NFL analyst’s film discovery makes Patriots’ win over Bills even more impressive
By Jerry Trotta
Hate to break it to you, Bills Mafia, but the New England Patriots embarrassed your beloved team with the entire country watching on Monday night.
It was maybe the most hyped game of the season — a Bills win would’ve put them a half-game up on the Patriots in the AFC East — and Buffalo allowed Mac Jones to essentially take the night off en route to a loss.
If this isn’t up there with some of the greatest wins of Bill Belichick’s career, it’s certainly one of the most unique, as the Patriots dialed up just three pass plays compared to a whopping 46 rush attempts.
If you think we’ve finished waxing poetic about the victory, well, think again, because we’ve stumbled across something that makes it even more impressive. Yup, it’s possible, all thanks to NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger.
While breaking down the game on film, Baldinger made a bizarre discovery: the Patriots ran the SAME run play over and over again.
This is must-see content for Patriots fans.
.@patriots ran “G-Lead” right down the @BuffaloBills necks. Repeat; Rinse..#BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/21L0pCWTUc
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 7, 2021
The Patriots ran the same running play over and over vs Buffalo.
Don’t forward this clip to Jordan Poyer or Micah Hyde. The last thing Bills Mafia needs is one of the team’s defensive leaders losing their cool in front of the media again. That question was probably out of line given the context, but can you find a better word than “embarrassing” to describe Buffalo’s loss?
Probably not.
This is the equivalent to calling the same play in Madden on the easiest level of difficulty and churning out 8-10 yards per carry … and Bill Belichick pulled it off in a game with massive implications as far as playoff seeding.
Talk about humiliating your opponent. Forget about the Patriots’ offensive approach. Belichick couldn’t have been bothered to even change the play! Come hell or high water, it was gonna be G-Lead to the left, then G-Lead to the right, and repeat.
Patriots’ 3 pass attempts were their fewest in franchise history and tied with the 1968 Chiefs for 2nd fewest in a game in Super Bowl Era. Bills once attempted two passes in a game vs. Jets in 1974.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2021
Patriots also became first team since 1978 Saints to rush on 90% of their plays.
We’d also be remiss if we didn’t shower Josh McDaniels with some praise. There’s no way to know how much either coach contributed to the offensive game plan, but we like to think the offensive coordinator had a big input.
And how about New England’s offensive line, fullback Jakob Johnson, tight ends, and receivers for blocking their tails off? It must’ve been fun dominating a division rival with the same exact execution over and over again.
We hope you recorded (DVR’d?) the game, Patriots fans, because you might not see something like this happen again in a long time.
