New England Patriots
The Patriots blew a 21 point lead. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly.
FOXBOROUGH – It was a tale of two halves on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots bullied Buffalo early on, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half.
Then, Buffalo stormed back with 21 unanswered points to open the second-half putting pressure on the Pats and ultimately coming away with the win.
New England’s downfield passing attack, which had stacked so many weeks of consistent production, stalled under the light gusts of snowy wind.
Drake Maye’s best moments in this one came on the ground, as his two first half rushing touchdowns built the early lead.
TreVeyon Henderson shifted the game at two key points – exploding for a 52-yard touchdown that put New England up 21, and a 65-yard touchdown that reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter after Buffalo had snatched it.
It just felt like the Patriots defense, having played well early, ran out of gas against reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Bills. Allen made it look easy down the stretch.
Here’s a look at who stood out and struggled in Sunday’s nail-biter between the AFC East’s finest teams.
Stock Up
TreVeyon Henderson
There’s a serious argument for this being the best game of Henderson’s young career. The speedy rookie was an impact player on Sunday.
The offensive line opened up a huge hole for him on his first half touchdown, and Henderson won a footrace to the endzone without being touched.
He made something out of nothing on the 65-yarder in the fourth quarter, bouncing away from the pile of Buffalo defenders that had pushed into the Patriots backfield and cutting back towards the open field where Maye sprinted ahead and served as a lead blocker.
Two scores, more than 150 yards on the ground, and a breakout performance against a tough opponent. Big moment for the rookie.
Jack Gibbens
With Robert Spillane (foot) spending Sunday on the bench, Gibbens seemed to spend as much time in the Buffalo backfield as any Patriot defender.
He posted a sack, two tackles for loss, and a bunch of tackles. It was his first sack of the season.
Rhamondre Stevenson
Henderson had the more explosive runs, but Stevenson’s impact as a pass-protector, bruising runner, and even a pass-thrower on an early trick play should not be understated.
He made the most of his limited touches, finishing with 50 yards on 6 carries. He complimented Henderson well.
One a day when the Patriots didn’t get much out of their passing game, both running backs delivered.
The entire offensive line
The offensive line opened up gaping holes for the run game in the first half and did a solid job of protecting Maye who was sacked just twice.
Maye’s athleticism certainly helped him avoid sacks, and Henderson’s speed was a difference-maker but the reality is that the Patriots ran for more than 200 yards on the ground and none of that happens without the big guys up front doing their jobs.
Stock Flat
Drake Maye
Maye was fortunate that a Buffalo defender dropped an interception that was thrown right at him. He also threw an interception on a deep-ball attempt on third-and-25 that was basically a punt.
Maye did good things with his legs, bailing the offensive line out when Buffalo’s rush became overwhelming and scoring twice on the ground. His 30-yard completion to Kayshon Boutte was an unbelievable play, given the ball-placement and Boutte’s effort to snag it.
Ultimately, though, Allen got the best of Maye in this one. It was a so-so performance by Maye’s standards.
Stefon Diggs
Diggs caught what was thrown to him, but wasn’t open a ton.
Three catches on three targets for 26 yards, and a whole bunch of celebrating on the sideline when rapper Travis Scott was shown on the jumbotron sitting with Robert Kraft.
Diggs was the X-factor in the win at Buffalo earlier in the year. His impact wasn’t the same this Sunday.
Marcus Jones
The good parts of Jones’s performance were his fearlessness hitting bigger players (team high 10 tackles with eight solo) and his involvement on blitzes that helped create pressure.
He wasn’t as much of an explosive threat as he usually is in the return game, he was whistled for a defensive pass-interference call that set Buffalo up with good field position for a key score.
A mixed bag for the explosive nickelback/return man.
Stock Down
Christian Barmore
A quiet day for the Patriots’ premier interior defensive lineman.
One tackle, none for loss, and no sacks at the helm of a unit that lost steam as the game went on.
New England needs more from a player of his caliber in a game like this.
Mack Hollins
Hollins got the bulk of Maye’s targets, with seven of Maye’s 18 passes going his way. Hollins hauled in three of them for 36 yards.
He made a nice contested catch, and the passing game struggled overall.
But, when you get twice as many targets as anyone else, there has to be more production.
Kickoff unit
The Patriots’ kickoff unit could not stop Buffalo’s return game on Sunday. Ray Davis averaged 41 yards per return, including a 58-yarder.
The good field-position that Buffalo kept getting allowed them to stay in the game. When the other side has Josh Allen, there’s always a chance to creep back into the game and erase a big deficit.
Buffalo’s return game helped their cause tremendously.
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