That's also another second guess on the part of Sean McDermott. Not only did that move the chains, but that took precious time off the clock where the Bills' offense would have been moving with the wind, which proved to be extremely important in this game. A Jones sneak seemed apparent to the naked eye, but the Bills were unable to get set and line up on top of the Patriots quarterback, who eventually moved his way for the first down. Later in the game, the Patriots elected to go for it on a fourth-and-1 attempt from the Buffalo 33-yard line with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. With just over eight minutes to play in the third quarter, Allen launched a first-and-10 throw from the New England 44-yard line to an open Stefon Diggs that would have gone for a touchdown, but the receiver couldn't come up with the grab. While the wind was certainly a factor throughout the evening, Buffalo did seem to miss a golden opportunity for what would have been the biggest passing play of the game. Knox also had an night to forget as he recorded a number of key drops that would have moved the chains for a first down and was called for a critical false start during the Bills' final possession of the game that turned a third-and-9 attempt into a third-and-14. The Bills turned the ball over on their second possession of the contest on a toss to Matt Breida at the New England 29-yard line, which the Patriots were able to capitalize on with a touchdown on the ensuing drive. Why the Bills lostīuffalo largely got in its own way in this matchup. On fourth down from the Patriots' 15, Tyler Bass would then miss the 33-yard attempt to keep the Bills trailing by four. As the Bills advanced the ball to the Patriots' 9-yard line at the 9:04 mark of the fourth quarter, a Matthew Judon 9-yard sack on Allen set up a third-and-long attempt that eventually fell incomplete to Dawson Knox. Naturally, that late red zone stand at around the two-minute mark was a pivotal moment to ensure victory (more on that below), but the prior drive was arguably just as high-pressured for both sides. On the defensive side, the Patriots were able to apply pressure on Allen in timely situations, which helped keep the Bills from capturing the lead late. The Patriots' altered play-calling due to the weather was evident immediately following that score as they opted to go for the two-point conversion rather than kicking the extra-point attempt into the wind. Harris was also able to help New England get on the board first with an 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter. In all, 10 of their 11 first downs came on the ground. Specifically, the Patriots were winning on power runs to the outside that helped move the chains. That duo combined for 189 yards rushing on 34 carries. Of the Patriots' 49 total plays on the night, 46 were running plays that were spearheaded by Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. With the wind a big obstacle in this game, Bill Belichick simply elected to not test Mother Nature and deployed his running game heavily throughout Monday's contest. 7 seed in the AFC.įor more on how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below. This loss now pushes the Bills down to the No. Allen finished his night completing 50% of his throws for 145 yards and a touchdown. Naturally, that meant a quiet night for Mac Jones, who finished with a franchise-record three passing attempts as he completed two throws for 19 yards.ĭefensively, the Patriots continued to come up in the clutch, including a key a red-zone stand in the final minutes of the fourth quarter where they forced three-straight incompletions by Josh Allen that resulted in a turnover on downs that effectively eliminated any chance of comeback for the Bills. At one point, New England had 32 straight running plays. That drastically altered the play-calling for both clubs, especially the Patriots who leaned heavily on the run. The weather was massive factor in this divisional matchup, particularly the high-speed winds that were present throughout the contest. 1 seed in the AFC thanks to a 14-10 win over the Bills in Buffalo on "Monday Night Football." The Patriots have moved to 9-4 on the season, extended their winning streak to seven games and remain the No.
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