New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, Round 2

It’s time for a confession:I kind of wish the Buffalo Bills had won Sunday’s match-up against the New England Patriots, if only because of their second half play. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 40 attempts for a total of 337 yards,while Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller both continuously made something out of nothing. Jackson finished with 80 yards rushing and 4 catches for 35 yards, while Spiller rushed for 70 yards and caught 4 passes for 61 yards. The impressive play by Jackson and Spiller highlight a New England weakness: Defense. The Patriots have got to do a better job of closing up the holes and finishing tackles if they want to field a competitive team, and that’s the end of it.. New England looked real good in the first half, with their first 4 drives resulting in a field goal and 3 touchdowns. Danny Woodhead has been a real offensive weapon for the Patriots this season, averaging 37.5 receiving yards over the last 6 weeks. Stevan Ridley put up 98 yards by finding some big holes in the Buffalo defense. Tom Brady utilized Brandon Lloyd all game, which was something I’ve definitely wanted to see more of. I love the acrobatic catches Lloyd makes; it reminds me of the Brady/Moss era. Wes Welker can’t be ignored. Although he dropped two key passes, I’m willing to overlook them since he made so many other great catches. The Bills defense did a great job breaking up some plays and they were very impressive in the 4th quarter. However, Nate Solder did a solid job blocking for Brady so he could find his targets with ease. The Patriots only had one 3-and-out drive on the day. Stephen Gostkowski was flawless, which was reassuring given struggles at points this season. The Bills quick-paced offense, complete with outstanding play from Donald Jones, was tough on Vince Wilfork and the Patriots defense, but New England prevailed. Buffalo had a good game plan of running the ball, but New England’s rush defense is top 10 in the league. The Patriots were raring to go, having been well-rested coming off the bye week. Brandon Spikes hammered Fitzpatrick into the ground during one play, along with some other hard hits throughout the game. Fitzpatrick wasn’t appreciative: “I think Spikes is an emotional player. I think that he’s a punk at times. He took a cheap shot at Scott Chandler in the first game. He was doing a lot of jabbering and talking and hitting out there. He’s not one of my favorite players, not high on my list.” The two obvious problems for Buffalo were: 1) turnovers, and  2) penalties. There were 3 Buffalo turnovers, one being Jackson’s fatal fumble at the Patriots 1 yard line. It started with a hit from Steve Gregory, followed by a Devin McCourty strip, and a recovery by Kyle Arrington. Buffalo gained 93 yards to score zero points. This was a HUGE blow to buffalo. Another being, the game-winning interception by McCourty with under a minute to go. After the game, rookie wide receiver  T.J. Graham  took responsibility for the pick by admitting that he ran the wrong  route. He commented, “That was a rookie mistake. I was supposed to cross his face in the front, and it was a good pass. Had I crossed the face, I probably would have made the play.” The Bills also managed to amass 14 penalties for 148 yards this past Sunday. 10 of those came in the first half. Wide receiver Donald Jones said, “It comes down to, we can’t have as many penalties as we had today. That was terrible and it is undisciplined. We have to get back to basics and just handle that first.” The Patriots are playing the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night. It will be the first time fans see newly acquired Aqib Talib play at cornerback. This should help the pathetic New England secondary. Talib doesn’t have a great track record, admittedly, as he’s currently serving a 4-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. Fans will have to wait and see how well he “meshes” with the team. [contact-form] The post New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, Round 2 appeared first on Boston Sports Nut.