Bills vs Patriots Recap
The Buffalo Bills survived a slow start against a resilient New England Patriots team to win 24-21 and move to 12-3 on the year. Drake Maye led the Patriots on back-to-back scoring drives to start the game and build a 14-0 lead. Buffalo fought back with 24 unanswered points, assisted by an improved second-half defensive effort that forced three turnovers. The Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to come out victorious for the second time this season.
Bills vs Patriots Sunday, December 22, 2024
Preview Hits and Misses
Unfortunately, my hits this week were predominantly Patriots players and not in a good way. My final score prediction was not even close as the Bills struggled mightily in their first matchup with New England. Let's see where I had it right and where I was wrong.
Hits
Christian Gonzalez, Drake Maye, and Rhamondre Stevenson all had strong games against the Bills. Gonzalez only allowed two receptions for 22 yards and was in coverage on the interception made by Marte Mapu. Maye finished the game with 291 total yards and two touchdowns to go with one interception. He played with a lot of poise, given the environment and blitzes Buffalo threw at him. Stevenson had 73 total yards and a touchdown while averaging 5 ypc.
James Cook continued his streak of 100-yard games (I was wrong on this part) and had another two-touchdown game. Cook finished with 126 total yards to go with his two TDs and a 9.1 ypc average.
Misses
I was very wrong about the prediction. I expected the Bills to come out strong again offensively and hoped the defense would do what they did in the second half for the whole game.
Josh Allen and Ed Oliver did not play well. Allen threw his first interception since the Kansas City game and was sacked for the first time since the Bills victory over Indianapolis. He seemed focused on throwing intermediate to deep while the underneath passes were there and open. A week after having his best game of the year, Oliver was
5 Things I Liked
Rushing Attack - Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson were all key contributors to the offensive production. The trio accounted for 57% of the team’s yards from scrimmage, with Cook breaking 100 yards on the ground and scoring both touchdowns. The lone bright spot offensively on the day.
Turnover Battle - The defense has become dependent on turnovers and they really needed them against New England. The Bills were +2 in the category and scored 10 points off of them, including a fumble recovered in the end zone by Taron Johnson. The Cam Lewis end zone interception on first and 10 from the Buffalo 16 didn’t lead to points but it kept a field goal attempt or touchdown off the board.
Second-half Defense - Bills defense forced three turnovers on consecutive drives and held the Patriots offense to one third down conversion on three tries. New England punted and scored a touchdown on the two possessions they didn’t turn the ball over for 144 yards. They had 235 yards in the first half. After picking up 21 first downs in the opening 30 minutes, they were held to 7 over the final two quarters.
Bills Kickers - Tyler Bass and Sam Martin had strong individual efforts for a unit that had issues in the game. Bass made all three of his PAT attempts, along with a 50-yard field goal. Martin put two of his punts inside the 20 and an average starting field position of the 16-yard line for New England on the four drives following punts.
42 and 43 - Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams were the two best defenders in the game. They combined for 20 of the team’s 71 total tackles and were noticeable in the pass rush. Williams looked like he was shot out of a cannon into the backfield on multiple plays. It will be interesting to see who is started next to Bernard for the rest of the season.
5 Things I Didn’t Like
Third Down Defense - Buffalo didn’t stop New England on third down until their third drive of the game. The Patriots picked up a third and nine, third and eight (2x), third and four for a touchdown, third and four after the Allen interception getting them out of their own end, and a third and two because of a defensive offside. They went 5-5 before being stopped and finished the first half 6-9.
Special Teams Units - This department as a whole struggled. The opening kickoff was returned 42 yards to give New England a jolt and their best starting field position of the game. They were hit with an illegal formation penalty on their second kickoff, tacking on 5 yards to the Patriots’ return. New England successfully converted a 4th and 1 fake punt from their own 23-yard line, allowing them to burn another two minutes of the game clock before halftime. Matthew Smiley and his groups need to tighten it up over the next two weeks before playoffs.
Penalties - 13 penalties totaling 78 yards and SEVEN New England first downs. 25% of their first downs on offense came via penalty. Complain about refs, but the defense struggled to get out of their own way at times yesterday.
Struggling Backups - Kaiir Elam, Ja'Marcus Ingram, and Baylon Spector all struggled in the action they saw. Elam had 73 yards on 5 receptions against him, including a touchdown. He committed two defensive pass interference penalties on third down that gave the Patriots a new set of downs with goal to go on their final touchdown drive. Maye had a 144.6 passer rating when targeting Elam in coverage.
Failing to Double Dip - The Bills deferred the toss and gave up back-to-back touchdown drives to dig themselves into a 14-0 hole. They blew their chance at double dipping with three straight incompletions from their own 44-yard line before punting the ball away before halftime. Fortunately for them, they forced three turnovers in the second half.
Critical Plays From the Game
Khalil Shakir had a poor game by his standards and was fortunate when he fumbled the ball on his 12-yard reception around midfield. Jonathan Jones accidentally pushed the ball back into Shakir’s arms while trying to gather it himself. The Bills punted on the drive instead of turning it over.
The following drive, Drake Maye attempted a backward pass that was read perfectly by Greg Rousseau and not held onto by the running back. The ball landed in the end zone and was recovered by Taron Johnson for a touchdown and 24-14 lead with ten minutes left in the game.
Stat(s) of the Game
BillsBanter Group Chat Quote of the Game
“When you’re in the glory days but even brighter days ahead”
Bills vs Patriots December 22, 2024
Postgame Quote of the Game
Postgame Perspective
New England gave the Bills their best effort a week after being embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals. Buffalo did just enough to sneak out with a win. I was concerned with the defense in the first half and liked the adjustments they made in the second. I am concerned that they have become too reliant on turnovers and are struggling to stop teams and force punts. I was worried about the offense until I heard the Josh Allen quote I posted earlier in the recap. The reaction of Coach McDermott after the game tells me he wasn’t happy. Hopefully, this humbled the team and woke up some players who underperformed. Go Bills!
Up Next: Buffalo vs New York Jets - Sunday December 29th 1:00 PM
