Patriots fall to the Bills, 27-21: Quick observations after turnovers doom New England again
New England’s four turnovers in the first half were too much to overcome in Buffalo.
Despite another stingy performance from New England’s defense against an ineffective Josh Allen, the Patriots could not overcome a brutal first half en route to a 27-21 loss to the Bills.
New England was knocked for four turnovers in the first half, resulting in 20 of Buffalo’s 27 points as part of another frustrating result for Bill Belichick’s club. Bailey Zappe coughed up three interceptions in the loss.
The Patriots are now 4-12 on the season, while the Bills are 10-6.
Here are a few early observations from the Patriots’ loss in Buffalo:
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A strong start for Jalen Reagor …
It hasn’t exactly been a banner season for New England’s special-teams unit.
But Jalen Reagor opened Sunday’s game in bombastic fashion, taking the opening kickoff from Tyler Bass and returning it 98 yards to the house for a touchdown.
Reagor, who has established himself as New England’s go-to return man in place of Ty Montgomery over the last few weeks, broke a pair of tackles and benefited from a few key blocks before outrunning the last line of defense in Bass.
Reagor’s score marked the first time that New England has returned a kickoff for a touchdown since 2018. Despite their struggles this season, this marked the second straight game where the Patriots have recorded a special-teams touchdown after Cody Davis scored off a Broncos fumble on Christmas Eve.
New England’s last meeting with the Bills in Buffalo started in a similar fashion, with Nyheim Hines returning the opening kickoff 96 yards for a score in the Bills’ 35-23 win over the Patriots on Jan. 8, 2023.
… gives way to a disastrous start for Zappe.
Despite Reagor’s early score, Zappe and the Patriots fumbled that momentum (literally) in short order.
Even though New England’s stingy defense made life miserable for Josh Allen right out of the gate, the Patriots still entered halftime trailing, 20-14.
That deficit was a direct result of four total turnovers by New England on their first six drives, including three interceptions from Zappe. New England is currently mired in a -10 turnover differential this season, with ball security and lapses in execution regularly serving as the nail in the coffin for this ineffective offense.
After turning the ball over on New England’s first offensive play last week against the Broncos, Zappe committed the same infraction in Buffalo, with Ed Oliver snagging a tipped ball out of the air on New England’s 21-yard line.
New England followed that up with a 3-and-out, with Zappe then opening another drive with a pick thrown right into the hands of Bills corner Rasul Douglas.
Zappe finally completed his first pass of the afternoon on New England’s fourth drive, only to have tight end Pharaoh Brown fumble it while fighting for more yardage.
With four seconds remaining in the first quarter, New England generated three total yards on offense — and three turnovers.
Zappe’s woes continued early in the second quarter, with a lapse in communication between the QB and Reagor allowing Douglas to snag his second pick of the game and return it for a pick-six — giving Buffalo a 20-7 lead with 12:47 to go until halftime.
New England was nearly knocked for an ugly fifth turnover of the first half later in the second quarter after running back Kevin Harris fumbled the ball, but his knee was down before he lost control of the football.
Defense keeps Pats off the mat
As disastrous as New England’s offense was in the first half, the Patriots still found themselves trailing by just six points at halftime.
As has been the case all season long, New England’s defense kept the team in the fight despite several wasted drives on offense.
With Christian Barmore and Keion White leading the way up front as part of a relentless pass rush, Josh Allen struggled to settle into a rhythm in the first half.
Buffalo generated 20 points off of New England’s four first-half turnovers (all of which were committed in Patriots’ territory), but the Bills struggled to string together any sustained drives that weren’t gift-wrapped by the Patriots’ offense.
Allen only completed 7 of his 20 pass attempts in the first half for just 48 yards — with Patriots rookie corner Alex Austin picking him off in the second quarter.
While New England’s defense prevented Allen and Co. from building themselves some breathing room, Zappe and the Patriots’ offense did manage to show some signs of life before halftime.
After gaining just 32 yards of offense on their first six drives, New England orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter — with Zappe running into the end zone on a 17-yard scramble to make it a six-point contest.
New England’s defense was far from the issue in this game, as expected. But once again, they had little to show for it in terms of a win.
Too little, too late
Despite keeping Allen in check during the first half of play, New England’s defense finally coughed up a big play against the Bills QB in the third quarter.
Punctuated by a 51-yard completion by Dalton Kincaid, Allen and Buffalo orchestrated an eight-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard score by Allen to give the home team a 27-14 advantage less than five minutes into the second half.
Still, New England continued to fight back. Zappe — who finished Sunday’s game with 209 passing yards — marched the Patriots 77 yards down the field in the fourth quarter, with Ezekiel Elliott capping off a seven-play sequence with a rushing score to make it a 27-21 game with 11:00 left in regulation.
