The New England Patriots are still a great football team, but they came down to earth last week in Indianapolis. After a 27-17 loss, the Pats returned home with a huge reality check. After ripping through seven straight games and winning, the hot streak came to a crashing end versus Jonathan Taylor and the Colts. It was a game, to simply put it, that the Patriots didn’t win on any phase. The offense was lackluster and messy the first three-quarters of the game. The defense played a great second half, but couldn’t stop Taylor for most of the game, allowing 170 yards on the ground and a late fourth-quarter touchdown that iced the game. Even the special teams had a major misfire in a blocked punt that led to an early score to put the Patriots down 14-0 early, which quickly became 20-0.
The Patriots fought hard in the second half. In the third quarter, Taylor was held in check for the most part. As was the Colts’ passing game, where Carson Wentz completed a measly 5 passes for 27 yards in an indoor stadium. I suppose we can’t complain, as the last time the Patriots met up with the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots won attempting just three passes. Rushing the ball 45 times with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. This game is of the most importance. The winner will control their own destiny when it comes to winning this tight divisional race, and the Patriots finish the year with a date against the Jaguars, and a trip to Miami in the season’s finale. If they win this game? Odds are they take the whole thing. So let’s not push this preview off any further. Set it up, Bailey! Let’s get one underway.
Three Keys To The Game
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70301953/usa_today_17380952.0.jpg)
Key #1: Don’t get too cute offensively
A huge factor in what did the Patriots in last week in Indianapolis, was Josh McDaniels’s play calling. Too often did they screw the pooch on third down with unnecessary rollouts by Mac Jones or a stupid play action after not even being a remote threat on the ground. The Buffalo Bills will more than likely make you pay on bad calls like that. The Patriots aren’t going to be able to spot this team 20 points and expect to win, there aren’t many teams that’ll even let you sniff a comeback like Indianapolis did last week. Play to the team’s strength, and don’t get too innovative. Jones is likely going to have to throw the ball more than three times in this game, but if the run game is a big part of your offensive identity? Don’t get away from it for the sake of innovation.
Key #2: Contain Stefon Diggs, again
The Patriots did a real solid job versus the superstar wide receiver in their last matchup. In a game where it was nearly impossible to move the ball through the air, the Bills didn’t shy away from giving Diggs chances. He caught four passes for 51 yards on seven targets. If it wasn’t for the wind factor, he might’ve had five catches and a score after he burnt JoeJuan Williams and just missed a ball in the endzone. A repeat effort will be more than enough for the Patriots to escape with a win. The Bills will also be more inclined to take some deep shots as Cole Beasley will be out this week due to COVID-19 protocols requiring a 10-day quarantine for the unvaccinated. Look to Emmanuel Sanders and a recently hot Gabriel Davis to be the secondary options to Diggs.
Key #3: Play a mistake free game
I won’t get too deep into this. The Patriots simply cannot afford to give up blocked punts and extra opportunities for this dynamic Bills offense. This is a team that prides itself on the consistency of its special teams and mistake-free brand of football. The Patriots could very well lose this game despite playing their best. It makes no sense to give up 20 free points to a good team like Buffalo. If Mac Jones completes 60-65% of his passes, the Patriots don’t have any special team’s miscues, and the defense can keep up as well as they did three weeks ago? They have more than a necessary chance to take this important matchup home.
X-Factor: DB Jalen Mills
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70215442/1356054738.0.jpg)
The Patriots did a good job containing Diggs last time out, so I have faith defensive back J.C. Jackson will do the same thing he did last time out. So the attention turns to free-agent acquisition Jalen Mills. He’ll likely get the matchup of the night versus the explosive Gabriel Davis with Beasley being out with COVID. He’s still hunting for his first interception on the year, and Bills quarterback Josh Allen is known to take a few shots down the field. The green goblin will have his fair share of opportunities, and if he capitalizes on them may make or break this playoff implicating meeting between two of the best teams in the AFC.
Final Thoughts
This game will probably have more fireworks than their last match-up, where Bill Belichick and company simply just ran it down the Bills’ throat and broke a few to ice their first meeting. It was a great game plan for how brutal the weather was for anytime the ball went through the air. It’s unlikely the weather in Gillette will be quite as awful as it was on that fateful Monday night, which is going to require a plan a bit more complex than before.
Despite the poor showing last week, the Patriots have given me no reason to doubt a huge bounceback. Especially after displaying a no-quit attitude in the second half of that contest versus the Colts. I believe Bill Belichick will have this team focused, prepared, and most of all pissed and ready to prove to the world that one bad game will not define this team. And that the term “Mickey Mouse team” will not be applying to the hard work the 2021 Patriots have done in one of the quickest turnarounds I’ve ever seen in a franchise. The Bills are good, but the Bill on the home sideline is the greatest.
Final Score: 27-21, Patriots Win (10-5)
