A Few Thoughts about the *Patriots Game, in no particular order

[GunnerBill]

This game came down to time of possession and the Bills' inability to sustain any kind of offense. At the point the Pats scored to go ahead the time of possession in this game was 38 minutes to 16. It ended up 39 to 21 because the Bills last drive when the Pats are playing prevent because they know as long as they don't give up the touchdown they win was by a distance the longest drive (in terms of time) we had all day. About double our next longest. 

 

The D did not help itself in that sense in that it couldn't get off the field on 3rd down but there was a period there in the middle of that game where after Brady had started 9 of 9 he was 12 of 21. So we had a run either side of half time where he completed 3 attemtps out of 12. The problem was the D wore down. The number of missed tackles in the 4th Quarter was way up on the rest of the game. Did the Bills suddenly forget how to tackle? I think that unlikely. The mind was still willing but the body was no longer able. 

 

The Bills had 3 scoring drives. A short field (after the D created a turnover), a 32 second TD drive at the end of the first half and then a five play quick strike drive that took just 2:29 off the clock and put us up 17-13. After which we didn't manage a single first down until we were down by a touchdown. 

 

You don't win many NFL games when you lose time of possession 2:1. You certainly won't beat the Pats playing that way. Yes, compared to the exceptionally high standards they have set this year the defense was below par. But not by that much and the drives at the end were just pure exhaustion. We lost this game because we could not stay on the field on offense. I think on either of the two 3 and outs after the Brown TD drive if we had managed to generate just a couple of first downs and give our guys on D a little bit of a break they'd have made the plays down the stretch to win us the game. They were worn down. They are humans. It happens. 

 

As much as I loved the deep balls, two amazing throws, you cannot win in this league if you can't sustain some offense. And we couldn't all night. That is not me putting this game on Josh Allen either before anyone misinterprets it. There is plenty of blame to go around. But you cannot win when your defense is out there for 2/3s of a football game. 

[DCbillsfan]

 

11 hours ago, wvbillsfan said:

I posted about the scheme in the game day thread. It was clear as day to me that we weren’t “all in” trying to win that game. Especially defensively. 
 

Pats had a lot more to play for at home than we did and still barely got it done. Let’s go back to Foxboro in the playoffs and see what happens. 

This.  I think McD is in playoff mode already.  Yesterday was a glorified preseason game.  The Bills had little chance of improving playoff position yesterday and played a vanilla game.  They tried to win without showing anything for their playoff opponent.  McD went fox hunting yesterday without horses, dogs, or guns and still almost bagged one.  I think Chiefs will beat Cheaters.

Edited December 22, 2019 by DCbillsfan

[Meatloaf63]

On 12/22/2019 at 2:38 AM, GoBills808 said:

I thought Hyde showed a lot of class not hitting Brady in the head while Oliver was tackling him on that run.

 

 

 

 

I thought he was foolish, Brady went at Trey’s knees earlier in the game, and pay back for Allen’s hit he should have concussed him.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Meatloaf63

[DCbillsfan]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

This game came down to time of possession and the Bills' inability to sustain any kind of offense. At the point the Pats scored to go ahead the time of possession in this game was 38 minutes to 16. It ended up 39 to 21 because the Bills last drive when the Pats are playing prevent because they know as long as they don't give up the touchdown they win was by a distance the longest drive (in terms of time) we had all day. About double our next longest. 

 

The D did not help itself in that sense in that it couldn't get off the field on 3rd down but there was a period there in the middle of that game where after Brady had started 9 of 9 he was 12 of 21. So we had a run either side of half time where he completed 3 attemtps out of 12. The problem was the D wore down. The number of missed tackles in the 4th Quarter was way up on the rest of the game. Did the Bills suddenly forget how to tackle? I think that unlikely. The mind was still willing but the body was no longer able. 

 

The Bills had 3 scoring drives. A short field (after the D created a turnover), a 32 second TD drive at the end of the first half and then a five play quick strike drive that took just 2:29 off the clock and put us up 17-13. After which we didn't manage a single first down until we were down by a touchdown. 

 

You don't win many NFL games when you lose time of possession 2:1. You certainly won't beat the Pats playing that way. Yes, compared to the exceptionally high standards they have set this year the defense was below par. But not by that much and the drives at the end were just pure exhaustion. We lost this game because we could not stay on the field on offense. I think on either of the two 3 and outs after the Brown TD drive if we had managed to generate just a couple of first downs and give our guys on D a little bit of a break they'd have made the plays down the stretch to win us the game. They were worn down. They are humans. It happens. 

 

As much as I loved the deep balls, two amazing throws, you cannot win in this league if you can't sustain some offense. And we couldn't all night. That is not me putting this game on Josh Allen either before anyone misinterprets it. There is plenty of blame to go around. But you cannot win when your defense is out there for 2/3s of a football game. 

