Bills Vs. Patriots Game Breakdown

Another year, another Patriots vs. Bills game, and yet again, another disappointing loss. The Buffalo Bills now rest at 1-1 in the AFC East, behind the Patriots, and now the Jets. The Bills took a lead early in the 1st, only to cough it up and get dominated the rest of the afternoon, until the end of the 3rd quarter came around. The late comeback failed, and many things went wrong. The themes of the day were flags, poor defense, and Brady being Brady. Let's take a look back.

The game started off strong. The crowd was roaring. The players were fired up. An unstoppable Bills offense rolled 80 yards down the field to put up a 2 yard, go-ahead touchdown to lead the Patriots 7-0. Then, the defense came out strong, holding the Patriots to a 3 and out. It seemed as if the Bills would never look back. That idea was short lived. 5 stalled Bills possessions and 1 interception later, the Bills found themselves in a 21-7 hole. The feeling was all too familiar and the players emotions were getting the best of them. The first half contained 8 penalties on Buffalo, all of which were very preventable. The Bills went into the half down 24-13. 

The opening of the second half wasn't much friendlier for Buffalo. The Bills went scoreless in the 3rd quarter as the Patriots put up another 13 points. The Bills finally started to warm to the task as the Patriots took their foot off the gas in the 4th, but it was too little, too late. The Bills put up 19 points and 3 TD's in the 4th as the Patriots put up 1 more FG. The offense came out for one last drive to potentially tie the game, but a late pick made the comeback fall short. Finally, the game was over, and as the score ended 40-32, it was not as close as it looked. It's time to break down the game.

Offense: The offense didn't have a terrible day. They put up 32 points, something that was nearly unheard of last year. Several key pieces for this offense had productive days, including Sammy Watkins, Lesean McCoy, and Tyrod Taylor. The biggest issues with the offense was the consistency and ball security. 9 of the Bill's 14 drives on Sunday ended with giving the ball back to New England. 

Three of those turnovers came from Tyrod Taylor's 3 interceptions. 2 of the interceptions were tipped off of Bills players' hands. Taylor finished 23/30, 242 yards and 3 TD's in addition to those picks. He also added 43 rushing yards on just 5 rushes. On occasion, he held on to the ball too long and often times couldn't escape like he does, which led to his 8 sacks. He still shows a lot of potential, and can only get better throughout the year.

The offensive line had an average day, and at times, even mediocre. They opened up some holes for the run game and had some good pass blocking, but there were many plays where the line got blown up, leading to a loss in yards and many sacks. 

Skill positions had a solid day. McCoy had a solid day rushing, putting up 89 yards on 15 carries and added 27 more yards on 3 receptions. Woods and Watkins also had respectable games, putting up 60 yards a piece. Percy Harvin also contributed 47 yards on 4 receptions.

Overall, this offense had a productive day. The line needs to block better, and Taylor needs to step up in the pocket more to buy time, and get rid of the ball. There's a lot of potential on this side of the ball, the team just needs to tap into it and reach it.

Defense: If I had to describe this defense in 3 words, I'd use "slow," "beatable," and overall, just plain "pitiful." They looked like the polar opposite of what they looked like vs. the Colts. They couldn't get to Brady, and covering anyone at all on Sunday looked like a chore. The defense gave up 507 total yards and 466 yards through the air. Emotions and poor plays ran high, leading to several penalties, a few coming from safety Aaron Williams, who later left in an ambulance (Williams has since been released from the hospital and has no serious injury). There were not a lot of positives to take away from this defense. Hopefully, Buffalo can turn it around against the Dolphins this Sunday.

Overall, this team was dominated for most of the day. The Bills had a daunting task in front of them, and they showed they couldn't step up to it. The season is far from over, though. The players and coaches will take a lot of knowledge from this game and apply it going forward. Penalties, as well as emotions, need to be controlled. This Buffalo Bills offense needs to be a bit more consistent and the defense needs to play the same way they did week one. There's a long season ahead, and while this was a reality check for Buffalo, I still like this team fighting for a playoff spot going forward. The Bills travel to Miami next Sunday for a 4:25 showdown against the Dolphins. Thanks for reading, and as always, let's go Buffalo!

Images provided by Getty Images and Associated Press