Giardi: Mike's Musings on the blame game, Drake's bad day, and a defensive line that needs a jolt

Before we get into Musings, a word about the penalties called on Sunday and their overall impact on the game. I say this with all the love in my heart, especially around the holiday season... calls that were made or not made had nothing to do with the Patriots losing to the Bills. Yes, we can quibble about the ticky-tack nature of a couple of calls, but the non-call on Tre’Davious White’s interception was correct. Ditto the DPI on Marcus Jones. You can’t run into the receiver’s chest before the ball gets there (that they ruled it was a catch by Khalil Shakir is ridiculous; however, it wouldn’t have changed the result, which was the ball being placed at the 8-yard line). The Carlton Davis DPI wasn’t egregious; however, he did pull the jersey, and the only reason the flag didn’t come out sooner was that the ref couldn’t get the damn flag out of his belt. 

Finally, to close the loop on this (as far as I'm concerned), here’s Mike Vrabel from Monday morning.

“Yeah, there's nothing that we can do. They see what they see. They call it the best that they can. I'm confident in that. We have to know what it is that they're looking for to call penalties. They have mechanics that they're looking for; we have to understand that, and we have to play to that. No more, no less. Officiating or the penalties weren't the reason that we lost the game.”

Anywho, on to Musings...

I have high standards for Drake Maye. He didn’t deliver in the second half. I had Maye for 8.5 negative plays on his 15 dropbacks after the break. Some (myself included) could have been harsher, but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt on the final offensive snap (the Joey Bosa pass deflection). That play was a cluster from jump. Here's a list of all the second-half pass plays, and how I viewed them.

3rd Quarter 

• 2nd & 11 at NE 25 10:49 - Negative — D.Maye pass short right to S.Diggs to NE 29 for 4 yards (M.Milano). Yes, the pass was complete. The throw was poor.
• 3rd & 7 at NE 29 10:06  - Negative — D.Maye sacked at NE 20 for -9 yards (M.Milano). Maye has Hollins on a crossing route. Doesn’t let it fly.
• PUNT
• 1st & 10 at NE 19 03:41 — D.Maye pass short left to R.Stevenson pushed ob at NE 35 for 16 yards (M.Milano). Swing pass. Easy pitch and catch.
• 1st & 10 at NE 35 03:16 — D.Maye pass short middle to T.Henderson to NE 41 for 6 yards (M.Milano). Another checkdown.
• 2nd & 4 at NE 41 02:39 - Negative — D.Maye pass incomplete short middle to M.Hollins. Tight coverage on a deep in-cut, but the throw is high and behind him.
• 3rd & 4 at NE 41 02:34 — D.Maye pass short left to S.Diggs to BUF 43 for 16 yards (Ta.Johnson). Maye’s best throw of the half.
• 1st & 10 at BUF 43 01:57 — D.Maye pass incomplete short right (throwaway)
• 2nd & 10 at BUF 43 01:49 - Negative — D.Maye pass incomplete short middle to H.Henry. Not even close, and it should have been intercepted by Jordan Poyer.
• 3rd & 25 at NE 42 01:39  - Negative — D.Maye pass deep right intended for M.Hollins INTERCEPTED by T.White at BUF 9. T.White to BUF 9 for no gain (M.Hollins). Maye had not one, not two, but three options underneath and instead chose to chuck one up to Hollins. Bad choice. 

4th Quarter

• 2nd & 5 at NE 32 06:07 — D.Maye sacked at NE 25 for -7 yards (M.Milano).
• 3rd & 12 at NE 25 05:25 - Negative— D.Maye pass incomplete short right to H.Henry. Not a good throw. High and behind Henry, who had a step on the defender. That said, Henry should have made the catch and said as much after the game. Both can be true.
• Punt
• 1st & 10 at NE 17 02:43 — Negative (half) - D.Maye pass short left to M.Hollins to NE 22 for 5 yards (Ta.Johnson). Not sure that Hollins was in the right place, but he still bailed Maye out with a tough catch.
• 2nd & 5 at NE 22 02:18 - Negative — D.Maye sacked at NE 22 for 0 yards (G.Rousseau). Felt pressure, rolled to his left and had Stevenson in front of him, and with enough space to maybe get the first. Instead, took a zero-yard sack.
• 3rd & 5 at NE 22 02:00 - Negative — D.Maye pass incomplete deep right to T.Henderson. Got locked onto Henderson, who was tightly covered by Taron Johnson. Never came off it. Kayshon Boutte was open on a crosser and showed some frustration after not getting the target.
• 4th & 5 at NE 22 01:54 — D.Maye pass incomplete short middle to S.Diggs (J.Bosa). As mentioned, the play was a mess. Maye escaped the pocket and had his pass knocked down by Bosa, who had dropped into coverage, then triggered with Maye’s movement. 

It all resulted in Maye’s first game with a sub-80 passer rating in 2025 and the lowest passer rating of his career (min. 10 pass attempts). The Pats need more Sunday in Baltimore, and again in the playoffs. 

Forget about TreVeyon Henderson’s two long touchdowns, if only for a second. It was his vision that I found almost as impressive. His ability to sift through some traffic and maximize several of his carries showed growth in an area I’ve been critical of. Oh, and he now has 4 touchdown runs of 50+ yards. In the previous 15 seasons, the Pats only had a pair.

A nod to Henderson’s backfield mate, Rhamondre Stevenson. He consistently made the first defender miss, looking like the best version of himself this season. Stevenson also did a bang-up jump in pass pro, which is why he out-snapped Henderson. Perhaps the 1-2 punch the Pats dreamed of is finally coming to fruition. 

Morgan Moses is a big man, and he threw around his weight in the run game. In fact, McDaniels had Moses pull, and he paved the way on Henderson’s first touchdown. This has been a very impressive season by the 34-year-old.

Jack Gibbens missed three tackles and got reached far too often at the second level by the Bills’ offensive linemen. Filling in for Robert Spillane (foot), Gibbens got the green dot, and while he made a few plays, the veteran linebacker was too often left in James Cook’s wake.

I can’t pick just one, so damn near the entire defensive line finds its way onto the naughty list. They got physically overwhelmed, which, to me, was the story of this defense. Khyiris Tonga struggled mightily, but the same can be said of Christian Barmore (more is needed), Cory Durden (the best of the bunch Sunday), Joshua Farmer, Elijah Ponder, and K’Lavon Chaisson. The Bills did what so many have done, running at Chaisson, who looks to me like he’s worn down (and that’s coming off a bye). The veteran edge rusher is approaching a career-high in snaps - he should race by that number on Sunday - and there are still three regular-season games and the playoffs on the docket. The Bills were also able to consistently crease the interior DL, hence all the names on this list. Milton Williams is eligible to come off IR in time for the Jets game (assuming the ankle is ready). Keep your fingers crossed he can, and is the same player he was pre-injury.

We’ve been so spoiled by Marcus Jones’ play this year; however, this wasn’t one of his better games. Jones had bad eyes on the first Dawson Knox touchdown, getting caught too far inside to recover when he realized it was play action. He got caught in a similar situation on the ensuing drive, losing Jackson Hawes in the flat for a first down. Combine that with the 37-yard DPI penalty, and, well, he belongs with the thumbs-down crew. He was also limping and very stiff postgame, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his health this week.