Patriots Defense Steals The Show In Buffalo
Tom Brady didn’t have much reason to smile all night long as his offense searched for answers vs the Buffalo Bills defense.
On one particular play with him watching from the sidelines, he would have one as a familiar Patriot put the game to bed on defense.
The New England Patriots fended off a pesky Buffalo Bills team in a 25-6 victory on Monday night at New Era Field.
Long-time Patriots safety Devin McCourty would fuel New England with a 84-yard interception touchdown return midway through the fourth quarter to help turn back the upset minded Bills.
A unit that’s experienced it’s struggles this season took advantage of the NFL’s worst offense.
The New England Patriots held the Buffalo Bills to 4-for-13 on third down and 46 total rushing yards.
One of the stables of the Buffalo Bills offense, which hasn’t been any good in 2018, is their rushing attack.
Knowing that, Bill Belichick forced backup Bills quarterback Derek Anderson into beating him as he took away Buffalo’s rushing attack.
New England failed to get much pressure with Buffalo’s offense dinking and dunking its way through the game, but on a play where they did, linebacker Kyle Van Noy forced a fumble on a sack in the third quarter that would be recovered in Buffalo territory and lead to a New England field goal.
On a night where offense was hard to come by, it was Patriots running back James White making the plays for New England.
The always reliable pass catching back finished the game with a team-high 10 receptions to go along with 79 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown.
White scored New England’s only touchdown of the game on a brisk and cool night in Western, New York as New England won their fifth straight game.
This was expected to be an easy detour for the New England Patriots, who coming in had scored at least 38 points in each of their last four games, but it was anything but despite the final score.
The Buffalo Bills made it hard on the New England Patriots offense, specifically the offensive line, as their front four dominated against the Patriots, limiting them in the rush game and forcing Brady to make quick decisions with the ball.
The rushing attack of New England struggled without running back Sony Michel (knee) and right tackle Marcus Cannon (concussion) available for this game.
It was a 12-6 game entering the fourth quarter before New England finally got in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.
Tom Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass as he finished with 324 passing yards while completing 64 percent of his passes.
Julian Edelman would finish the game with a team-high 104 receiving yards to go along with nine receptions.
Buffalo came out offensively with a few different wrinkles to open the game to throw the Patriots off guard as they ran the wildcat formation with LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory out of the backfield.
Derek Anderson, who was signed just two weeks ago by the Bills, made his second start for Buffalo in place of injured quarterback Josh Allen, who is dealing with a sprained right elbow.
Understanding the limitations of the veteran quarterback and the fact he’s still very much learning the playbook, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll would run a mostly conservative game-plan through three quarters.
In a performance that would suffice given what their play at quarterback would be with Nathan Peterman at the helm, Derek Anderson would finish the game with 290 passing yards and one interception as he completed 56 percent of his passes.
Anderson would be helped off the field after being sacked by Kyle Van Noy late in the fourth quarter and would be replaced by Peterman.
LeSean McCoy, who missed most of last week’s game vs the Indianapolis Colts, struggled to find room for much of the night behind Buffalo’s offensive line.
McCoy would be held to a pedestrian 13 rushing yards on 12 carries but would add six receptions for 82 receiving yards to salvage his line.
The Buffalo Bills (2-6) will have a short week to prepare for the Chicago Bears in a home game at New Era Field this Sunday afternoon.
A positive for New England’s offense this week will be that they didn’t turn the ball over after doing so three times last week.
It’s the first game this season in which the Patriots have not turned the ball over as they had 13 turnovers coming into the game after turning the ball over just 12 times all of last season.
While it wasn’t pretty, New England will take it as they appear to be in the driver’s seat in the AFC East.
Tom Brady has dominated the Buffalo Bills in his career, improving to 29-3 after tonight’s win vs the Buffalo Bills, the most wins by any quarterback vs a team in NFL history.
The New England Patriots will welcome the Green Bay Packers into Gillette Stadium on Sunday night in a highly anticipated matchup between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
What are your thoughts on New England’s Monday night win in Buffalo? Leave your comments below!