and New England's ragtag receiver group did little to provide Brady with a reasonable outlet. Rob Gronkowski, jammed and double-teamed on the majority of plays, also had his lowest output of the season, garnering just 37 yards on a season-low two receptions.
The defense was largely excellent apart from a couple of lapses on deep balls, picking up the offense on the night it needed it most. Even though the Pats sacked Tyrod Taylor just once, the pass rush picked up steam near the end of the game, harassing Taylor throughout Buffalo's comeback attempt. On the last-ditch drive, a Rob Ninkovich forced fumble on Taylor was not recovered, but it essentially burned off the rest of the clock and ended the game.
Special teams shouldn't be overlooked either, despite Gostkowski's first miss of the season. Brandon King's forced fumble on Leodis McKelvin (and Jonathan Freeny's recovery) gave the stumbling offense the field-position boost it needed. Even though the offense failed to move the ball, it was already in range for Gostkowski to give the Patriots a 10-point lead, a critical play which dictated the rest of the game's rhythm.
Shaky Offense Sees Scoring Streak End
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The Bills recorded an astounding 14 quarterback hits on Tom Brady, evoking memories of New England's last Monday night appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs in that disastrous September 2014 outing. While the Patriots were largely able to avoid the debilitating mistakes which characterized that loss, the passing game looked as feeble as it has since New England's woeful start to the 2014 season.
Brady ended the game averaging a respectable 7.1 yards per pass attempt due to a couple of plays for huge chunks of yardage, but he was largely ineffective on a down-to-down basis.
The offensive line never seemed to get a bead on Rex Ryan's amoeba fronts, consistently forcing Brady to dump the ball into the turf after being placed under siege. New England's occasional success came when Ryan let his foot off the gas pedal (i.e., at the end of the first half), but Brady rarely had time or open receivers on any given play.
The lack of rhythm also ended New England's streak of 38 consecutive quarters with an offensive score—an NFL record which dated back to the first quarter of Week 1. While a nice piece of trivia, the streak is also no longer characteristic of an offense that has become totally depleted and can no longer rely on the same concepts that made the Patriots the league's top-scoring offense.
There's not much the Pats can do about the injuries, but one wonders if Bill Belichick will seek more stability along the offensive line. David Andrews came off the field for the first time all season in favor of Bryan Stork, while Shaq Mason and Cameron Fleming saw their playing time largely disappear in the second half.
Rotations have been a way to shield the inexperience along the line, but perhaps continuity would have better served the offense against a pressure scheme that requires seamless chemistry and communication in the trenches.
Defense Shuts Down Comeback Attempt
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The Pats have allowed lower point totals three times this season. However, given how completely the team relied on this unit, the defense's Monday night showing may have been its best of the season. Buffalo garnered a woeful 4.7 yards per play, despite holding onto the ball for six more minutes than New England, never wearing out a Pats defense which appeared to grow stronger later in the game.
LeSean McCoy had his share of highlights, including a gorgeous diving 27-yard touchdown run which he bounced to the outside. However, the Bills overall were limited to 3.1 yards per carry, including just one yard on four rushes from Taylor. New England's defensive line generally did an excellent job of containment and gap integrity against both players, forcing the game onto Taylor's (possibly injured) arm.
Additionally, New England played the game with just two corners, using safety Patrick Chung as a slot corner on Chris Hogan and Tavon Wilson in Chung's typical box safety role. Chung had his share of struggles in conceding 95 yards on six catches to Hogan, including a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter that set up Buffalo's final score.
However, Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan were excellent on the perimeter, stifling Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods to a combined seven catches for 83 yards. Watkins didn't even record a catch until the fourth quarter (though he drew one deep pass-interference call), and tight end Charles Clay was quiet with only a single catch for 14 yards. Given the state of the offense, the defense might need to hold down the fort until the cavalry returns for Brady and Co.
