Everything you need to know (turning point, 3 up/down, injuries and takeaways) from the Patriots’ victory over the Bills in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Patriots largely struggle before pulling away: New England converted just 36 percent of their third downs and averaged just 5.4 yards per offensive play as they struggled against a good Bills defense. But even when the Patriots got good field position (like after Kyle Van Noy's strip sack at the Buffalo 29-yard line) they still had trouble punching it in (1 of 3 in the red zone). Some of that had to do with the Bills, but some of it had to do with their own ineffectiveness. But New England put together one huge drive — 10 plays, 94 yards (longest drive of the season) — that culminated in James White's eighth touchdown in as many games to start the fourth quarter. Devin McCourty's pick-six with 5:54 left sealed the game.
Defense did what they should have done — made a bad offense look bad: The Bills' opening drive, which was full of Wildcat and trick plays, told you everything about how their coaching staff felt about their ability to just line up and play against the New England defense, which isn't the 1985 Bears. With Derek Anderson (who was signed just weeks ago) at quarterback, the Bills were severely limited on offense ,and the Patriots largely reinforced that by limiting LeSean McCoy to just 13 yards on 12 carries, keeping the Bills to just 4 of 16 (25 percent) on third and fourth downs, and just 5.3 yards per offensive play.
Patriots make turnover progress: For many years, part of New England's success has been owed to the fact that the Pats took the ball on defense and didn't turn the ball over. That hasn't been the case this season (they were a cumulative plus-1) entering the game, and had never been better than plus-1 in turnover differential all year. That changed Monday when the Patriots forced two Bills turnovers (that turned into 10 points) and didn't turn it over themselves. If you're plus-2 every week, you're going to have a chance to win a lot of games comfortably.
TURNING POINT
Leading 12-6 early in the fourth quarter, the Patriots were faced with two third downs — third-and-6 at their own 19, third-and-8 at their own 47 — that would have resulted in punting the ball back to a Bills offense that was one play away from taking the lead. But each time, the Patriots converted.
First, Brady threw a rope to Julian Edelman in zone coverage for 26 yards.
SECOND GUESS
Cordarrelle Patterson might be a fine kick returner, and serviceable at screens and other gadget plays in the passing game. But does he really need to be the team's leading rusher with 10 attempts? He did have one 22-yard run, but outside of that, he had a 1.8-yard average.
Oh, and how about that toss play on third-and-3 that went for minus-1 on the first play of the second half?
I get throwing curveballs at the defense, but running back is a collision position, Patterson gets plenty of touches on reverses, and that seems to be a bad way to waste $5 million if he gets hurt and the Patriots have to replace him.
THREE UP
Trey Flowers: Looks like he's finally up to speed and back to his old self after getting a concussion against Jacksonville and having a low-key presence in the weeks following. Against the Bills, Flowers was all over the place getting pressure on Derek Anderson (two official hits) and batting down a pass.
Kyle Van Noy: Even though the offense only got three points of it, his strip-sack of Anderson late in the third quarter was a huge play. Van Noy added another sack later in the game. Between Flowers and Van Noy, the Patriots' edge players finally feel like they're firing at the same time.
James White/Julian Edelman: It's hard to separate the two because this offense, in its current inept state, would be unable to function without one, or certainly not both of them. They combined for 19 of Tom Brady's 29 completions for 183 yards and for four of the Patriots' five third-down conversions.
THREE DOWN
LaAdrian Waddle: Seemed to be the main cause of a lot of the pressure that was put on Brady. Not sure if he's healthy. He's not moving well.
Offensive line: After singling out the right tackle, we're going to go with the entire group, because Brady was under a ton of pressure and the running backs only had 2.9 yards per attempt as the Bills' defensive line — which is good — seemed to dominate the Patriots up front.
Both punters: Ryan Allen and Cory Bojorquez went head-to-head in Patriots training camp before Allen won out, but they both weren't good on Monday night. Allen had an average of 37 and a net of 28.8. Bojorquez had a 39.6 average and 31.6 net. That's pretty terrible.
INJURIES
Shaq Mason (calf): Looked to get injured in the first quarter but stayed in the game until halftime and was replaced by Ted Karras.
Elandon Roberts (groin): Left the game but returned and finished. He's been beat up for a couple of weeks.
TOP PLAYS
TWO TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
What's the point of Kenjon Barner being active if he's only going to get two carries, especially after he had some good runs last week against the Bears? If Barner is not good enough to get carries in a game like this, then the Patriots should just go out and find another running back. Sure, they think Sony Michel is coming back soon and Rex Burkhead could return at some point, but neither of those guys is exactly an ironman. The Patriots need another RB option because Brady needs help moving the ball.
This wasn't a bad win — it was certainly better than the Bears game: I know everyone around here is used to watching an efficient Patriots offense so what you saw on Monday night wasn't exactly scintillating. But that's a good Bills defense, coached by a defensive mind who knows the Patriots well and a windy Monday night game in Orchard Park is always trouble. The Patriots' offense might not have been great, but the defense did their job and made sure that a victory was never really in doubt. That's what you're going to get in a divisional game. But here come the Packers, who need a win.