Morning Sports Update
“They were undermanned, but so were the Buffalo Bills. So is everyone else.”
Julian Edelman’s take on Patriots-Bills: The Patriots‘ defeat against the Bills on Sunday has sent a wave of reactions reverberating around the NFL. Buffalo’s 35-31 road win ended New England’s 10-game winning streak, and reopened the race for the AFC East.
Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman commented on the outcome during a recent episode of his podcast, “Games With Names.”
An agitated Edelman said that despite all of the good that New England accomplished in the first half, it melted away as Buffalo pulled off its comeback.
“You make your name in the second half of these kind of games,” said Edelman. “Josh Allen in the second half, five straight touchdowns?”
His three takeaways from the game also began with Allen.
“I think my ultimate reaction was Josh Allen’s MVP,” Edelman added later of the Bills’ QB. “Two, the Patriots may have needed to have this loss going into this back-end of the season. Three, the game seemed a little too bright at the end [for the Patriots].”
The former Patriots wide receiver was also not willing to extend too much sympathy for excuses.
“You definitely saw how deficient the defense was for the Patriots without Milton Williams in a got-to-have-it-type games,” he noted, referencing the New England defensive lineman currently on Injured Reserve. “They were undermanned, but so were the Buffalo Bills. So is everyone else.”
He was also less inclined to put stock into the accusations that officials made poor calls.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh the penalty,’” Edelman said of the local reactions he’d seen. “No! You’re up 24-7 at halftime. There are going to be penalties. That’s not going to make or break the game. The going three-and-out will make or break a game. The kickoff out of halftime for 58 yards or whatever it was, will break the game.”
Through the course of the conversation, Edelman placed blame at the feet of both the offense and defense.
“But look, that’s why they’re the defending AFC East champions,” Edelman added of the Bills. “That was the Josh Allen game, and [James] Cook.”
Looking ahead, Edelman said the defeat could have a silver lining.
“This could help them, to show like, no, 10-game winning streaks aren’t real,” he added of the Patriots’ midseason success. “After you start winning like that, you have to continue to play good football.”
“Great lesson to learn, but they’ve got to pick it up, because they’ve got to go out and beat Baltimore now,” Edelman later added.
The Patriots will face the Ravens on Sunday at 8:20 p.m.
“This is a young football team,” Edelman explained later in the segment. “They don’t know how to finish games yet.”
Trivia: The teams that Julian Edelman caught more passes against than anyone else are, unsurprisingly, AFC East opponents (teams that the Patriots face multiple times a season). Can you name the non-AFC East team that Edelman tallied the most catches against during his career?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: The Patriots have played this team in the AFC Championship three times.
Scores and schedules:
The Celtics lost to the Pistons 112-105 on Monday. Boston will return on Friday to face the Heat at home at 7 p.m.
The Bruins host the Utah Mammoth tonight at 7 p.m. On Thursday, the Bruins host the Oilers also at 7 p.m.
The Boston Fleet will play the New York Sirens on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark.
More from Boston.com:
Shaping a quarterback: Drake Maye’s family was recently profiled, focusing on how the competitiveness of the Maye family sibling group helped develop the Patriots’ quarterback’s success.
On this day: In 1981, the Celtics defeated the Mavericks 109-92, with Larry Bird leading Boston with 30 points, 17 rebounds, and seven assists. Elsewhere, Boston stars confronted trade rumors. Mike Haynes would eventually be dealt, while Jim Rice would not.
Daily highlight: Washington defeated N.C. State in overtime to win the college soccer national championship after a back-and-forth game.
Trivia answer: Steelers
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