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.
5. Special teams is special except for Gostkowski
Just like Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots punting game played a big role in this defensive struggle.
Credit Jake Bailey for punting the ball well when the team was basically back in its own end zone. The coverage team did a great job as well keeping Buffalo Bills returner Andre Roberts in check most of the game.
Then, of course, there was the block punt by J.C. Jackson in the first quarter that led to Matthew Slater’s first career touchdown. The blocked punt gave the team a 13-0 lead and really turned out to be the difference in a defensive slugfest.
But, the reason why it was only a six-point victory was because of yet another missed extra point off the foot of Stephen Gostkowski.
It was his fourth missed extra point of the season and more than cause for concern for a kicker who is usually consistent throughout his career with a 98.5 percent extra-conversion rate throughout his 14 seasons in the NFL.
Overall, Sunday’s 16-10 victory showed just how important special teams are and how good or bad play could be a difference in a game any given Sunday.
4. J.C. Jackson has himself a day
Speaking of the blocked punt, New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson was not only the hero in that play, he also recorded two interceptions off Josh Allen.
While Stephon Gilmore is getting most of the praise in the Patriots secondary, the solid play of Jackson can’t be underestimated. As an undrafted rookie a season ago, the second-year receiver is really turning out to be a find for the team both in the secondary and on special teams.
As one of the heroes in Sunday’s 16-10 victory, Gilmore applauded Jackson’s day and attributed his three big plays in the game to his hard work and preparation.
"“He’s a baller,” Gilmore said Sunday after the game. “He works hard in practice every day, and he’s come in every day since last year working hard each and every day. He helped us out a lot today. I’m happy for him.”"
The scary part about a young player like J.C. Jackson is that he will only get better with experience. After a game like Sunday, the confidence will also continue to grow and that can only mean good things for the New England Patriots going forward.
3. Kyle Van Noy responds
New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy was one of the players to watch in Sunday’s game and boy did he come true.
While the entire defense was ballin’ in holding the Bills to just 10 points, including four interceptions and five sacks. Mr. Van Noy had himself a game with 8 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
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He was also in on the final play of the game when his pressure on Bills quarterback Matt Barkley caused the nail in the coffin on an interception by fellow linebacker Jamie Collins.
Following the game, Kyle Van Noy said he wanted to make sure everyone knew who the defense was, referencing a comment by Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins say that the Patriots league-leading defense hasn’t played them yet and that things may change.
Well, nothing really changed.
The Patriots defense did give up their most points of the season with 10, but the Bills had to work very hard for those points. At the end of the day, the Patriots defenders made the plays that made the difference in the game.
While everyone is marveling at the Bills’ defense in making Tom Brady look mediocre, it is the Patriots defense making the most noise.
"“If someone said they didn’t know who you are after what we’ve been doing,” Van Noy said following the game. “Would you be like, “What have you been watching?”"
The disrespect card continues to fuel Kyle Van Noy and the Super Bowl champions.
2. Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon not right
Except for a couple of drives in the game, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots just could not get it going.
While many fans were wishing Antonio Brown was never released after the anemic performance, the reality is the Patriots have some health issues that is finally taking its toll on the team.
The offensive line health issues are one thing, but both Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon did not look 100 percent out there. Not only were there dropped passes by the two receivers, Brady seemed to force the ball to Phillip Dorsett on a few occasions.
Was it more about the Buffalo Bills defense or more about the Patriots offense just not executing?
It was a bit of both.
But, it’s obvious from Brady’s demeanor after the game that the offense could definitely do better as far as executing.
"“I think we’re all just trying to improve?” Tom Brady said. “We did the best we can do and today was, you know, we can do better than that. So, try to do better next week, figure out all the things that they did well. They did a lot of things well, and I’m glad we won. Glad we’re 4-0.”"
Brady and the Patriots have a little help coming when tight end Ben Watson returns in Week 5. Getting both Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman healthy is certainly the key in getting this offense rolling again.
1. Devin McCourty an interception machine
For the fourth consecutive game, safety Devin McCourty recorded an interception.
On the other side of 30, the veteran defensive back is having a bit of a youth revival this season with the interceptions. He is also a big reason why the New England Patriots defense has been tops in the NFL.
While he is not exactly Deion Sanders or even Stephon Gilmore, McCourty got some praise from Prime Time himself on his interception streak.
The praise made McCourty smile, but what makes him smile even more is the way his defense is playing, particularly fellow defensive back J.C. Jackson who had a great game on Sunday.
"“They have to make up some type of award to give J.C. I don’t know if it’s special teams, defensive player of the week, but they need to give some type of combo I think,” McCourty said following the game, as transcribed by WEEI. “He’s another guy, when he gets on the field somehow he makes a play. From last year and all the way into this year, so it was great to see him go out there and make those plays today.”"
With what Devin McCourty and the entire defense is doing so far this season, it’s easy to make awards for many players.
Certainly, it was a day in which that Bill Belichick defense bailed Tom Brady and the offense out with a dominant performance.