A pattern is starting to emerge with Malcolm Butler. It's not a huge deal, but it's a little concerning. He gives up a completion while playing zone coverage, then he spins around and glares at a teammate as if to say, "That was your fault." This didn't go on for much of the season, but it's cropped up in recent weeks with increasing frequency.
It happened on Sunday in the first quarter against the Bills, when Butler seemed to (wrongly, in my opinion) place the blame on a pass in the flat to Charles Clay on Patrick Chung.
Same thing occurred against the Dolphins when Butler allowed a short completion to Jarvis Landry after he and Chung disagreed on who to cover before the snap. There were also two similar demonstrations in the Broncos game, one aimed at Devin McCourty. On the other, it was hard to tell if Butler was frustrated with a teammate or himself.
Then, there was Butler getting sat for a few plays — and drawing the ire of Bill Belichick — for taunting the Buffalo crowd. Butler mouthed off to someone on the Patriots' sideline, which also didn't please Belichick.
Quarterback (3 out of 5)
This was one of those games that you occasionally see from Brady where he goes against an unfamiliar scheme (he had only faced Sean McDermott in 2013 with the Panthers) with some good players. In those games, he never really gets settled because he's not sure what he's going to see from down to down. When Brady is at his best, he stands calmly in the pocket and knows where he's going with the ball before it's snapped. It was evident Brady didn't have that same confidence against the Bills. It also contributed to Brady holding onto the ball longer than he has in recent weeks (when the line appeared to be protecting better), which contributed to a sack (6.64 seconds) and a pressure being Brady's responsibility. ... Still, Brady had his usual moments of brilliance, including the 27-yard pass to Danny Amendola that was even more impressive on the coaches film.
Running backs (4 out of 5)
Another five broken tackles for Dion Lewis, but a lot of the best work on the ground could be attributed to the work of the offensive line and Rob Gronkowski. And for the first time this season, there were two plays where Lewis seemed a little eager and ultimately picked the wrong hole to run through. ... Rex Burkhead and James White (huge third-down pass conversion) were also very good in this game. ... James Develin was solid, but it wasn't a big fullback game.
Receivers (2.5 out of 5)
This was basically all Gronkowski, as Brady had a tough time getting on the same page with his receivers. That was best demonstrated by the third-down incompletion to Brandin Cooks, which led to the sideline dustup between Brady and Josh McDaniels. Brady wanted Cooks to sit down in the zone, but he didn't. For what it's worth, this isn't this first time this has happened.
Offensive line (2.5 out of 5)
DEFENSE
Defensive line (3 out of 5)
A lot of good play from this group, but enough mistakes to have some concern going forward. The biggest area that the Patriots need to clean things up is on the edge against the run and mobile quarterbacks because we tallied seven blown edges, with four coming from Eric Lee, and two from Deatrich Wise. Getting Trey Flowers (ribs) back will help, but with Malcom Brown back and solidifying the middle against the run, the only real weakness with this group is on some of the edges. ... Speaking of Brown, this was probably his finest overall game in his career. He was his usual self against the run, but he also impactful rushing the passing (3.5 pressures). Brown was a monster in this game with eight impactful plays. ... Lee wasn't far behind with six, but his edge work was a little sloppy. ... Alan Branch, Lawrence Guy, and Adam Butler all played well. Wise was uneven.
Linebackers (2.5 out of 5)
After a string of strong games, Elandon Roberts was back to being a little overaggressive and it cost the team 44 yards. ... Kyle Van Noy was good in what little he could give the team due to his calf injury. ... Jordan Richards was brought in to spy Tyrod Taylor on occasion and allowed an 18-yard run on third down.
Secondary (4 out of 5)
Gilmore continues to play his best ball of the season as he becomes more and more comfortable in the scheme. ... The safeties were all very good, but Butler had a few struggles that we already highlighted. ... Good to see Eric Rowe (groin) get back into the mix, but he looked pretty stiff.
THREE UP
THREE DOWN