Still plenty of division between Patriots and AFC East farces
COMMENTARY
One of the images from Sunday that will linger for any length of time in western New York, is the televised halftime look of incredulity on Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan’s face, after he watched the New England Patriots build a two-touchdown lead thanks to a wobbly, yet successful 51-yard attempt by kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
Another came when the CBS cameras again found Ryan in the second half, with the score much more lopsided in the Patriots’ favor. This time he was flashing a toothy grin, as his Bills suffered further embarrassment — again — at the hands of the Patriots. By that point, at least one aspect of this season had become increasingly evident.
It’s over.
The Patriots are halfway through the regular season, and with their 41-25 win over the Bills, are now 7-1 with a three-game division lead on Buffalo, the only team to have beaten them thus far during the 2016 campaign.
Without Tom Brady, you might remember.
The last time the Pats and Bills tangled in Foxborough earlier this month, Jacoby Brissett was still a thing with Brady serving the final game of his four-game suspension for failing to properly determine the air pressure of league-regulated devices. Four weeks later, the Bills’ 16-0 shutout seemed like it must have happened another world ago, especially after Brady threw for 315 yards and four touchdown passes in Sunday’s win.
If you thought that Most Valuable Player talk concerning Brady was a little bit early, considering the guy has only played four games, half as many as his direct competition, well, forget that.
The award might be Brady’s to lose right now. Already.
The Patriots won’t have AFC East champions merchandise for sale this week in the Gillette Stadium Pro Shop, but they might as well start making preparations for the gear’s arrival. It was a fun eight weeks (well, six, considering the back-to-back losses) for the Bills, but even the normally-boisterous Ryan seemed ready to concede.
“I don’t see that happening,” Ryan said when he was reminded his team faces an increasing deficit with the dawn of the second half of the NFL season upon him. “Hope I’m wrong.”
Eh, you’re not.
Which is why the image of Ryan and brother Rob smiling on the sideline while the Bills fell into doldrums of incompetence has to sit about as well with Bills fans as free passes to the Scott Norwood Museum. Ryan’s Bills were among the handful of surprises in the NFL during the early portion of this season, particularly with an offense that seemed to mature around quarterback Tyrod Taylor and running back LeSean McCoy, a niece complement to one of the AFC’s stronger defenses, a Ryan trademark, of course.
Also a trademark that is following schedule in Buffalo, watching a Ryan team collapse.
It’s happening. And the Patriots are primed to run away with the AFC East crown yet again.
When do we start talking first-round byes?
“It’s pretty early, so there’s a long way to go,” Brady said after becoming only the third quarterback in NFL history to throw 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions over his first four games of a season. “Seven wins, it’s a good place, and I think decent position. But coach always says seven wins won’t get you anything in this league, and he’s right. So, we’ve got a lot of football ahead.”
That was evident only a year ago when the defending Super Bowl champions burst out of the gate and conjured undefeated memories of 2007. So, perhaps the swagger shouldn’t exactly be at full tilt across New England just yet.
Or, maybe it should be. Eight weeks into the regular season and no team is as good as the New England Patriots. Not Denver. Not Green Bay. Not Carolina. Not Oakland.
Not…(cough)…Buffalo.
“I thought we had good play from our entire team today,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “Tom did a good job. We had a lot of other guys plays well too. So, it was a good team win.”
Brady found six different receivers on the day, yet another sign of the dangerous and dynamic New England offensive attack. He got Rob Gronkowski his 69th career touchdown reception, breaking Stanley Morgan’s franchise record, and then the hearts of frat boys everywhere when he declined to get sophomoric about the moment in his post-game press conference. Chris Hogan returned to Orchard Park and scored a touchdown. So did Julian Edelman. And Danny Amendola. LeGarrette Blount rumbled one in.
It all added up to Patriotic dominance on the Ralph Wilson turf.
And smiles on the Buffalo sideline. For whatever reason.
“The better team won today,” Ryan said. “We made way too many mistakes, mistakes we haven’t made all season. Tom Brady will make you pay for mistakes.”
Remarkably, Brady may be the man who receives the MVP trophy, despite potentially playing in only 12 games. Just like that, four weeks after some bubbling concern about the New England Patriots, everything seems back to normal. Brady is more dominant than ever, at age 39, has a multitude of weapons at his disposal, and a collection of jokers trailing his team in the AFC East.
It’s over.
Is it January yet?
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