After sleepwalking through the first half, the Patriots roared back with a record 45 second-half points and drubbed their favorite whipping boys, the Buffalo Bills, 52-28. The win, coupled with a Jets loss to San Francisco puts the Patriots in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East. Only the losing Dolphins trail at 1-3. Next week the Manning-led Broncos come to town for what will be an important game for both teams.
Neither team seemed interesting in winning in the first half. The Patriots got zero points on three Buffalo turnovers, and the Bills could have put the Pats two scores behind but fumbled inside the 1 yard-line. The Patriots had their first two fumbles of the entire season in the second quarter, but the Bills countered with two terrible interceptions and that fumble in the red zone.
But in the second half, there was no question who wanted to win. The Bills scored on their first possession to take a 21-7 lead. The next time they scored, it was already 42-28 Patriots and the game was effectively over. The Patriots scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions, and unlike the first half, they converted three Buffalo turnovers into 17 points.
Though he was masterful in the second half, Tom Brady needs to stop forcing the ball to newcomer Brandon Lloyd. He targeted him as many times as Wes Welker in the first half, but had almost nothing to show for it. Lloyd seems to understand the offense, but Brady has to trust that the chemistry with Lloyd will develop, and that the second half touchdown they combined on will be the norm in the future. He can't continue to force the ball to Lloyd without risking interceptions (though thankfully there were none yesterday).
Brady's stats on the day: 22 of 36, 340 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, 0 interceptions, 120.1 QB rating, 1 sack for 7 yards, and aside from forcing the ball to Lloyd a perfect day. He threw it away when necessary and changed to running plays when necessary to exploit defensive alignments. In fact, he was almost as instrumental in a dominating running game as any of the blockers.
Speaking of the running game, this was the first game in almost 30 years in which the Patriots had two 100 yard rushers. Stevan Ridley continues his solid and sometimes spectacular running style with a 22 carry, 106 yard, 2 touchdown day. And he picks up blitzers! Add to that rookie free agent Brandon Bolden's 16 carries, 137 yards, and 1 touchdown, and the team took 40 carries 247 yards (6.2 ypc) and got 4 touchdowns, including Brady's scramble being the fourth. (Trivia question: name the last undrafted rookie to run for 100+ yards for the Patriots? Extra credit if you can name the year and opponent. Answer below.)
Bolden and Ridley ran through holes opened up by multiple players and factors. The Bills played a soft zone so they wouldn't get beaten by the passing game, which made running easier. But the offensive line did an outstanding job clearing out a stout Bills D-line. And that was without star guard Logan Mankins (on the shelf for this game). But the unexpected factor was the blocking by the tight ends. Rob Gronkowski was the lead blocker up the middle for the lion's share of those yards. And surprising newcomer Daniel Fells did a great job sealing the edge or kicking out on two of the touchdowns.
Not to be outdone, the receivers had two 100+ yard performances of their own. Wes Welker made himself Mister Indispensable in the second half, with 6 catches for almost 100 yards after halftime. He finished with 9-129, and converted first downs on 5 of 6 grabs in the second half. Gronkowski started out shaky, with a few drops and a fumble in the first half. But when the game was over, he had 5 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. And as noted, about 10 devastating blocks in the running game. Danny Woodhead got the Patriots back in the game with a nice adjustment and run-after-catch for a 17-yard touchdown that started the six-touchdown train a-rollin'.
The defense had a bunch of stars on the day. But none shone brighter than Rob Ninkovich or Vince Wilfork. On a day when the Bills (who led the NFL in rushing before yesterday) could have gashed the Patriots with cut-backs and power rushes, Ninkovich and Wilfork sealed the outside and the inside respectively. Ninkovich had 7 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Wilfork had 3 tackles, 2 passes knocked down, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. These to set the tone on the defensive line, and Chandler Jones and Jermaine Cunningham pitched in with timely plays.
The linebackers had a down day until the Bills fell way behind. Once Dont'a Hightower went out, Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick exploited bad linebacker coverage for big gains in the passing game. Pass coverage is not the strong suit of either Brandon Spikes or Jerod Mayo. And even though Spikes did make one nice play in pass coverage and Mayo got a tipped-ball interception, the mid-level passing game is what kept the Bills alive. Both players are more run-stoppers, and Spikes had a huge game in that area, forcing the first-half fumble that kept the score close. But the fact remains; if Buffalo hadn't insisted on giving the game away, we might be talking about the team's weakness and lack of depth at linebacker (Tracy White, really?). But of course, a win cures all ills...
The secondary was also up-and-down on the day. Devin McCourty nabbed two interceptions and knocked away two passes. He also did a great job in run support (and always does). However, he also let up at least two long passes, and just about everyone in the secondary missed Donald Jones on his 68-yard jaunt. Sterling Moore and Kyle Arrington continued to battle every down. It isn't perfect with either of them, but mostly teams seem to pick on McCourty, so neither gave up a ton.
Rookie Tayvon Wilson looks like the real deal. He got his second interception yesterday, and recovered a fumble, too. He and safety Patrick Chung give the secondary some attitude and swagger, and they are sorely in need of that as teams continue to attack them as the weakest part of the defense. Safety Steve Gregory impresses every game, although in the interest of full disclosure, both he and Chung missed the boat on Buffalo's second touchdown, letting them split the middle for an easy pitch-and-catch.
On special teams, Stephen Gostkowski's case of the "yips" showed up in the first half. He missed two field goals, one wide right and one wide left. He needs to get himself together before those misses cost the Patriots another game (as they did against the Ravens last week and the Cardinals the week before). Punter Zoltan Mesko did a nice job, both punting and holding. Though it's unclear if long-snapper Danny Aiken is putting it where it should be on field goals. It looks like those snaps are a little close to the body of the holder; but that might be what they want, since it's what they get week after week.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made great halftime adjustments. It probably shouldn't have taken until the half, but getting back to Wes Welker and pounding the running game against five- and six-defensive back sets was the way to go. And new tight ends coach George Godsey appears to be doing quite well, my preseason concerns notwithstanding. Each new tight end seems to work into the offense well -- if not catching passes, at least doing a good job blocking.
So where does that leave us? The Bills had a chance to go up 2.5 games over the Patriots (including the tie-breaker), but the comeback win basically gives the Patriots a 0.5 game lead over the Bills in the division. The Broncos come to town next, and they have traditionally given the Patriots fits when they have good quarterbacking. Well, it doesn't get much better than Peyton Manning, so things will not be easy this week.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: Oh, what to choose... the 45 points in the second half (NFL record), the two 100-yard rushers *and* two 100-yard receivers (only the second time in NFL history), or the 580 total yards (4th most in Patriots history). I will go with Brady's astounding 19-2 record against the Bills. I doubt there are any quarterbacks with that kind of record against a divisional opponent in league history.
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "If Gostkowski hits his field goals, the Patriots are 4-0 this morning."
Bonus Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "Remember the Raven's debacle? 24 total penalties for 218 yards. Against the Bills it was 4 penalties for 27 yards. Welcome back, real refs!"
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 2-2!
PPS. Trivia Answer
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None other than BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 105 yards on 26 carries against these same Buffalo Bills on November 9, 2008.
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