Patriots vs. Bills: What We Learned About New England in the 34-31 Loss

The New England Patriots weren't supposed to walk all over the Buffalo Bills like they did for the first 25 minutes on Sunday.

They also weren't supposed to cough over a 21-0 lead and turn it into a 34-31 loss.

This game was indicative of what we saw throughout the first two games from the defense. They allowed the big plays, but picked up a couple of their own, too.

What wasn't indicative of the first two games was Brady's poor play and bad execution on offense overall.

What's there to say after such a game? Well, it's a wonder you should ask...

Tom Brady's Hot Start Runs Cold

The way the Patriots have been playing, anyone could have told you that the turnover margin would have such a big impact on the outcome of the game. No one, though, would have guessed that four Tom Brady interceptions would be the downfall of the Patriots against the Bills.

Yeah, I said it. Four Brady interceptions. Haven't seen those words in writing since 2006. That's a fact.

This was Brady's first game with a sub-100 passer rating in 10 regular season games. That's another fact.

Of course, the blame doesn't fall entirely on Brady for the outcome to this game. A day like this from Brady is as inexcusable as it is rare, but the defense has to be able to give him some support when he's not perfect.

Defense Proves They Need Perfect Performances from Offense

Say what you want about bend-don't-break philosophies and capitalizing on an opponent's mistakes, but when the Patriots gave up two straight interceptions in the second quarter, the defense didn't pick up the slack for them at all.

They started off well with two interceptions, and one can only hope that it was a bright sign of things to come, but dating back to last season, this has been a defense that has relied all too heavily on its ability to create turnovers. This was evidenced when the Patriots built a 21-0 lead on the strength of two interceptions, but couldn't get a stop in the second half.

There are multiple reasons for this, but a porous pass defense is the biggest one both on the stat sheet and on the field. 

Multiple Fronts Haven't Helped in Getting After the Quarterback

The Patriots have had some real struggles getting pressure on the quarterback in their first two games of the season, having registered just 6 sacks through two games and failing to register a single sack against the Bills on Sunday.

The Patriots have done everything in their power to change their fortunes and have really mixed up the fronts over the past two weeks, running a mix of two-, three- and four-man fronts throughout the game. Despite all that, they're not showing any signs of improving what has been a consistent problem for them dating back to 2005.

Wes Welker Is a Reception Machine

Sixteen receptions is a personal record for Welker, and 216 yards is a team record for the Patriots. Two touchdowns also ties Welker's career high.

Welker was one of only two bright spots for the Patriots, as Brady looked to him time and time again to help him bail the Patriots out of their dramatic downfall.

Of course, it's hard for a receiver to bail out the quarterback when the quarterback throws four interceptions. Go figure.

Rob Gronkowski Is a Monster

Gronkowski has five touchdowns through three games, and is on pace for 25 on the season. He was just a second bright spot for the Patriots through a game of drastic struggles to both run and throw the ball.

The Patriots offense has predicated itself on the production of the tight ends over the past 20 games (including the postseason), but the success of those tight ends isn't necessarily indicative of the success of the team.

Still, the Patriots must feel good about themselves in knowing that even without one of their vastly talented tight ends, they can still get a lot of production out of whoever is on the field as long as Brady is throwing the ball.

Uncharacteristic Penalties

With seven penalties for 91 yards, it was those uncharacteristic mistakes that ultimately made this game as close as it was and gave the Bills multiple opportunities to climb back in and gain control.

The penalties were divided fairly evenly, with three on the offense and four on the defense. One in particular, a 31-yard pass interference penalty on Sergio Brown, set the Bills up at the 1-yard line, and they capitalized with a touchdown.

Devin McCourty's Sophomore Season Is off to a Slumpy Start

Through two weeks, the consensus was that Devin McCourty's early-season struggles were due to the difficulty of the competition he was facing. He was up against two former Pro Bowl receivers in Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson, and though Stevie Johnson had a breakout season in 2010, he wasn't seen as nearly the threat of either of those guys.

Johnson had eight catches for 94 yards and a touchdown on the day. That's in line with the stat lines put up by No. 1 receivers in the previous two games.

The source of the problems can be traced back to technique. McCourty gave up free releases on Johnson for the most part, even when he was in press coverage. He needs to start winning the battles at the line of scrimmage to return to the form of his sensational rookie season.

The Bills are better than most predicted, but that doesn't change the fact that McCourty got beat several times on Sunday. He will be up against inferior competition in an Oakland team that has relied mainly on its running game for success, so if his struggles continue, the whispers of a sophomore slump will turn into a dull roar.

Chad Ochocinco Experiment Hanging on by a Thread

It was a wide-open deep pass. That's all I have to say.

We can now begin to wonder if Ochocinco will be lumped into the Joey Galloway territory: high expectations, low returns.

He had two catches for 28 yards in this game, including the drop on the wide-open deep bomb that would have tied the game. If the Patriots hadn't scored a touchdown on that drive, the backlash would have been out of this world.

Still, Ochocinco has just five receptions for 87 yards through three games.

It's worth mentioning that one of Brady's interceptions came on a pass where Ochocinco failed to get underneath position on his cornerback.

Not Time to Press the Panic Button

It's Week 3, and the Patriots are 2-1. There are plenty of games left on the schedule for the defense to improve and build chemistry, and though the early signs aren't optimistic on the defensive side of the ball, the offense proved that they can score a lot of points even when Brady throws four interceptions.

The main areas that need improvement, though, are all on the defensive side of the ball. People will dissect whether the blame should fall primarily on the secondary for bad coverage or on the front seven for poor pressure, but the bottom line is that the defense needs to pull together and work as a unit to improve getting pressure and in coverage.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter  @erikfrenz.