Yep.  Bills had two possessions with the lead (17 - 13, and 17 - 16) to get a few first downs, give defense a blow, and extend the lead but played too cautious.  

[dgrochester55]

I always hate losing to the Patriots and this loss sucks just as much as the others.   My biggest comfort is knowing that even though yesterday was more of the same, that the Patriots era is on its way out and Buffalo is on its way up. 

 

This is still a playoff team and the last two losses were close ones against arguably two of the best teams in the NFL.  This is still a team that is good enough to make a run in the playoffs and the optimistic side of me hopes that they learn from the Ravens and Patriots losses in the same way that they learned from their losses earlier in the year.

 

With a little more consistency on the offense, this team can beat anyone.

[DrDawkinstein]

13 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

Go Bills!

 

Great breakdown as usual.

 

Agreed this one is mostly on the Defense. Poor tackling, and a pretty bad gameplan.

 

Sure, Josh missed some throws, but that's expected.

 

There is no excuse from McD for going so soft on Brady. Any other year I'd understand as typically he kills the blitz. But this year teams are having great success blitzing him, and we have had good success recently blitzing Milano and Edmunds. But then we lay back in this game? I just dont get it.

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

12 hours ago, Virgil said:

Sometimes I forget the reasons beyond Marsha, Hoodie, and cheap-shot Edelman as to why I hate the Pats, but then I watch a game and see all the things they do to win and it just reminds me how terrible I believe they are for the league and can't wait until they are done.  The ways they push the playbooks and stretch so many rules that the refs are bound to miss some.  It's infuriating and they will always be the Cheaters to me.  Winning or not, being on a team that I would want my kids to play for matters to me.  There's nothing about the Pats style of winning or culture that impresses me.  I wouldn't take any of it for even one season, even if it meant a Super-Bowl victory.  With that, you can sense my mood and how this will go as I said before the game, there are no moral victories here.

 

1 - Defensive Pressure - While the Pats ran the ball consistently for the first two drives, it leveled out as the game went on with the passing ratio.  When dropping back to pass, Brady had all day to throw.  We didn't run stunts, didn't send extra players.  We just let him sit back there and make throws.  There was only one throw where Brady was in distress, and that was more on him bailing out early.  In every previous McD game, Brady was rattled, dirty, and visibly frustrated.  Not this game and it's completely inexcusable.

 

2 - Defensive Coverage - I said this last week and I'm going to say it again.  At what point are we going to put Tre on opposing teams #1 receiver and when are we going to cover the man in motion?!  It was beyond infuriating pre-snap to know where the pass was going and then have it unfold right before my eyes.  On the big Edelman catch on the last touchdown drive, he went in motion, Tre didn't go with him, and he ends up getting covered by a safety.  Hyde ended up on Edelman more than a few times and I just don't understand it.

 

3 - Defensive line run support - I can understand the mis-direction plays, which the Pats try to create a lot and keeps the defensive coverage in more of a structured base formation.  But rarely, and I mean rarely, were we crashing the middle of the line and plugging up the holes and allowed them 4-6 yards on a majority of the running plays.  Again, pre-snap, you could see it unfold and I almost wonder if Brady audibled into a lot of those runs because of the looks. 

 

4 - "There are no moral victories in the NFL.  You win or you lose.  The only stat that matters is 1 and 0.  It's how you prepare, react, and execute.  The team with the 1 is better that day.  You need to be better and prove it"

 

5 - Execution - Milano had one of his worst games today between not holding his zone well, but moreso in the tackling department.  However, it all can't be put on him.  There were quite a few plays that resulted in first downs due to poor tackling by White, Poyer got bulldozed a few times, and Lorax was abused on a few runs.  When our play style is to win the close games, you can't tire yourself out and keep the offense on the field with such poor execution, especially against the Cheats.  Don't get me started on Ford either.

 

6 - Boom or Bust Offense - There were so many opportunities in the second half to step on the Pats throats but we went back to our vanilla rush offense up the middle for no gain.  In the first drive, we at least showed some mis-direction, jet sweep, reverse looks that spread the Pats out a little, but that all went away in the second half.  Our rushing creativity was non-existent, no screen passes, no quick shots to the receivers, just quick 3 and outs.  What made it more frustrating was how explosive the offense looked at times and how momentum was on our side.  It's as bi-polar an offensive performance as I've seen this season.  Daboll needed a complete game today and he didn't do it.  Very disappointed in him.

