The New England Patriots won a slugfest against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday holding onto the top spot in the Week 5 NFL power rankings.
Whenever the New England Patriots win a game ugly early in the season, the rest of the NFL heap on all the things that must be wrong with Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the crew. If there are any holes in the ship, the defending Super Bowl champions still hold on to the top spot in NFL.com’s Week 5 power rankings.
With how Brady and the offense looked against a pretty good Buffalo Bills defense in a 16-10 slugfest, there may be some cause for concern given the injuries the offensive line and their top two wide receivers are playing through.
Then again, the less than pedestrian offensive performance could be a wakeup call for the 42-year-old quarterback. With the defense dominating the way they are, Tom Brady and his bunch have some time to figure things out.
Until the passing game looks the way it should look, the New England Patriots need to get Sony Michel and the running game going. Once and if that happens, this team will be very tough to beat.
Standing at No. 1 with a 4-0 record, the Patriots stay ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs in the No. 2 spot. The New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears round out the top 5.
The biggest movers this week were the Philadelphia Eagles moving up 11 spots to No. 6. The Minnesota Vikings made the biggest dip, dropping 10 spots from No. 9 to the No. 19 spots.
Those receivers out there in Minneapolis are pretty unhappy. Better believe Bill Belichick has taken notice.
The Good
The defense and special teams won the game for the New England Patriots.
Although Tom Brady and the offense sputter through the game from the second quarter of the game on, the other two phrases of the game make winning ugly look pretty.
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Except for a couple big runs from Bills running back Frank Gore, the Pats’ D was solid all game long. Not only did they create consistent pressure on second-year quarterback Josh Allen with five sacks, they picked off Bills quarterbacks with four interceptions, two coming from cornerback J.C. Jackson.
Speaking of Jackson, the second-year defensive back headlined the special teams with a blocked punt that led to the team’s second touchdown of the game. It ended up being the difference in the 16-10 victory thanks to that tenacious defense.
Here is what NFL.com writer Dan Hanzus had to say about that defense:
"“The Patriots’ defense balled out again Sunday, forcing four turnovers in a tough road matchup against an equally game Bills defense. When the revitalized Jamie Collins snatched a Matt Barkley floater out of the air for the game-clinching interception, it finished a day of covering for New England’s slumping offense. Here’s a great stat from Greg Bedard: The Pats have had 22 possessions since taking a 20-0 lead over the Jets in Week 3 — only four of those drives have gone longer than five plays.”"
Unbelievable stats for a defense that is only going to get stronger as the season moves forward.
The Bad
The running game continues to be an issue for the New England Patriots.
Sure, there are offensive line problems, but the team really needs Sony Michel to get it going. Although it may be harder without fullback James Develin leading the way, Michel has shown the ability to find the right holes and create positive yardage.
This season, he has looked a little hesitant at times. That has to stop with Tom Brady and the passing game struggling a bit.
With 63 yards on 17 carries Sunday, Sony Michel wasn’t horrible. But, that 3.7 average per rush attempt needed to be better on Sunday to keep the athletic Bills’ defense from teeing off on Brady.
There is much optimism that Michel will get it going, but if this trend continues it may be time to get Rex Burkhead more carries and give 2019 third-round pick Damian Harris and opportunity to show what he can do.
In all, the New England Patriots need the running game to be a factor to get the passing game rolling.
The Ugly
When the defending Super Bowl champions can win again with Tom Brady looking as bad as he did, that is bad news for the rest of the league.
With a 45.9 quarterback rating against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Brady looked every bit his age. Add that to how slowed down both Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman looked, and many fans are wishing the team never waived Antonio Brown.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense does have some help coming. Tight End Ben Watson will return in Week 5 after a four-game suspension. They also have wide receivers Cam Meredith and first-round pick N’Keal Harry eligible to return following Week 8.
If all fail, Brady could always give Rob Gronkowski a call and plead for the tight end to come out of retirement.
In summary, it looked ugly on Sunday, but don’t expect it to stay ugly.