5 Takeaways From the Patriots Win Over Buffalo
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
5 Takeaways From the Patriots Win Over Buffalo
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"Its always good to come up here and win, lot of energy in the stadium and all that, program and so forth but after that first drive I thought our team showed a lot of mental toughness and resiliency to come back from a pretty hostile atmosphere to take the lead and play from ahead for most of the game," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick after the game.
Holding On
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Patriots led 37-13 going into the fourth quarter before the Bills scored 19 straight points in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to five points at 37-32 with five minutes to play.
New England's only points in the quarter came on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal to give New England an eight point lead at 40-32.
Buffalo got the ball back with just over a minute left and a chance to tie the game but New England's Logan Ryan picked off Tyrod Taylor to close out the game.
1st Half Takeover
The Buffalo Bills scored on the very first offensive series of the game, running the ball right up the field, to take a 7-0 lead. After that, the Patriots offense scored 21 straight points starting with a Brady Pass to Edelman followed by a Dion Lewis run and then a Brady pass to Gronkowski for his fourth touchdown of the season.
After a Buffalo touchdown, Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal to give the Patriots their halftime lead of 24-13.
Next Up
The Patriots return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, September 27 when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
For More on the Patriots Win Over Buffalo, See the Five Takeaways Slideshow Below.
5 Takeaways From the Patriots Win Over Buffalo
Laundry on the Field
There were a lot of penalties in this game and for the Patriots some uncharacteristic ones. Holding, false starts etc..
The Patriots were called for 11 penalties and it cost them 111 yards while the Bills were called for 14 penalties and it cost them 140 yards, also giving the Patriots three first downs.
For the Patriots, it was a case of a young offensive line on the road and also the communication issues that the Patriots were having due to the crowd noise in Buffalo.
The penalties hurt them at times but were not too costly. The Patriots offense was able to overcome most of them.
Aaron Dobson
It was nice to see wide receiver Aaron Dobson get involved in the offense in this game.
Last season, Dobson caught three passes for 38 yards, in this game, he caught seven balls for 87 yards.
Coming into this season, Dobson was not guarenteed a role in the offense but this game will serve as a good start.
Dion Lewis
It was interesting. Last season or last couple of seasons, a running back would fumble the ball and then would take a seat on the bench for the majority of the game or the entire game. Recall several instances with Stevan Ridley.
Dion Lewis fumbled in the second quarter and fumbled in the game last week however, Belichick kept him in.
Lewis ran for 40 yards on seven carries while pulling in six receptions for 98 yards, averaging 16.3 yards per catch and also had a touchdown.
Frustrations
The New England Patriots led 37-13 going into the fourth quarter before letting Buffalo climb back into it, causing unneeded stress on Patriots fans.
Some frustrations would include the team not running the ball and using some clock in the fourth quarter with a huge lead.
The fourth down play calls were frustrating, going for it on fourth and 1 or 2 and then throwing a deep ball instead of just trying to pick up the yards needed.
Tom Brady
Tom Brady picked up where he left off last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers going 38-of-59 for 466 yards and three touchdowns and one fumble.
"Yea we threw the ball a lot, I'm not sure if i've ever thrown the ball that much. There will be a lot of different ways to win them and i think the important thing is finding ways to get the victory, run it, pass it, win it in the fourth quarter, defense intercepting balls, I thought a lot of guys made a lot of great plays," said Tom Brady after the game.
Brady is now one touchdown pass away from 400 for his career.
The Patriots went away from the run game in this one knowing the strentgh of the Bills defensive line and spread Buffalo out and Brady once again did a nice job of directing traffic.
New England only ran the ball 15 times in the game so it was almost all on Brady.
