Exactly one month ago, we were of the opinion, based on the shortcomings of the personnel, that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was facing the coaching job of his career down the stretch of this season.
Well, after the Patriots' 24-17 victory over the Bills, consider that job aced so far. There is still a long way to go against much better competition before anyone's patting each other on the back, but the Patriots' offense finally showed signs of life against the Bills. What did we like and how did McDaniels do it?
What was to like
The first thing is, the Patriots put up 24 real points in this game, not some of the fake stuff in earlier games. The Patriots' defense didn't create one turnover in this game, and the offense's average starting position was its own 25-yard line. And to think, on the Patriots' best field position of the night, at midfield with 1:08 left in the first half, the Patriots squandered it on a failed fourth-down conversion.
The Patriots had five drives of at least 50 yards. You'd be lucky to get two in one game before this one.
Three drives of at least 11 plays. The Grenade Offense — where something goes wrong every three plays — appears to be in the rearview mirror.
The commitment and the variety in the running game. Three different runners averaged at least 4.0 yards per rush, and they spun the dial doing it. There were fullback leads, power runs, jet sweeps, even some pistol with James White as a lead blocker. The result was 143 yards rushing. We've talked about the needed mix for this group and we pegged the run game as 130 yards per game as being optimal. This was gravy.
Distributing the ball to nine different receivers, including seven with at least two catches. That really keeps a defense on its toes. Now, if they could just get Mohamed Sanu going to around 80 yards a game ...
Put the varied run game together, along with different targets through different types of passes (including many screens), and you have an offense that is tough to get off the field if there aren't turnovers, penalties and poorly blocked plays. Yes, this offense needs to be just about perfect, and it was the other night.
How did McDaniels do it?
I'd be a fool to say because the Patriots ingeniously did X, the result was Y. It's never, ever that simple. Rather, in most well-coordinated games, you have a coordinator who has a good grasp of the opponent, their rules and their tendencies. The familiarity of a divisional opponent definitely helps.
The biggest thing a coordinator wants to do is put the defense in conflict with their rules against offenses, and to get outside their comfort zone. In this regard, McDaniels knocked it out of the park.
That Bills' defense is fast and disciplined. So the Patriots wanted to slow them down, and to force them into mistakes. All the screens and fake jet sweeps were designed to slow down the pursuit of the Bills. The different run blocking schemes also slowed the linebackers down. And it seemed like McDaniels had specific designs to target middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who is athletically gifted but he's not a smart player and can be overaggressive.
Like on the Burkhead screen/fumble:
And this pony backfield look sent the Bills into two different checks by Edmunds, which the Patriots were probably banking on:
All really good stuff. Hats off to McDaniels.
Here are the offensive positional ratings against the Bills:
OFFENSE
[table id=406 /]
Quarterback (5 out of 5)
Tom Brady was excellent in this game and, really, if you count the second half against the Bengals, he's now played six straight quarters of stellar ball. ... Even his run block was great. ... I know others will make more of his attitude and buy in and all that, but I don't agree with going there. The offense as a whole executed better, and Brady was probably ticked off after watching his first half last week and wanted to atone. ... The play between Brady and Matt LaCosse on his touchdown was nice to see. LaCosse had no separation, but Brady trusted him to put it in a spot where he could make a play against a lesser athlete. Brady's going to have to do more of that.
Running backs (4 out of 5)
I thought this was Sony Michel's best game of the season. Sure, the blocking was better and it helped to have a guide guy in FB Elandon Roberts, but Michel also broke tackles on some of his biggest runs and showed some improved cutback ability. ... Burkhead was a playmaker in the second half and exploited his mismatch against Edmunds. ... Shocked the Patriots got nothing out of White in this game. Looked like he was dealing with a foot injury at one point. Hopefully it's nothing. ... Burkhead's fumble and three poor blocks by Roberts were the only minus plays for this group. Roberts had a few really nice blocks, but he had a few whiffs. Overall, not bad given his level of experience.
Receivers (3.5 out of 5)
A mixed bag for just about everybody but I thought N'Keal Harry had a really strong game as McDaniels starts putting him in better chances for success. ... Two legit OPI calls on Edelman and Ben Watson. ... On the fourth-down play, Sanu is supposed to block the most dangerous of the two players in front of him. He didn't block anyone. At least take one out and given Harry a one-on-one chance to make a play. Bills also read it well. Didn't mind the playcall. ... Edelman continues to be a marvel with his toughness but he was just left open a few times. How does that happen? ... Thought Jakobi Meyers was quietly excellent in this game and has earned some more playing time. That kid is tough too.
Offensive line (5 out of 5)
Finest game of the season and better late than never. Allowed under 20 percent pressures as a line and was much better in the run game (just 20 percent run stuffs). In order of effectiveness: Joe Thuney, Ted Karras, Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon/Marshall Newhouse, Isaiah Wynn — and it wasn't even a bad game from him. Others were just that good. ... Karras had an excellent game. Great in pass pro again, and was powerful in the running game. Looks a little refreshed after his injury. He's played a lot of snaps for a career backup.
THREE UP
Tom Brady: Just an excellent all-around game. Was completely dialed in and was the perfect point guard in an efficient game.
Joe Thuney: Another reminder of his Pro Bowl snub. Does everything at a high level at this point. Truly in his prime.
Sony Michel: Maybe he's stopped playing tentative and unsure of himself. This Michel ran like a vet.
THREE DOWN
Mohamed Sanu: You can tell he just lacks confidence in everything he does. His route running has been disappointing.
Elandon Roberts: After Sanu, no one was bad in his game. Just not as consistent as the others.
Isaiah Wynn: Again, not a poor performance, but certainly pulled up the rear on a stellar offensive line.
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