Buffalo Bills Notebook: Defense, Coaching versus the New England Patriots, Fall Flat
The Buffalo Bills played the New England Patriots to a pitiful display in which they disgraced themselves. What went wrong, and was there any cause for hope in the setback?
The Buffalo Bills face-planted in Foxborough on Sunday, falling to the New England Patriots, 29-25.
There’s no sugarcoating this one—Buffalo was as bad as the stomach aches they caused would suggest. Yes, there were injuries and it was a road contest against a division rival. None of that should have mattered with such a distinct talent advantage.
1. Head coach Sean McDermott, and his defense, were inexcusably bad.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones had been arguably the worst quarterback through six weeks. In Week 7, he completed 25-of-30 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t turn the ball over, nor was he sacked.
Part of the credit should be headed his way. The same can be said for running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott, despite combining for 65 yards on the ground. Both converted critical carries, and Stevenson broke off a key 34-yard catch on New England’s final drive.
The Patriots ensured the Bills’ feared pass rush would not be a factor by getting the ball out of Jones’ hands quickly. He averaged just 3.3 air yards per target. For reference, Bills quarterback Josh Allen averaged 11 air yards per target.
New England forced Buffalo to play horizontally and rally to the football, putting pressure on the defense’s communication and weak spots up the middle. It worked to a tee.
The Patriots’ best offensive performance of the season came against one of Buffalo’s worst, and when they needed the defense to step up late, the Bills fell short.
At some point, playing down to one’s competition in this manner is an indictment on a coaching staff. In an AFC East race that isn’t yet over, Buffalo is playing themselves not only out of a division, but out of an upper-Wild Card spot.
These are the kinds of losses that have season-long consequences.
2. The Bills couldn’t survive an off day from Stefon Diggs.
Diggs led the Bills in targets … again. That’s not inherently bad, and he played fairly well, especially on the touchdown grab that saw him make a sliding catch and gain yards after the catch.
However, it was clear Bill Belichick wanted to limit his impact. He succeeded. The Allen-Diggs connection was tumultuous, catching just half of his 12 targets. He was limited to just 58 yards. Several potential scores/first downs fell incomplete and left the Bills scrambling for non-Diggs answers.
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