But that was the closest that New England managed to get to pulling off another comeback win on the road, as Allen and the Bills eventually drained the clock down the stretch to seal the victory for Buffalo.
Chad Ryland’s struggles continue.
It’s been a rough rookie season for Patriots kicker Chad Ryland. But hope persisted that Ryland was primed to end the year on a high note after delivering a game-winning, 56-yard kick in Denver last Sunday.
Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry over for Ryland in Buffalo — with the 2023 fourth-round pick missing a pair of field goal attempts in Sunday’s loss. Ryland is now just 15-for-24 on field-goal attempts this year, with seven of those nine misses coming from inside 50 yards.
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Follow along here for live updates from Sunday’s game in Buffalo, and check back once the game wraps for some early observations.
LIVE UPDATES
3:44: Zappe avoids the safety there.
3:40: Has Josh Allen … been worse than Zappe today? What a reckless play.
3:31: This is still a one-score game. Zeke Elliott runs it in for the touchdown.
27-21 with 11:00 left in regulation.
3:30: Demario Douglas – still fun to watch.
3:28: Great snag by Reagor for a 39-yard pickup.
3:23: End Third: Bills lead, 27-14.
3:18: Tavai is now walking off on his own power. A good sign for New England’s defense.
3:16: Jahlani Tavai is down.
3:13: Josh Allen is all sorts of messed up today. That should have been another touchdown.
3:09: Well, so much for Ryland building off of that kick in Denver. Make that 2 missed field goals today.
2:57: Bills score less than five minutes into the second half.
Bills lead, 27-14.
2:55: Quite the response for Josh Allen out of the half. 51-yard pickup by Kinkaid.
2:38: HALFTIME: Patriots trail the Bills, 20-14.
2:32: New England can’t capitalize on that extended drive in the half. Ryland can’t connect on a 47-yard kick. Still a 20-14 game.
2:21: Patriots defense delivers again. Alex Austin picks off Josh Allen.
2:18: Patriots announce that DeVante Parker is questionable to return with a ribs injury.
2:11: The Patriots … have life?
Zappe runs it in for 17 yards and spikes the ball.
20-14 Bills.
2:07: New England nearly turned the ball over … again.
Looks like Kevin Harris was down before losing the football.
2:01: Patriots might need to make a switch at QB. Zappe just threw his third INT of the half — this one a pick-six.
20-7 Bills.
1:59: Nice pick-up from Parker on that throw by Zappe. Parker has benefitted from the switch at QB.
1:55: New England ends the first quarter with 3 total yards and 3 turnovers.
1:52: Helmet-to-helmet hit by Jalen Mills there. 15 yards (and a fine likely incoming).
1:50: As expected, Ed Oliver has been a one-man wrecking crew against New England’s O-line.
1:50: This about sums it up.
1:45: Bills connect on another field goal. Bills lead, 13-7.
New England trails despite Josh Allen completing just 1-of-8 throws … for one yard.
1:44: This defense is doing whatever it can to keep this team in the game.
1:38: The good news? Zappe completed a pass.
The bad news? Pharaoh Brown fumbled the ball while fighting for extra yards.
Three turnovers for New England in the first quarter.
1:33: Defense couldn’t bail this offense out again. Allen runs it in from 1 yard out.
Bills take a 10-7 lead.
1:31: Yikes! Zappe throws another pick in the first quarter. Yet another ideal start for the Bills on this drive.
Zappe 0-for-3 on throws with two picks.
1:27: Patriots pass rush has made life miserable for Josh Allen so far today. Allen now 0-for-6 on throws to start.
1:21: Zappe stays in the pocket against pressure, but he can’t hit Gesicki on the crosser. Patriots punting.
1:15: New England’s defense lessens the damage from Zappe’s interception. Some rough overthrows from Josh Allen out of the gate.
Bass hits a 35-yard field goal.
7-3 game.
1:11: Well, Zappe’s first throw of the afternoon is an interception. Brutal. Ed Oliver snags the batted ball.
Bills get the ball on New England’s 21.
1:06: Another look at Reagor’s kickoff return TD.
1:04: Wow. That’s one way to start this one off.
Jalen Reagor reels off a 98-yard kickoff return TD on the first play of the game. For a second straight season, Pats vs. Bills in Buffalo begins with an opening kick return TD.
7-0 Patriots.
12:31: Could be a long day for the Patriots O-line.
12:10: A live look-in at warmups:
11:58: That’s a pricy absence for Trent Brown today.
11:36: Plenty of key losses for New England today. Peppers was ruled out earlier this week, while Hunter Henry will miss a second straight game. Trent Brown’s absence will loom large. We’ll likely see either Vederian Lowe or Andrew Stueber at LT today.
11:30: Looks like we might get some snow today in Buffalo:
11:10: Still surprised to see New England tabbed as 14-point underdogs today. Bills have won 3 straight, but this is still a pretty flawed team.
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