Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Josh Allen, Bills aren’t ready to give up the AFC East quite yet, and can the Patriots make the necessary corrections in Round 3?
What could have — and should have — been an emboldening, division-clinching win turned into a demoralizing loss for the Patriots, who had some flaws exposed, especially on defense.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …
It’s too bad for the Patriots that a spectacular first half Sunday against the Bills, set in motion by some clever play-calling from Josh McDaniels, is remembered as nothing but a prelude to a disappointment now.
But that’s the truth of the situation after the Patriots lost an entertaining and ultimately agonizing game to Josh Allen and the Bills Sunday, 35-31. The Patriots lost leads of 21-0, 24-7, and later, 31-28, with Allen, the reigning Most Valuable Player, looking in the second half like he has no interest in ceding that title to Drake Maye or anyone else this season.
Advertisement:
What could have — and should have — been an emboldening, division-clinching win turned into a demoralizing loss for the Patriots, who had some flaws exposed, especially on defense.
The important thing now is that Maye — who ran for two touchdowns but had his worst passing day of the season — and the Patriots don’t let the demoralization carry over and affect what’s ahead.
To his credit, Maye seemed to know it in the frustrated aftermath. “Don’t let it beat you twice,” he said.
Their 10-game winning streak is over, but they’re 11-3 and still have a one-game lead over the five-time reigning division champ Bills in the AFC East.
Advertisement:
They’re still a good team, in a great spot. Now comes the next phase of their growth: overcoming the ache of blowing a chance Sunday to be in an even better spot.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: James Cook, Marcus Jones, Stefon Diggs
TreVeyon Henderson: The dazzling rookie running back — seriously, when was the last time the Patriots had a home-run threat like this human lightning bolt? — provided both a huge lead and a fleeting hope that the home team would be able to overcome letting it slip away. His rocket-launch of a 52-yard touchdown run with 5:53 left in the first half put the Patriots up, 21-0. The rout was on right up until it was not, of course. And when that lead had turned into a stunning 28-24 deficit in the second half, Henderson briefly restored order with a 65-yard sprint (with Maye as his sidecar/lead blocker) to give the Patriots a 31-28 lead. He finished with 148 yards and the two scores on 14 carries, and with 773 rushing yards this season has a real shot at 1,000.
Dawson Knox: Had to figure going into this one that a Bills tight end would be a nuisance, considering that Dalton Kincaid caught all six of his targets for 108 yards in the Week 5 matchup. But it was another Bills tight end — the seven-year veteran Knox — who punished the Patriots more on Sunday. He caught three passes for 37 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a lasered Allen throw on third and goal from the Patriots 14 with 10:03 left in the game to give the Bills their first lead. That was Knox’s second touchdown of the day, his first being a 4-yard TD catch on the Bills’ momentum-seizing drive to open the second half to cut the Patriots’ advantage to 24-14.
Advertisement:
James Cook: Much to the Patriots’ chagrin, after six quarters of football between the two teams this season, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady finally remembered that Cook should have the football when Allen does not. Cook had just 15 carries for 49 yards in the teams’ first matchup, and finished the first half Sunday on pace for a similar workload, with seven attempts for 32 yards. But in the second half, the Bills — and the Patriots’ cooperative run defense — got Cook going, with 15 carries for 75 yards and a pair of TDs after the break, including the clinching 11-yard scoring run with 6:58 left to play.
Grievance of the game
The Patriots were called for seven penalties to just two for the Bills, and the ones that seemed like they could go either way did not go their way.
That included a third-down holding call on safety Craig Woodson in the red zone that preceded the Bills’ third touchdown; a holding penalty in the third quarter on Marte Mapu that wiped out a 60-yard Kyle Williams kick return; a third-down pass interference penalty on Carlton Davis midway through the fourth quarter after he subtly tugged on receiver Keon Coleman’s jersey on an incompletion; and even a penalty that the Bills declined, when Marcus Jones was called for pass interference on a 37-yard Khalil Shakir catch in which Jones appeared to rip the ball away from him. Looked like an interception from this vantage point.
Advertisement:
Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted final score: Patriots 38, Bills 34
Final score: Bills 35, Patriots 31.
One thing the Patriots must clean up before next week’s matchup with the Ravens: their kickoff coverage. The Bills’ Ray Davis averaged a ridiculous 41 yards on four returns, including a 45-yarder to commence the Bills’ first possession, a 58-yarder, and 38-yarder that put the ball on the Patriots 42 after a Branden Schooler facemask penalty … Bills linebacker Matt Milano was a menace, with a team-high 10 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss. His first sack stunted the Patriots’ first possession of the second half after the Bills had trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 10. The second came on a Patriots’ three-and-out when hopes for an MVP moment by Maye were stirring with just under 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter … Stefon Diggs cooked his former team for 10 catches and 146 yards in the Patriots’ Week 5 win, but the Bills mostly took him away this time. Diggs did have a nifty 17-yard catch and run to convert a third down in the fourth quarter, but he finished with just three catches for 26 yards. We’ll see how he does in the rubber match when — that’s right, when — these teams meet again.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com