Bills vs. Patriots: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
The early race in the AFC East became a little clearer on Sunday when Tom Brady and Randy Moss connected twice to lead the New England Patriots past the Buffalo Bills in a game that was much closer than expected.
Buffalo came to play and definately brought their "A" game to Gillette Stadium. In a game that was supposed to be a slaughter the Bills kept things close all game. They actually had a chance to take a late lead, but were victimized by an untimely turnover in the red zone.
They never recovered and the Patriots capitalized to put the game on ice.
A win is a win, especially against a division foe. But it wasn't all gumdrops and lollipops, as always, there was some good, some bad, and some just plain ugly.
Good: BenJarvus Green-Ellis
1 of 10
When the Patriots dealt Laurence Maroney to Denver, many fans assumed "The Firm" would be asked to take on a more prominent role in the running game.
Most however did not expect to see him establish himself as the team's best option in the backfield. He outperformed both Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris, showing great vision and burst through the hole.
Perhaps most importantly, he made quick, decisive cuts then turned upfield for positive yards. Both skills Maroney notoriously lacked during his tenure in New England.
Taylor said a few weeks ago on WEEI that Green-Ellis is going to be a great runningback. On Sunday we caught a glimpse of what Taylor was talking about.
Good: Aaron Hernandez
2 of 10
The rookie tight end out of Florida has been winning fans over since day 1, but he showed skills against the Bills that even the New England faithful didn't know he had.
His first action of the afternoon came on a TE reverse in which he showed off his great quickness and playmaking ability for a gain of 13 yards. Yeah - that's right - they ran a tight end reverse. There's a fine line between brilliant and crazy, and Hernandez made the Patriots look brilliant.
Hernandez was an impact from start to finish and gave Pro Bowl safety Jarius Byrd absolute fits as a receiver. He shredded the middle of the Buffalo defense to the tune of six catches for 65 yards- both team highs.
He seems to be emerging as a Welker-esque security blanket for Brady, especially when converting first downs. His versatility, explosiveness and great hands are a deadly combination. It's like Chris Cooley mixed with Dallas Clark.
Good: Offensive Line
3 of 10
New England's offensive line played sensational football on Sunday.
Quarterback Tom Brady was sacked only once. He enjoyed comfortable protection all game, routinely surveying the field for four, five, even six seconds. As a result he finished the day with a passer rating of 146.2 along with three touchdowns.
Numbers like that are made possible by great offensive line play.
It doesn't end there, though.
They also bulldozed the Bills with their run blocking. BenJarvus Green-Ellis managed 98 yards on 16 carries for an average gain of 6.1 yards. Some of his running lanes were wide enough to drive a Cadillac through.
At one point the announcer even made a comment to his partner that either of them could have gained big yards behind that offensive line.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Good: Danny Woodhead
4 of 10
It didn't take long to give away Laurence Maroney's old number (39). The former member of the New York Jets' practice squad could be the latest gem plucked from the scrap heap by Bill Belichick.
He looked great in limited action, carrying the ball three times for 42 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown. He showed deceptive speed, quick burst, and slippery elusiveness.
It's much too early to hand him Kevin Faulk's old job, but as far as debuts go Sunday was as good as they come.
Good: Ron Brace
5 of 10
It's always nice to see a Boston College boy make good in the NFL. It's even better when they have a chance to do it with the Patriots.
Brace hasn't locked down a starting role yet, but he got a lot closer with his performance against Buffalo. He is massive. It looks like there are two Vince Wilforks out there. Especially when he gets penetration like he did on Sunday.
He didn't show up much in the box score, but he was disruptive at the line of scrimmage.
Good: Play Calling
6 of 10
They limited their downfield throws to focus on higher percentage plays in the passing game, and it worked to perfection. The Patriots avoided the turnover that cost them the Jets game and Brady finished with a spectacular 146.2 passer rating.
They also had a healthy balance of run and pass, and actually had more running plays than passing plays. As a team they ran 38 times for 200 yards and were able to control the clock on the ground.
But the big play through the air was still there when they needed it, as evidenced by Brady's three touchdowns.
Good: Safeties
7 of 10
Brandon Meriweather was back to his normal self this week after being benched against the Jets for freelancing on defense. He had the game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter in addition to six total tackles and a pass deflection.
Patrick Chung looked even better. He finished with seven tackles, all solo.
He now has 29 tackles on the season, nearly 10 per game. 24 of those are solo, meaning he averages 8 unassisted tackles per game. He's the best tackler in the secondary and could finish among the league leaders at his position.
He also deflected a pass and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Bad: Cornerbacks
8 of 10
Darius Butler was so bad against the Jets he got benched this week.
In his place, Kyle Arrington made a nice play to break up a pass early, but was pretty much a non-factor the rest of the way.
McCoutry supported the run well, finished with 5 solo tackles, and covered well for the most part, but still managed to give up a touchdown to rookie Steve Johnson, who went all Braylon Edwards and thought excessively celebrating would be a good idea.
I still think Butler and McCourty will be very good players very soon, but they weren't this week.
Bad: Special Teams
9 of 10
Let's see, they didn't have a single punt return, so nothing there.
They actually drafted a punter. If you use a draft pick on a punter, he better be very good. Zoltan Mesko was not. He averaged 37.7 yards without factoring in the returns.
Even Brandon Tate was bottled up like Poland Spring on kickoff returns. Not to mention he fumbled after catching a pass.
Worst of all, they gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown. C.J. Spiller went through them like a cool breeze through a thin dress.
Watching Gostkowski try to make the tackle and instead take out the only two Patriots who actually could have was pretty comical though.
Ugly: Steve Johnson
10 of 10
It's bad enough he draws a personal foul or pretending to shoot a rifle like the Minutemen. Seriously, I mean, if that doesn't scream "Chad Ochocinco wannabe!" I don't know what does.
The icing on the cake though is his absolutely idiotic haircut. He recently had dreadlocks, but as you can see here, he cut them off. Fine. No biggie.
Then he shaved a series of stars and stripes onto his head.
If he's trying to be Patriotic, good for him. He still looks ridiculous.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")