As ugly as it looked on Sunday, the Patriots still had a chance to rip the hearts out of Buffalo Bills fans everywhere.
Entering the season-altering game in a damp, cold and raw Orchard Park, New England was 35-5 against the Bills since 2000. Buffalo led by three with 4:06 remaining, but the Patriots took over at their own 21-yard line with a chance to put together a game-winning drive and salvage the season.
Eight plays later New England got a 3-yard run from Damien Harris putting the Pats at the Buffalo 26 and in field goal range to tie the game. Rex Burkhead converted a 3rd-&-1 down to the 20 with 47 seconds remaining. After an incomplete pass, Cam Newton carried the ball around the left edge for five yards to the 14, but he was stripped from behind. Buffalo recovered and the Patriots lost 24-21.
It’s easy to say the Patriots didn’t deserve to win with the way they played. It’s also just as easy to say that the Bills were doing their best to be the Bills and hand New England the game the way they have for 20 years. Still, Bill Belichick is now the head coach of a 2-5 team and things don’t appear to be getting better anytime soon.
“This is the third time we’ve been in this situation this year and unfortunately we haven’t been able to make enough plays to win,” Belichick said following the game. “We all have to just continue to work hard to get better . We had our opportunities today obviously, we’ve got to be able to do a little more with them.
“Coaching, playing, all three phases of the game, we just came up a little short.”
For Newton – who has clearly put pressure on himself with his career likely on the line – it was another new low.
“Coach preaches each and every day to protect the football, play smart football,” said Newton. “I’m converting too it, outside of this last play and I think that’s what makes it so frustrating. You’re trying extremely hard but, at the end of the day when you don’t get the results you want, then what do you do?”
The Bills led 7-0 after one quarter thanks to an 8-yard Zack Moss touchdown run. Nick Folk made it 7-3 with a 43-yard field goal and cut it to 7-6 at halftime with a 33-yarder. Buffalo went back up 14-6 on a Zack Moss 4-yard TD run early in the third quarter until Harris (16 carries, 102 yards) rumbled into the end zone from 22-yards out. Newton (15/25, 174 yards, 9 rushes, 54 yards) hit Jakobi Meyers for the two-point conversion to make it 14-14.
For some mind boggling reason, the Patriots decided to try an onside kick after the defense had stopped the Bills prior to the touchdown drive that tied the game. The play killed momentum and the Bills answered with a 9-play, 45-yard drive, reclaiming a 21-14 lead on a 2-yard Josh Allen run with 13:12 to go in the game.
“We were trying to make a positive play,” was the only explanation Belichick gave in his post game presser.
72-yards and seven plays later the game was knotted up again, this time thanks to a 2-yard touchdown run by Newton. Allen (11/18, 154 yards) followed by leading one of the biggest drives of his career thus far, moving 63 yards in 10 plays. The Bills ultimately had to settle for a field goal, going up 24-21 and setting up the heart breaking finish over the final few minutes.
“I think we all have to remember as players the game doesn’t come down to one play,” added Devin McCourty. “Cam works as hard as any guy in the locker room and prepares himself. You win together and you lose together…we’ve just got to keep building.”
The Patriots had just nine possessions in the game, punting four times, kicking two field goals, scoring two touchdowns and fumbling. New England managed 349 yards of total offense to Buffalo’s 339 although it felt like much less. Buffalo’s running game was a difference maker in the second half and totaled 190 yards, the Pats had 188.
The lowly Jets are up next Monday night, but nothing is a sure bet at this point. The one-year Cam experiment to see if you could catch lightning in a bottle and make a Super Bowl run has failed. The argument can easily be made that Jarrett Stidham should be starting from here on out. You’re clearly not going to win any playoff games at this point, so why not see what the kid has over an extended period of time? I wouldn’t hate seeing some draft picks come back to 1 Patriot Place this week as well.
Whatever Belichick chooses to do at quarterback or this week at the trade deadline, it’s stunning how quickly things have gone south, and Patriots fans who are only used to winning for the past two decades better prepare to wallow in mediocrity for a while.