 

7 - Allen - This is a hard one for me because he made two of his best throws of the season, but also left 11 points on the field.  Allen missed Knox twice for touchdowns.  The first one wasn't as easy a throw, but definitely makeable for an NFL starter.  His last one would have tied the game and there's no excuse for that miss.  He had a couple of misses in the middle of the field that will happen and I'm not too worried about for him.  But man, his deep throws!  His bomb to Knox was first first lofted deep ball completion of the season and it was at a perfect time.  His bomb to Brown was shaded of Jacksonville, but this time he threw before the break and hit Brown perfectly in stride.  (Side note:  Gilmore got faked out of his shoes on that play for his first TD against him of the season).  Allen did a great job not turning the ball over and made some solid runs.  He had a beautiful double-clutch, side arm pass to Beasley for a big gain as well.  Assuming he doesn't play next week, he will barely eclipse 3k yards this season.

 

8 - The Dirty - The play that represents the Pats/Brady/Edelman/Hoodie era was the offensive screen where Edelman hurt himself making a block before the pass.  My skin crawled watching the Pats trying to play it off like he was knocked down while trying to run a route and even the announcers just tried to defend it.  Edelman straight up tackled the defender as the rest of the players executed their routes.  The acting, the complaining, the attempted tackle is just trash to me and I'll never respect them.  But that's who they are.  Push the limits 10 times and hope they only call 5 of them.  Missed hands to the face calls on Hughes, facemask on Allen on the Qb sneak, illegal blocks downfield, terrible intentional grounding by Brady...all missed.  I just can't wait until it's all over and it definitely is starting to look that will be sooner than later.

 

9 - McD - I'm disappointed in the lack of aggressive play calling we had.  It's one thing to get beat on a blitz because you left a zone open, but it's worse when you don't even try to disrupt the opposing team.  The 3 and outs on offense were boring and predictable.  On both sides of the ball, it just felt like we were playing for 20 points and had faith that would be enough.  And normally that's true, but this is the Pats and that's what I think McD is missing.  This team will never respect us until we make them.  Brady needs to be put on his ass.  Edelman needs to be blanketed.  Make them lose their composure and point fingers.  Brady's jersey was clean and their offense was dormant all year until this game.  McD needs to be better in these games if he wants to be that next level coach.  He got beat today. 

 

10 -  Overall - A loss against the Pats is always tough because of who they've been to us over the last twenty years.  I genuinely believed we were going to win this game before it started and I feel sick afterwards knowing we should have.  It's an all to familiar feeling against this team whom I absolutely despise.  Winning would've been the icing on the cake for a season where we got a lot of monkey's off our back.  To do it in a game where it felt like everyone could see what the Bills needed to do to win except the coaches makes it harder.  I'm glad this wasn't week 17 and next week is basically a bye week for us.  We can shake this feeling and prep for our road playoff game.

 

Go Bills!

What do you make of the lack of defensive pressure? Do you think it was game plan? Like clearly Brady this season has not been good when pressured. It really frustrates me that we just let him sit back.

 

I also agree that Tre should have taken Edelman all day.  The other wr’s like Harry etc have really shown nothing all season.

 

Do you think we had some carryover fatigue from Pittsburgh?

[zow2]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Which is what McDermott is all about. Conservative, dont make a mistake football.... hard to beat good teams playing that way.

true yesterday but he’s not always ultra conservative. NE has a great defense.

 

Early and midway through the season they were going on plenty of 4th and shorts.. and made a couple and got stuffed on several.  He also passed up a couple field goal chances earlier in the season and we failed on the 4th down conversions.  Dumb IMO when it’s not late in the game. You take the points 

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, loveorhatembillsfan4life said:

What do you make of the lack of defensive pressure? Do you think it was game plan? Like clearly Brady this season has not been good when pressured. It really frustrates me that we just let him sit back.

 

I also agree that Tre should have taken Edelman all day.  The other wr’s like Harry etc have really shown nothing all season.

 

Do you think we had some carryover fatigue from Pittsburgh?

 

Not to answer for Virgil, but yes, it was gameplan.

 

I didnt notice many blitzes from Milano or Edmunds like we have seen in recent weeks. It was like we went back into a soft Tampa-2, or ever worse, Zone. Dropping all our LBs back.

 

I know there were a couple blitzes here or there, but not like we've seen in quantity or design.

[Protocal69]

I can honestly say for the 1st time in the longest time the Pats gave 100% to beat us. They did treat this game like a playoff game. Both games also came down to the wire. 
 

I will say that Josh Allen is getting better every game when facing the Pats. To finish the game with no ints and no fumbles and 2 Td shows that he is progressing 

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

8 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Not to answer for Virgil, but yes, it was gameplan.

 

I didnt notice many blitzes from Milano or Edmunds like we have seen in recent weeks. It was like we went back into a soft Tampa-2, or ever worse, Zone. Dropping all our LBs back.

 

I know there were a couple blitzes here or there, but not like we've seen in quantity or design.

