What Bill Belichick had to say after the Patriots’ win over the Bills
"You and me could’ve been playing center and guard on some of those plays."
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The Patriots running game was excellent against the Buffalo Bills, rushing for a combined 273 yards and two touchdowns. Many of the crucial plays came on jet sweeps for Cordarelle Patterson, who swept around the edge and beat the Bills defenders into space.
The plays moved so quickly to the outside that Bill Belichick told a reporter after the game that the two of them could have been strapped in pads and lined up on the offensive line.
“You and me could’ve been playing center and guard on some of those plays,” Belichick said. “It doesn’t make any difference.”
The reporter told the head coach he probably wasn’t the man for the job, but Belichick had faith.
“Well, I don’t think you want to run behind me either, but if the ball gets outside that quickly, we could probably hold it for one eighth of a second,” he said.
The Patriots didn’t need Belichick to relive his Wesleyan days during their 24-12 win on Sunday. He used the exchange to point out how important Chris Hogan and the rest of the receiving corps were to the rushing attack, blocking on the perimeter once outside runs had removed the linemen from the play.
Belichick also acknowledged the other side of the ball, where the defense held Buffalo to 72 yards on the ground while containing quarterback Josh Allen and receivers Zay Jones and Robert Foster.
“Covered and competed well in coverage against some big, explosive play receivers and a very athletic quarterback who was hard to rush and contain, but I think we got some pressure on him without him killing us on the scrambles,” Belichick said. “He got out a couple of times but, I mean, we hit him a few times too.”
Of course, Belichick would be remiss if he didn’t give a nod to the third, special, unit. He gave a nod to Matthew Slater — the special teams captain who downed two punts inside the Buffalo 10-yard line in addition to blocking a punt — noting how fortunate he’s been to have great captains like “Slate” and Larry Izzo.
“Slate’s just been tremendous,” Belichick said. “He’s unselfish and he’s a great player that can impact the game in a lot of different ways – coverage, downing, rushing kicks, matching up on key guys in the return game. He’s given us a lot of great play.”
The one Patriot who was more notable for his absence than his play was Josh Gordon, who was suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of his reinstatement. Asked about the wide receiver, Belichick said, “Well again, it’s the National Football League.”
“Unfortunately, there’s an attrition in this league, for one reason or another, and when it happens then it creates opportunities for other people. Again, I think we have a team that has good depth. We had a lot of players that maybe got a little more opportunity today and they stepped up and tried to make the most of it.”