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Injuries Mount for Offense
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It's a cruel tease to think back to the season's first three weeks, when the Patriots escaped mostly clean from all their games. New England has had a starter go down for multiple weeks in four of the five games since its bye week, and that streak might extend itself with injuries to wide receivers Aaron Dobson and Danny Amendola.
Of the two, Dobson's appeared more serious, as he walked off extremely gingerly and was shortly ruled out with an ankle injury. Of course, Amendola's could be the more debilitating loss, as he never returned to the game following a third-quarter exit with a knee injury. The slot receiver was Brady's only reliable target on the evening, and it's no coincidence the passing game disappeared during his absence.
The Pats have no margin for error at the receiver spot anymore, as they finished the game with Brandon LaFell and Chris Harper as the two receivers. Assuming Dobson is out for an extended period, Amendola's availability will be key to whether New England can even cobble together a functional offense in time to face the league-leading Denver Broncos defense next weekend.
Tom Brady: Inadvertent Whistle Confusing
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One of the biggest game-altering plays came at the start of the third quarter, when Amendola broke free for a potential touchdown that would have helped put New England up 17-3. However, before Amendola could take off, the referees blew the whistle for no apparent reason.
Amendola was awarded the catch because the whistle supposedly came after he caught the ball (even though the broadcast showed otherwise), but he could not maximize the play for the Patriots. According to the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels, Brady was understandably confused about the call:
"Brady on the inadvertent whistle: I don't really know what happened
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) November 24, 2015"
Rex Ryan appeared to cause the whistle by walking toward the official mid-play. The Patriots received an extra 15 yards from the end of the catch after Ryan was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the drive subsequently stalled, and Gostkowski missed from 54 yards out.
With Buffalo immediately scoring to help tie the game on its next possession, the inadvertent whistle could have been the turning point that ended New England's unbeaten season.
Instead, it ended up becoming another tragicomic chapter in one of the season's sloppiest games. The officials in general had a difficult time, frequently huddling up to discuss seemingly routine calls and delaying the game's flow. Given how the Patriots and Bills inconsistently executed plays, the third team in the striped uniforms fit right in.
Brandon LaFell: Amendola in Good Spirits
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Amendola never spoke to the press after the game, typically an ominous sign for players who departed with injuries. According to ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss, though, teammate Brandon LaFell provided a small ray of hope with an encouraging tidbit after the game:
"WR Brandon LaFell on Danny Amendola: "When I saw him, it looked like he was in good spirits. I hope it's nothing major. Going to need him."
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 24, 2015"
Locker-room presence doesn't necessarily mean anything definitive, as Nate Solder took interviews after the game in which he saw his season end with a torn biceps. Factoring in Amendola's poor injury history and the short week the Pats are facing, it's a little hard to believe he'll be available for the quick turnaround to Denver.
That would place a tremendous amount of stress on Josh McDaniels to construct a workable game plan despite a huge mismatch against the Broncos' estimable secondary. Brady has made hay with worse receiving corps before—anyone who remembers the 2006 season can attest to that—but it is difficult to imagine where New England can turn if Amendola is out for an extended period.
James White Seizes Opportunity
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Though he continues to get less volume than Dion Lewis did earlier this season, James White has proven capable of replicating some of the production Lewis provided in the passing back role. White scored on half of his four touches and has also made significant strides in pass protection. After the game, White simply expressed a "next man up" type of philosophy in discussing his performance, per Daniels:
"James White: Guys were down, people had to step up so I just want to be one of those guys
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) November 24, 2015"
The Pats largely turned to LeGarrette Blount to close out this game, but White continues to make a case for more touches. It wouldn't be surprising to see his snap count increase in upcoming weeks out of sheer necessity, since the Patriots can barely field an eligible receiver grouping at this point. He appeared more slippery in the open field than Brandon Bolden, who ran for 15 yards on four carries and failed to corral his only target.
The running backs will likely become the focal point of the New England offense in the short term when considering how defenses can now sell out to limit Gronkowski. White and Blount were complementary pieces to the league's best passing attack for the first half of the year, but it appears that could change.
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