Archives for December 24, 2018

Vic Carucci: Despite how Patriots play vs. Bills, final score tells same story

‘Despite looking less than machinelike at times and actually giving the Bills chances to hang around with three turnovers Sunday – chances the Bills squandered with dropped passes, a pair of turnovers, a horrific run defense, and a nonexistent run game of their own – the Pats (10-5) were able to comfortably win their 10th consecutive AFC East crown.’

Bills’ LeSean McCoy doesn’t start because of disciplinary issue

‘McCoy wasn’t out for long – he carried the ball for three yards on the second play of the game – but ended up with just nine rushing yards on six carries, his third-lowest single-game output this season and the lowest in a game he finished healthy. He added three catches for 10 yards.’

Jason Wolf: Tom Brady wasn’t good, but Patriots dominate Bills again

‘“Limiting somebody like Tom Brady to what he had, we got some turnovers off of him and all that stuff, it’s huge,” Bills safety Micah Hyde said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to stop all their weapons, which they do have a lot. They do. We couldn’t stop that.”’

Jay Skurski’s observations: Bills’ run defense woefully inept in loss

‘The Bills allowed a whopping 273 rushing yards in a 24-12 loss at Gillette Stadium. That’s the most allowed since New Orleans gained 298 yards in Week 10 of the 2017 season and tied for the 17th most ever allowed by the Bills. For a time Sunday, it looked like the franchise record of 320 rushing yards against – set all the way back in 1962 against the Dallas Texans – was in jeopardy.’

Plays that Shaped the Game: With pass game in crisis, Pats play smash-mouth ball

‘The Pats gained 170 yards on 29 carries out of “big personnel,” using a fullback and/or two tight ends. And they succeeded in throwing a jet-sweep wrinkle at the Bills. In the October meeting in Buffalo, the Pats ran the end around or jet sweep only twice for 13 yards. This time, their first four jet sweeps gained 71 yards. A fifth was stuffed for a loss of 4 yards.’

Quarterly Report: No rhythm, squandered chances for Bills’ offense

‘No rhythm for the Bills’ offense. The Bills produced only four first downs in the first half and were 1 of 7 on third-down situations.’

Bills-Patriots Report Card: One good grade, a whole bunch of bad ones

‘LeSean McCoy had six carries for 9 yards. His future with the Bills is looking cloudier with each passing week.’

Except for Tom Brady looking old, nothing new as Patriots whip Bills

‘Still, the Patriots beat the Bills for the 33rd time in 38 games since Bill Belichick became coach in 2000, and there really wasn’t a point all day where it was in doubt.’

Maiorana: Tom Brady looks human but overwhelmed Josh Allen isn’t ready to take torch

‘Allen’s stock-market season took another dip as he looked overwhelmed at times against Bill Belichick’s defense. He completed 20 of 41 passes for 217 yards with a TD and two picks for a rating of 52.6. He rushed for only 30 yards, and simply wasn’t up to the task of beating the Patriots in his first try.’

Report card

‘The beat just goes on and on, and the Patriots proved yet again they are the haves, and the Bills are the have nots. Buffalo was a 13-point underdog, yet some believed that because New England had lost two games in a row, it was suddenly on the skids and could be ripe for an upset. Come on, did anyone really fall for that one? The Patriots are now 7-0 at home, and there wasn’t one point in the game where anyone could have believed the Bills had a chance to pull the upset. These teams are on different levels, even now. Whatever the Patriots needed to do, they did, just like they always have in their twice annual floggings of the Bills.’

What Bills’ Josh Allen took away from first matchup with Patriots’ Tom Brady

‘”Early on, they did a really good job of kind of disguising and dropping out and playing zone when they sure looked like they were playing man,” Allen said. “They did that for an obvious reason. Being young, it took (me) a little bit to adjust. At the same time, I’ve got to be better with my eyes, got to be better with where I put the football.”‘

Bills’ LeSean McCoy frustrated, says coach Sean McDermott ‘put me in my place’

‘“I’m a captain and I gotta be more accountable. Simple as that,” he said.’

Bills not ready for Patriots: 3 reasons to be encouraged, 8 reasons to worry

‘Jordan Poyer is one Bills player that performs well at Gillette Stadium. One year after recording a pick-six on Tom Brady, Poyer had an interception and sack on the first-ballot Hall of Famer.’

Report card: Josh Allen struggles, but ‘weapons’ do him no favors vs. Patriots

‘Allen wasn’t at his best against the Patriots, but there was a lot of blame to go around.’

Bills make Charles Clay inactive vs. Patriots, putting future with team in question

‘He has a $9 million cap hit this season and in 2019. His five-year deal expires after next season but the Bills could save $4.5 million if they cut Clay this offseason.’

NFL Week 17 odds, over/under: Bills open as favorite vs. Dolphins

‘The Bills played the Dolphins tough at their place earlier this season. They lost on the final play when Charles Clay couldn’t bring in a bomb from Allen on fourth-and-11. Clay was inactive Sunday against the Patriots.’

Bills didn’t even stand a chance

‘The frustrating part for Bills fans on Sunday is that Buffalo never even felt like they had a chance from the minute the game began.’

Buffalo Bills Postgame Transcripts 12/23

‘Give credit where credit is due, they had a good plan coming out. I thought we made some adjustments, believe it or not, during the early part of the game. You know, but at the end of the day, you can’t allow a team to run against you like that. I thought our defense overall, you know, gave us a chance at times. Took the ball away three times and then set us up in field position, but we couldn’t do anything with it, or anything significant, I would say. But got to do a better job on the run defense, for sure.’

