The New England Patriots went into Gillette Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, hoping to stun the NFL and win the AFC East title by beating the Bills. They accomplished part of the objective; they stunned the NFL, but not in the way they'd hoped.
They had a 21-0 lead in the first half and ultimately lost to the NFL's MVP, Josh Allen, and the Bills, 35-31. And former MVP-favorite Drake Maye dented his MVP chances mightily, as well. Beating Buffalo anywhere is a chore. They are just too good a football team.
Yet, when you are at home and riding a 21-point lead into the latter stages of the first half, things looked bright. That is, until they didn't.
Head Coach Mike Vrabel's team went into a tailspin at the end of the first half and continued it throughout the second, leaving them with bloodied noses and faces full of embarrassment. The Bills then systematically and comprehensively kicked them and their fans out of the crowded Gillette Stadium and its parking lots.
With them went Head Coach Mike Vrabel's leading candidacy for the NFL's Coach of the Year award, Maye's MVP candidacy, and more.
Mike Vrabel's team didn't have what it takes to beat the reigning AFC East champion
The Buffalo Bills are the best team in the AFC East, even though they sit a game behind the Patriots in the standings. Whether that changes or not in the next three games is irrelevant. The Bills proved they had the wherewithal to face down adversity and overcome it. The Patriots showed they couldn't sustain prosperity and threw it into the dumpster.
Vrabel had been the leading contender for the NFL's Coach of the Year Award along with Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears. His candidacy took a major wallop with this game. It wasn't so much that the Patriots lost to the Bills.
They're an NFL force and will be as long as that battering-ram of a quarterback, NFL MVP Josh Allen, rules the roost. It was how that was the crushing blow to Vrabel.
The Bills showed resilience at the end of the first half, marching down the field and scoring to make the score 21-7. That was a signal that the champions were not about to give up their crown just yet, and, as in every other NFL game, you play for four quarters, not just two, to determine the winner.
Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff were out-coached by Sean McDermott and his
After losing a tight, 23-20 game against the Patriots in Orchard Park, Bills' Coach Sean McDermott knew his team was facing a more formidable challenge than at any time since Tom Brady left after 2019. Yet, even so, his team gave up three touchdowns and looked set to be blown out of Gillette Stadium by the resurgent Patriots led by MVP candidate Maye.
Then something happened, McDermott and his staff made adjustments, and went to their powerful running game. It was spearheaded by their terrific running back, Josh Cook, who ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and the master passer/runner, Allen, who ran for 48 yards himself, always it seems at the most opportune times. They set the table, and the rest was history.
The Patriots' defense had no answer for the Bills' pounding away on the ground, and when Allen did pass, he completed 19 of 28 for 193 yards and three touchdowns. That was enough to move the ball down the field at lightning speed. Neither Vrabel nor his defensive staff could develop an answer to the Bills' success. Buffalo scored five touchdowns on five straight drives.
After a great first half, Maye also had a terrible second, finishing with a pedestrian 14 of 23 for 155 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Rookie Treveyon Henderson's heroics with two more long touchdowns kept them in the game. But Maye proved that, at the biggest moment, he couldn't take his team from the brink of disaster and carry them on his back, as a certain No. 12, Tom Brady, did for two decades in the same stadium.
With this debacle, the top awards that seemed quite achievable for both Vrabel and Maye took a massive turn for the worse. There are still three games left to rebound, win the AFC East, and maybe regain the initiative on those awards.
Yet one thing is perfectly clear: the Patriots faced the AFC East Champions and were unable to lock up the AFC East by beating them. Until they take the top spot for sure, they'll remain second-best.