Patriots-dominated battle line loses momentum at AFC East – Buffalo Bills blog

ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills knew the New England Patriots were running the football. Everyone sitting at Highmark Stadium knew they were running the ball.

But the Patriots (9-4) were still able to do it, milking the clock and dominating the game to keep AFC East in first place and the best seed in the conference playoffs. The Bills dropped to a 7-5 loss with a 14-10 loss as the attack was unable to combine continuous effort and was content with field goals or no points despite the opportunity.

Buffalo will travel to the next match with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) on Sunday after a second match against the Patriots two weeks later.

When Patriots quarterback Mac Jones tried three passes and completed two, the Patriots were able to do whatever they wanted and ruled the fight line, rushing 222 yards.

New England attempted one first-half throw, which is the lowest for any team since at least 1978, as far as data was concerned, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Nonetheless, the Patriots were able to run 96 yards alone in the first quarter, including Damien Harris ’64-yard touchdown after Buffalo’s Matt Breida brawl.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished 15/30 with 145 yards and one touchdown pass for Gabriel Davis, who came after the substitution. In addition, Allen threw impressive feeds in the wind, but it was difficult for him to get in touch with his receivers.

Tight end Dawson Knox dropped two passes and receiver Stefon Diggs dropped a deep pass into the finish line, his first drop of the year. Knox, who didn’t play his best game, was called to a decisive wrong start in Bills ’final run below third. The tight end ended at two receptions with six goals at 14 yards.

Although the defense allowed the Patriots to run the ball up and down the field, the longest run of the attack was its last – 67 yards – but ended without points. Buffalo struggled to create any kind of consistent running game, averaging 4.0 yards per carry and 99 yards on the ground.

Coach Sean McDermott’s clock management in the second half also ended up being a factor. He challenged the spot in the fourth run-down of Jones, and the call remained in force because there was no evidence of the crash. Buffalo burned another overtime before Allen was kicked in the red zone. Buffalo got one overtime in the most important last minutes.

Worrying trend: This is obvious from all of the above, but opponents know they can defend Bills ’defense. The Titans did it, the Colts did it, and the Patriots trusted it. Overall, the running defense figures aren’t the worst in the league, and in most games it has played enough, but even though defensive Takla Star Lotulelei returned to three games missing from the COVID-19 list, there are still problems with running defense. . The Patriots tried three passes and won. Enough said.

QB breakdown: Allen played well overall, especially in the role of wind. Most of the failed games with his receivers were drops, but Allen also had moments when he placed the ball too high or out of reach of the receiver.

Kidnappings had been a big problem for the quarterback lately, but Allen didn’t throw a single one against the Patriots. It was his first game without a break after week 8.

Key series: In Bills ’first run in the fourth quarter, with 13 minutes left to play, they had a chance to take the lead. But when the ball was on New England’s 6-yard line thanks to the horse’s collar guarantee, Bills advanced to get zero points. After reaching no yards in the Zack Moss run, McDermott paid overtime, leaving Buffalo with one left.

Allen was fired immediately for 9 losses, and then he threw an incomplete feed to Knox in the end zone. Kicker Tyler Bass then failed to score 33 yards in the wind, giving the Patriots the ball back.