Monday’s New England Coverage

Pats beat Bills 24-12, earn 10th straight AFC East title

‘”Gotta get better,” Allen said. “We’ll learn from this one. New England is the team that teams want to be. The trajectory of where we want to put this team and how they can sustain success, so yeah we’re gonna learn from this one.”‘

Bills’ McCoy has rocky return on and off field

‘”We had a situation. And he was totally right. And it was a private situation,” McCoy said after the game. “I’m a captain. I gotta be more accountable. It’s as simple as that. He checked me. Put me in my place. That’s it.”‘

Patriots in familiar territory on top of AFC East

‘Allen should spend the offseason hitting targets. He will learn that successful NFL quarterback will need his arms and not just his legs. Some of his throws might have landed in Buffalo.’

LeSean McCoy: Didn’t start because of ‘situation’ with Sean McDermott

‘”Coach, we had a situation, and he was totally right,” McCoy said. “It was a private situation. I’m a captain and I gotta be more accountable. Simple as that. He checked me, put me in place. That was it.”‘

Bills get swept by Patriots once again, lose 24-12

‘The Bills were plagued by turnovers, drops and the Patriots running game in yet another loss to their AFC East rival.’

Another miserable game in Foxboro

‘The Bills offense is bad. You can also put that in the no surprise category since they’ve been fighting it out with Arizona all season for the worst offensive team in the NFL. The Bills were held to 21 points or fewer for the 11th time in 15 games. They have 227 points which comes out to an average of 15 points a game. If they don’t top their season average in the finale against Miami the 2018 squad will be the lowest scoring Bills team since 1985. Yes, the 2-14 season.’

Sal’s Sticks: Bills at Patriots

‘273 yards allowed on the ground. Just an abysmal performance against the run for a team that had been pretty good stopping their opponents on the ground for most of this season. The Patriots didn’t have Josh Gordon and Tom Brady wasn’t his sharpest, so they just turned to running – and gashing – the Bills all day with 47 attempts at 5.8 yards per carry.’

Bills fall to Patriots 24-12 ahead of season finale

‘On defense, the Bills gave up 273 yards on the ground including 116 yards to rookie running back Sony Michel. QB Tom Brady finished 13-for-24 for 126 yards and a touchdown along with two interceptions.’

Joe B: 7 observations from Buffalo Bills – New England Patriots (12/23/18)

‘In the end, the Bills found their efforts sink with the lack of overall talent and depth that has plagued them for much of the season. When a play was needed, not a single player stepped up when the game mattered.’

Bills struggle in 24-12 loss to Patriots

‘Rookie Josh Allen, who missed the team’s first matchup against New England on Monday Night Football due to an elbow injury, went 20-for-41 for 217 yards with two interceptions.’

The Future: Josh Allen & Brandon Beane

‘“At the end of the day the quarterback really needs to be judged on leading this team down to score points and taking care of the football, giving us an opportunity for us to have success,” said offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. “We’ll just keep on working on really all of the completion percentage, the third down throws, the red zone throws, the scrambles the staying in the pocket, that’s all part of it. The most important thing is that letter at the end of the day.”’

Patriots run all over Bills to claim 10th straight AFC East title

‘Bills QB Josh Allen ended the afternoon with a pair of interceptions as well to go with 20 completions on 41 attempts for 217 yards and a score. Nine of those completions, including the touchdown pass, came in the fourth quarter with the result decided.’

Allen’s year of excuses nearly over

‘In Allen’s nine games started and finished, the Bills have 150 points. That’s an average of 16.7 a game. That would rank 29th.’

Game recap: Bills stymied by the Pats in 24-12 loss

‘Though Josh Allen finished the game with more completions and passing yards than Tom Brady, Buffalo’s offense largely struggled. The unit finished the game with 289 net yards and just 14 first downs. The offense totaled just 72 yards on the ground, 30 of which came from Allen.’

Top 3 things we learned from Bills-Patriots

‘“It was pretty frustrating,” said Jordan Poyer, who had six tackles and a sack. “They found a run that they liked and went to the same two or three runs. Whether it was the jet sweep with the counter action or handing the jet sweep. They ran a lot of the same things. We just weren’t able to fit it right.”’

RB Chris Ivory, TE Charles Clay among Bills inactives

‘Though Ivory was able to practice in a limited capacity this week, head coach Sean McDermott hinted that the running back’s shoulder injury was unlikely to be 100 percent for the remainder of the season.’

Bills Today: Bills could ‘feel’ Lorenzo Alexander’s impact

‘“He had to line up in different places for us and you saw the takeaway he had on the interception,” McDermott said. “I thought the impact he had on the game was significant. You could feel him out there. He does a really good job for us.”’

09/09	@ Ravens	1:00 pm
09/16	Chargers	1:00 pm
09/23	@ Vikings	1:00 pm
09/30	@ Packers	1:00 pm
10/07	Titans	1:00 pm
10/14	@ Texans	1:00 pm
10/21	@ Colts	1:00 pm
10/29	Patriots	8:15 pm
11/04	Bears	1:00 pm
11/11	@ Jets	1:00 pm
11/25	Jaguars	1:00 pm
12/02	@ Dolphins	1:00 pm
12/09	Jets	1:00 pm
12/16	Lions	1:00 pm
12/23	@ Patriots	1:00 pm
12/30	Dolphins	1:00 pm

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