Hmm. You could be right. I guess my next question is why. Are we saving certain schemes for playoffs? 
 

What’s most annoying is having to listen to Pats fans think their offense is back.

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by loveorhatembillsfan4life

[DrDawkinstein]

5 minutes ago, loveorhatembillsfan4life said:

Hmm. You could be right. I guess my next question is why. Are we saving certain schemes for playoffs? 
 

What’s most annoying is having to listen to Pats fans think their offense is back.

 

 

That could be the theory. Or they just didnt realize that blitzing Brady works this year and fell into old habits. We'll never really know since even if he was asked directly, all McD can do is give a very coach-speak answer.

[Maine-iac]

It seemed like the Pats WR's were much more involved in this game than they have been all year.  It also seemed like we were playing much more man than I've seen all year.  I didn't see the situational blitzing I've seen from this defense before and the couple I did see appeared to be almost more of a run blitz.  The Pats are steady and consistant and don't make mistakes per se but our previous successes have involved creating enough negative plays to create 2nd and 3rd and longs.  We played safe and did the bend but don't break thing but the lack of negative plays I feel is what kept them on the field enough to do more damage.  As for where Tre needed to be I can't argue with Harry.  I really think his athleticism and size dictates the attention.  Edleman is always going to get catches the best way to take him out of the game is just double him which most teams do.  I didn't see the RB's catching as many passes I wonder if they were used much more to sure up blocking for Brady.  I wish I had it DVR'd to watch again.

 

ps went and looked and the box score says I'm crazy Burkhead was their best reciever.?

Edited December 22, 2019 by Maine-iac

[ganesh]

7 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

There was one play when the announcers were saying that Josh needs to get rid of the ball quicker and on the replay they were showing NOT ONE of the three receivers in his vision had even finished their pattern and looked for the ball. Not one. It was ridiculous. There was nothing and no one to throw at. 

I think what the announcers were saying that in a battle of field positions, it was important to not take the sack and throw the ball away.  

[Turk71]

7 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

I do but not on that play. That was all on us. Not one of those receivers, more than 15-20 yards downfield, even started to look for the ball before he had to throw it. It's possible one of them ran the wrong route but not one of them even turned their head to look for the ball. I love John Brown but some plays he doesn't run his pattern to the end and sometimes Josh throws to him and if he's running full speed he may have a chance. 

I remember that play. The view from the backfield you could see 3 Bills down the field with their backs turned still running routes. The play had no short routes whatsoever. Allen had nowhere to go with the ball as the rush closed in. Either someone ran the wrong route or just a lousy play design I guess. 

[Pokebball]

14 hours ago, JM57 said:

I thought when it happened, and definitely upon seeing a replay, that the first one was on Knox.

 

IMO the play design was clearly to have Knox running a corner route off the left side of the formation.  Allen's throw was to the back of the end zone. Knox ended his route at the front pylon. That's..... Not the right "corner", Dawson

These are the things we don't know and the coaches do

[Buffalo86]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I think what the announcers were saying that in a battle of field positions, it was important to not take the sack and throw the ball away.  

 

Agreed.  There were at least 2 times yesterday when I screamed "throw it away", only to watch Allen take a sack in slow motion.  Learning to throw the ball away seems like a simple, immediate improvement that Allen should be able to make.

 

Overall, I was happy with the way we played yesterday.  The Bills are going with a variation of the Mike Barnes Karate Kid III "first you win a point, then you lose a point" strategy.  In our case, it's "first you lose twice to the Pats in the regular season, then you beat them in the playoffs to inflict maximum pain".  The Bills' revenge tour continues.  

[Sundancer]

15 hours ago, zow2 said:

I don’t buy that. McD, the coaching staff, The players, Beane, The Pegulas... they all wanted this game badly.  They wanted nothing more than to start the changing of the guard.

 

Of course not. They had a chance at the division and a home playoff game, and despite what anyone says, they wanted to beat the Pats at home.

 

They did not play for the 5th spot. They just lost to a better team. The Pats are 100% on the decline but they are too good at winning to suddenly forget how to do it. After the last SB, the Bills were in decline too but they could not be counted out of a game for several more years. 

[LABILLBACKER]

The Patriot organization will always be known for lying,  stealing,  cheating. It's in their nature. It's the Patriot way. All their accomplishments are tainted. Bill Belichick brought this on himself and it has carried over to the owner and players. They may never truly get punished in the way they deserve but I hope history books reveal their true character. 

[nucci]

15 hours ago, Maine-iac said:

I asked myself before this game, do you show all your cards?  I really would love to have seen some situational blitzing.  That said I do hope we have a bunch of things up our sleeves because we will be playing in January this year.

but this was a chance to win and play for a division title and bye week. You always add stuff every week but you do everything to win this game