Patriots outlast Bills 20-13 to run record to 10-0
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Breaking down the New England Patriots’ 20-13 victory against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
SPUTTERING BILLS: Buffalo was competitive all night thanks to its defense limiting explosive plays. But the Bills offense simply could not make enough headway to challenge New England’s defense.
The fourth quarter was a perfect example of that. The Bills didn’t show close to enough urgency and let valuable time tick off and melt away. Buffalo was slow to get to the line of scrimmage. They completed several passes short of the first-down marker. They weren’t very aggressive in their play calling. They burned two timeouts early in the second half, leaving them in a tough spot.
Receiver Sammy Watkins was held to three catches in what was a very frustrating night for the young wideout. During several plays, he showed burst off the line and had Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler beat and raised his arm, calling for the ball.
On at least three pass attempts, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor didn’t even look Watkins’ way, prompting the 22-year-old receiver to stomp his feet and gesture in frustration.
The Bills committed to a running game that yielded limited results. On 30 carries Monday night, the Bills gained just 94 yards.
Taylor completed 20 of his 36 passes for 233 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
DEFENDING BRADY: The Bills had just about the most effective half of football any team has had this season against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Buffalo routinely disguised its pressures by dropping defensive linemen into coverage and bringing heat at the very last second before the snap. The tactic appeared to confuse Brady and New England’s offensive line significantly in the first half, as most of Brady’s 10 incompletions were passes he threw into the turf when a play didn’t materialize.
Brady completed 12 of 22 passes in the first half for 160 yards and one touchdown.
Buffalo continued its solid defense of Brady in the second half, but costly turnovers put New England in great field position that allowed the Patriots to extend their lead.
Another thing the Bills did well on defense was shutting down tight end Rob Gronkowski, who caught just two passes for 37 yards.
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK: An officiating controversy wiped off what could have been a huge play for the Patriots early in the third quarter.
Brady rolled out to his right on a play and found Danny Amendola streaking down the sideline.
One official from Gene Steratore’s crew, however, blew a whistle inadvertently, possibly believing that Brady had ventured out of bounds. By rule, the play was called dead at the spot of the reception, giving Amendola a 14-yard gain.
Replays clearly showed that neither Brady nor Amendola had stepped out of bounds, and confirmed that Amendola had plenty of room to run.
The inadvertent whistle factored large, as Patriots place kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a 54-yard field goal attempt just four plays later.
Then, the Bills took advantage of the short field and tied the game 10-10 just five plays later on running back LeSean McCoy’s 27-yard rushing score.
WHAT’S NEXT?: The Bills conclude their three-game road trip Sunday when they face a suddenly-tough test in the resurgent Kansas City Chiefs (5-5).
For New England, it won’t be Brady vs. Manning, but the Patriots travel to Denver to face the Broncos (8-2) in the Sunday night showcase game of the week.
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Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes
PHOTOS: Week 11 NFL action