If there’s anything we know about the 2021 New England Patriots, it’s that they aren’t built to play from behind.
By all accounts, this group’s success is contingent on its running game, playing sound defense and avoiding back-breaking mistakes.
On Sunday against Buffalo, however, that blueprint was nowhere to be found and the Pats were forced to play catch up en route to a hard-fought defeat.
While the rushing attack, led by a motivated Damien Harris, was efficient, the Patriots’ third down offense was an atrocity. The defense, meanwhile, held up as long as it could, but had zero answers for Josh Allen.
As for New England’s passing game, well, you saw what we saw. With Nelson Agholor out and Kendrick Bourne clearly unable to play a full complement of snaps, Mac Jones had another rough day at the office.
With that said, this loss isn’t on Jones. In a vacuum, the game came down to three costly first half gaffes by his teammates.
3 first half mistakes that doomed Patriots against Bills
3. Trent Brown unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
The only reason this sequence doesn’t rank higher on this list is because it came with the Patriots already down 17-7.
At the same time, though, it was still a killer penalty.
On a 2nd and 3 late in the second quarter, Trent Brown was called for an entirely needless unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The towering right tackle simply lost his cool jawing back and forth with a Bills DL in between snaps.
A 2nd and 3 near midfield turned into a 2nd and 18 at the Pats’ own 32. After two straight incompletions, they were forced to punt, thus squandering an opportunity to chip away at Buffalo’s lead before halftime.
This marks the second straight week of the Patriots shooting themselves in the foot by failing to control their emotions.
It’s the last thing you’d expect from a Belichick-coached group, but the six-time champ needs to nip this in the bud as soon as possible because New England’s season will end a lot sooner than expected if these mistakes linger.
2. N’Keal Harry drop leads to Mac Jones INT
At this point, Patriots fans are fed up with N’Keal Harry the wide receiver.
For all the good work Harry does as a blocker in the running game, he simply doesn’t deserve any snaps as a pass-catcher. With Agholor out due to a concussion and Bourne banged up after not practicing all week, however, New England was forced to call Harry’s number as a receiver against the Bills.
That proved to be costly pretty quickly, as Harry dropped a surefire first down midway through the second quarter with the Pats trailing 10-7. On the very next snap, a Jones pass attempt, also intended for Harry, was tipped and picked off.
Had Harry came down with the initial pass, New England would’ve been set up near midfield with some wind in their sails. Instead, Jones forced a throw into a tight window that resulted in a back-breaking turnover.
The Bills didn’t capitalize in the form of points, but they put together a commanding drive that stalled out on a 4th and 1 from the Patriots’ one-yard line.
In essence, Harry’s mistake was inches away from costing his team seven points. Regardless, it still flipped the field in Buffalo’s favor and zapped all momentum the Pats mustered on their previous drive trailing by just three points.
Patriots fans have set a low bar for Harry since he was drafted No. 32 overall back in 2019. However, even his biggest cynics would have expected him to haul in this WIDE open pass to move the chains on Sunday.
1. Christian Barmore 4th down encroachment
We’ve sung Christian Barmore’s praises throughout his dominant rookie season, but he picked a bad time to show his inexperience on Sunday.
On a 4th and 7 in the second quarter, Barmore, lined up directly across from the center, was flagged for encroachment. The penalty gifted Buffalo an extra five yards, making it an easy call for Sean McDermott to go for it.
These types of penalties almost always come back to haunt teams, and the Bills wasted no time making Barmore and the Patriots pay, as Allen connected with Stefon Diggs for a 23-yard gain on 4th and 2. Three plays later, Allen found Diggs for a 12-yard touchdown in the most predictable outcome ever.
Before Barmore could even blink, the Bills opened up a 17-7 lead right before the halftime intermission.
Would Buffalo have converted the 4th and 7 anyway? Maybe, but you’d obviously rather take your chances with that over a 4th and 2. Unfortunately for the Pats, Barmore’s eagerness to make a play for his team proved costly.
Again, Barmore is a huge reason why New England entered the weekend in first place in the AFC East. At some point, though, he was going to undergo a rookie learning curve. It just came at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
Did Matt Judon get away with dirty play on Josh Allen?
New England Patriots star edge rusher Matt Judon appeared to get away with an intentional tripping of Bills quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday.