FOXBORO — Where has this team been all season?
The Patriots shocked the world Sunday with a 29-25 upset win over their AFC East-rival Bills at Gillette Stadium.
It was just the Patriots’ second win of the year and the first time they’ve scored more than 20 points this season.
Down 25-22, quarterback Mac Jones led an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Jones hit tight end Mike Gesicki on a 1-yard touchdown pass.
“The way Buffalo plays down there, it’s really hard to throw the ball on the goal line,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “They did a real good job of taking the goal line away. You kind of got to throw behind them into the back of the end zone, you know, with a flag or some type of play in the back end-line type of thing. Because on the goal line, they’re really aggressive and they – you know, it’s just hard to stuff the ball in there. So it was a good throw. A good, high throw against that coverage is kind of what you need to do when they play like that.”
The biggest play of the drive came on the first snap, when running back Rhamondre Stevenson took a catch-and-run 34 yards downfield. Officials threw a flag on the play for ineligible man downfield on center David Andrews, but it was picked up. The Patriots moved the ball to the 1-yard line on a pass from Jones to rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas. Douglas caught the ball at the 1-yard line, but the Bills also were charged with defensive pass interference on the play. The Patriots took the penalty to save time on the clock.
The Patriots had nearly choked the game away.
Up 22-10 with 7:40 left in the fourth quarter, the Bills quickly put together a five-play, 75-yard drive in just two minutes and four seconds. Quarterback Josh Allen, while getting hit, delivered a downfield strike to wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs slid to the ground, making the catch, but didn’t get touched down. He quickly got up to scamper into the end zone to make the game 22-17.
Jones and the offense held the ball for just 36 seconds on their ensuing drive before wide receiver Kendrick Bourne caught a 9-yard pass from Jones and fumbled the ball away to the Bills.
The Bills took their time with an eight-play, 29-yard drive ending with a 1-yard QB sneak touchdown from Allen. A successful two-point attempt put the Bills ahead 25-22.
Following embarrassing losses in consecutive weeks to the Cowboys, Saints and Raiders, the Patriots came out looking like a respectable NFL team Sunday against the Bills.
Jones put together a nine-play, 63-yard drive, getting Douglas and tight end Pharaoh Brown involved early, before the Patriots slowed down once they got inside the red zone. Still, the Patriots got out to an early 3-0 lead with a 30-yard field goal by rookie kicker Chad Ryland.
The Bills’ first offensive play was a turnover. Allen didn’t see Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers in zone coverage and threw an interception on a throw intended for tight end Dawson Knox.
The Patriots responded with a seven-play, 45-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 2-yard rushing plunge by Ezekiel Elliott to make the score 10-0. Douglas, once again, was involved heavily as the Patriots successfully moved the ball downfield, catching passes of 10 and 16 yards from Jones.
It was the best the Patriots had looked all season.
Jones finished the game 25-of-30 for 272 yards with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions.
“It’s just a crumb, right? That’s what I always say,” Jones said about his performance in the win. “And you’ve got to build off that. You’ve got to build off that and attack every day the same.”
The Patriots did slow down, however, Their defense allowed a 13-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a Tyler Bass field goal before both teams traded three-and-outs.
Douglas once again made an impact with a 25-yard punt return, leading to a five-play, 40-yard field goal scoring drive to make the score 13-3. Bourne picked up 33 of those 40 yards on a catch-and-run.
A gust of wind blew another field goal attempt from Bass wide right before the end of the half. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore helped push the attempt back with a 7-yard sack on the drive.
The Bills received the ball to start the second half and put together an impressive 10-play, 81-yard march that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Allen to running back James Cook, cutting the Patriots’ lead to 13-10.
The Patriots responded with a scoring drive of their own. Ryland knocked through his third field goal after a nine-play, 44-yard drive to make the score 16-10. Douglas had the biggest play of the series with a 20-yard jet sweep run.
The defense forced a turnover on downs after key pass breakups from cornerback J.C. Jackson and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. Jones then led the Patriots on a nine-play, 66-yard scoring drive, hitting Bourne on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Brown caught his second 25-plus yard catch to help move the Patriots down the field. He finished with two catches for 51 yards.
Bourne caught six passes on seven targets for 63 yards with the touchdown catch and fumble.
BEST
QB Mac Jones: This was a big moment for Jones, who had just the second game-winning drive and fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
WR Demario Douglas: The rookie slot receiver caught three passes for 35 yards, added a 20-yard run and returned a punt for 25 yards.
S Jabrill Peppers: The veteran safety had some missed tackles, but he came up big on the Patriots’ first defensive play with an interception. He’s been a takeaway machine this season, forcing a fumble Week 1 and causing an interception in Week 6.
Key personnel changes: Moving Mike Onwenu to right tackle and Sidy Sow to right guard helped settle what had been a brutal offensive line. Rotating cornerback Jack Jones with Jonathan Jones also improved the Patriots’ coverage.
WORST
Tackling: So many key plays by the Bills were spurred by poor tackling attempts from the Patriots. That’s one area where the Patriots might need to go back to fundamentals this week.
WR Kendrick Bourne’s fumble: Bourne otherwise played very well but nearly gave the game away to the Bills.
