Good evening, Patriots fans. Okay, maybe it hasn’t been 200 years but it feels like forever since the Bills last beat the Pats in Massachusetts (2000 to be exact). I honestly cannot seem to understand why so many things went wrong today. It’s impossible to ever imagine seeing this New England team look so dull at home. One thing we can definitely say is that the Buffalo Bills came to play so kudos to them for a solid performance. But then again, considering the Patriots weren’t even trying, can we consider this more of an NE loss than a Bills win?
The Bills were essentially in control of this entire first half. Darrelle Revis was burned by Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods caught a touchdown pass from Kyle Orton. New England couldn’t respond initially but they did drive down the field and allowed Stephen Gostkowski to kick a field goal. Unfortunately Buffalo responded with a better drive which ended with a touchdown run by Anthony Dixon. Jamie Collins later forced a fumble (and recovered it himself too) but the Patriots still settled for a field goal. After Dan Carpenter added a field goal for the Bills, the Patriots would head into half time down 17-6. Absolutely brutal but hey…it’s a good thing that this game had no meaning.
Jimmy Garoppolo came in for Tom Brady and wasn’t exactly sharp. He led a good looking drive but failed on a key 4th down conversion. Not a big deal though because Garoppolo led New England far enough on another drive to give Gostkowski another chance at a field goal (which he made). It seemed like the Patriots would get their first touchdown of the game but Jimmy G took a huge sack. Now they weren’t even in field goal range. The Bills defense would hold on from there. Your final: Buffalo Bills 17, New England Patriots 9. What the actual [*expletive*]??!
Seriously, what was that? Not sure if any of you remember but I said that the Patriots’ week 3 match against the Raiders was one of the most boring games I’ve ever seen. Today’s game is a strong candidate to overtake that game. I have never yawned so much during a Patriots game but today was just one of those days. You could tell that no one on the Pats wanted to play today but you can’t blame them entirely. Jimmy G had his moment and I’m glad he got some exposure against one of the NFL’s best defenses. The offensive line was a huge mess today because most of the starters were still in and did a poor job of protecting both Brady and Garoppolo. They need to get that issue fixed come playoff time. I don’t mind the offensive and defensive woes because come on, you can’t be concerned with the B/C team. Even then, the Bills’ A team struggled with our backups today. I’m a little upset because New England’s 35-game home streak vs AFC opponents was snapped. Nonetheless, the real season for the Patriots starts in a couple of weeks in the AFC divisional round. Hope you guys are feeling confident because I sure am. Until then Pats fans, we’re onto *name city of first NE opponent in playoffs*! Be sure to follow me and the blog on twitter. Have a Happy New Year and let’s go Patriots!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
