New England Patriots: 5 observations from defensive battle vs. Buffalo Bills

The New England Patriots won a slugfest in Buffalo with a 16-10 victory over the Bills Sunday at New Era Field.

Well, that wasn’t pretty.  In an AFC East battle for first place, the New England Patriots won a slugfest against the Buffalo Bills with a 16-10 victory Sunday afternoon.

If you are a fan of defense, this was your type of game.

Just like Super Bowl LIII, both defenses showed they are elite.  The concern for Patriots fans, however, is how anemic Tom Brady and the offense looked.  Other than a couple sustained drives, one ending in an interception in the end zone, the Patriots’ offense couldn’t get anything going.

But, either could the Buffalo Bills, except for a couple long rushes by the ageless wonder Frank Gore.

Other than that, the New England Patriots defense kept Bills starter Josh Allen on his back foot and on his back.  They intercepted him three times in the game and recorded five sacks.

In all, the Patriots will take the win as they extended their record to 4-0.  There is some work to do, but Bill Belichick feels good how his team battled and toughed out the victory:

"“They stepped up, showed a lot of mental and physical toughness in this game. Obviously the Bills are a good football team, played very well, they have a lot of great players, well coached, tough. Our guys just started making more plays, and really competed for 60 minutes. We knew that’s what it’s going to take here, and they really responded to that. It’s good to get a division win on the road, and I’m really happy for our team, I’m really proud of the way they competed here. This was a tough football game, tough place to play.”"

Here are five observations from the New England Patriots 16-10 grueling victory over the Buffalo Bills.