Buffalo Bills' victory over the New England Patriots falls short of delivering good vibes
The Buffalo Bills won, but it sure doesn't feel like it.Coming into Sunday, the Bills met up with a three-win New England Patriots' squad that had, statistically, one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Yet, somehow, it was a fight all the way through to the end, with the Patriots pulling within three points […]
The Buffalo Bills won, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
Coming into Sunday, the Bills met up with a three-win New England Patriots' squad that had, statistically, one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Yet, somehow, it was a fight all the way through to the end, with the Patriots pulling within three points and having an onside kick opportunity to get the ball back and tie it.
To put it bluntly, this game, despite being a win, just wasn't good enough for Buffalo. You shouldn't have to "find a way to win" against a three-win team. No questions asked.
A familiar issue showed up early in the game which almost let this one get away from the Bills, which was the defense not being able to get off the field. In the first quarter, the Patriots were able to dominate the time of possession, only giving Josh Allen and the offense one series the entire quarter.
The Patriots, who were averaging only 17 points per game, ranking second-to-last in the league, scored touchdowns on their first two drives. Buffalo was down 14-0 with nothing going for them, and the stunned silence came through even on the TV broadcast.
James Cook ripped off a 40+ yard touchdown run to bring the Bills back into the game, and the Bills were able to do enough to win despite Josh Allen completing only 16/29 passes for 154 yards.
But there's no way that you can look at this game, look at the lack of urgency that the team came out with (which was a problem two weeks ago in their loss to the Rams), and look at the sloppy style of play that they put on the field against the Patriots and think that they are firing on all cylinders with the playoffs only three weeks away.
There's no denying the upside of this team. For a large chunk of this season, we saw the team playing complementary football, with an opportunistic defense and an offense that can pile on the points, but in a game that had a chance to be a "get-right" outing against one of the worst teams in the league, it looked like anything but.
Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
