Archives for November 2, 2020

Analysis: Bills RBs, O-line bullied the Patriots’ dime run front

‘Last year, New England ranked No. 6 in the NFL against the run. But last year, the Patriots could play their dime defense with a monster at middle linebacker in Pro Bowler Dont’a Hightower. He’s sitting at home, having opted out due to the pandemic. His replacement, Ja’Whaun Bentley, is a third-year, former fifth-round draft pick and a big downgrade. The Pats also had a fierce edge-setter last year in Kyle Van Noy. He’s with the Dolphins.’

10 observations: Justin Zimmer’s forced fumble saves the day for Bills

‘“Zim came in at the end of the game and probably made the play of the year so far,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “We have the Patriots driving down the field looking like they’re going to either score or put the game into overtime. Our tackle comes up with the huge play and changes the entire game. Happy for him and happy for this team.”’

Column: Bills find their run game at the perfect time

‘”We just kept it personal that we were going to run the ball today,” Dawkins told reporters on a video call. “We wanted to set our running backs free. And I’m just happy to say that we’re blessed enough that we went out there and we did it.”’

Column: A toast to the Bills for finally beating the Patriots, despite a dry aftertaste

‘McDermott could only imagine what it might have been like with a packed stadium, a community catharsis for all those Patriots victories and times the Bills thought they were closing the gap between the franchises, only to lose again.’

Bills’ Dean Marlowe steps in for Micah Hyde, seals victory with fumble recovery

‘“Big credit to Justin Zim and the whole defensive line,” Marlowe said. “The whole unit with that play. Great work ethic. He made a great play at a great time and I happened to be there and see the ball come out and hopped on it. And that’s all she wrote right there.”‘

Quarter by quarter: Patriots open to second-guessing as Bills survive

‘It’s hard to second-guess Bill Belichick, but the Patriots coach again showed a glaring lack of confidence in his offense and his quarterback when he opted for an onsides-kick attempt after his team had tied the game, 14-14. The Bills recovered.’

Report card: Bills’ rushing attack earns an easy ‘A’ grade

‘It was on its way to an easy “F,” but Justin Zimmer forced Patriots quarterback Cam Newton to fumble with less than a minute to play and Dean Marlowe jumped on the loose ball to secure a victory, so that automatically raises it to a passing grade. The run defense was solid in the first half, limiting New England to 44 yards on 14 carries. Marlowe, in for the injured Micah Hyde, dropped running back James White for a loss of 2 yards in the second quarter on a third-and-2 play. Things got much worse in the second half. The Patriots converted a third-and-10 on the ground. Linebacker Matt Milano was in position, but couldn’t tackle Rex Burkhead. Given Milano’s lack of playing time, it’s fair to wonder just how much his pectoral injury is impacting him. The linebackers overall are a problem. Tremaine Edmunds (six tackles) and A.J. Klein (three tackles) did not have many – maybe any – impactful plays.’

Bills win 24-21 to snap home losing streak against Patriots; Newton fumbles game away

‘Yes, 2020 just keeps getting weirder and weirder by the day.’

Report card: Beating Patriots is nice for McDermott but a reason to celebrate for Bills fans

‘McDermott did allow himself one moment where he veered away from his standard cliché answers and acknowledged what this victory meant to a fan base that was starving for it. He’s only been here for a small portion of New England’s dominance, so while the win was nothing more than checking another box in a long season for him, he knew what it meant to western New York.’

There’s no way to criticize this win by Buffalo

‘The big issue, as it’s been all season, was Buffalo’s inability to stop the run.’

No 6-2 or-better Bills have ever missed playoffs

‘This is the 12th time in franchise history that the Bills got off to a 6-2 start, and they have made the playoffs the first 11 times. They did it in 1964 and ’65 en route to the American Football League championship, in 1974 and ’80, from 1988-’93 and finally, last season.’

Zack Moss, Bills rushing attack gets going; Buffalo takes down rival Patriots, 24-21: Instant observations

‘The Bills entered Sunday’s game with just one rushing touchdown in their first seven games. Rookie running back Zack Moss changed that on the team’s first drive, punching it in from eight yards out just one play after he broke a 20-yard run on 2nd and 10. Moss scored his second touchdown of the game in the second half, getting in from four yards out with a little help from a few of his offensive linemen. Moss’s cuts were crisp against the Patriots and it looks like he’s finally 100% after dealing with a toe injury earlier in the season that kept him off the field for five weeks.’

Bills’ Justin Zimmer ends up being Cam Newton’s Kryptonite (Week 8 report card)

‘The Bills are putting Matt Milano on the field in specific situations as he deals with a pec injury. The play of the unit when he’s not on the field is noticeable with A.J. Klein really struggling. The veteran linebacker missed a big tackle on James White early in the game while missing a tackle attempt in the backfield on a third down play. Perhaps Klein’s miss on the second play was a blessing in disguise because it allowed Zimmer to make a play later, but Klein has been a liability on the field for Buffalo this season.’

Bills’ Zack Moss, Devin Singletary run wild over Patriots (8 reasons to be encouraged, 3 reasons to worry)

‘Justin Zimmer has bounced around the league in his career, but the defensive tackle is making the most of his opportunity with the Bills in 2020.’

Bills vs. Patriots Inactives: Micah Hyde, Vernon Butler ruled out

‘Hyde was placed in the concussion protocol following Buffalo’s 18-10 win over the New York Jets in Week 7. The safety is one of Buffalo’s leaders on defense and will be missed. Dean Marlowe and Jaquan Johnson will likely split playing time in Hyde’s absence.’

Five takeaways: Zimmer saves the day, running game plays well in Bills’ first home win over Patriots since ‘11

‘Zimmer’s play has been impressive this season, and on a defense in need of a spark, this could be precisely what the doctor ordered for the Bills.’

Sullivan: Bills overtake Pats, but sights should be set higher

‘OK, a victory over the Pats is a big deal, regardless. But they’re a bad team right now. If it was anyone but New England, it would have been approached like the Jets game a week earlier: You figured they would win, but you wanted them to make a statement doing it.’

Can you hear me now? Here’s why Bills coach McDermott took a call at halftime vs. Patriots

‘But there was nothing nefarious going on with McDermott. COVID-19 regulations have limited how many people are on sidelines during games and restricted how media – even the league’s television partners – do interviews, which is what McDermott was doing. According to the Buffalo News, Buffalo’s head coach was giving a halftime interview to CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn.’

Bills’ Sean McDermott, Josh Allen React To Week 8 Win Over Patriots

‘“Yeah, it gets me emotional,” McDermott told reporters after the game. “All week long we try to go through it, one day at a time, process, process, process, but we know. We know what this game means to our fanbase, just really special.’

Monday’s New England Coverage

Bills Beat Patriots 24-21 On Newton’s Late Fumble

‘“Man, that was fun,” said Hughes, who was 2-12 during his first seven seasons against New England. “It feels good, to be honest with you, to be on the other side of the spectrum, to be watching our offense hit that victory formation. It felt amazing.”’

Buffalo Bills snap seven-game losing streak to New England Patriots

‘”It feels amazing,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “It feels good to be 4-0 in the AFC East, it feels good to come out with a victory at home. It was a grind. We didn’t play the way we wanted to, but we got the victory.”‘

Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse suffers fifth career concussion

‘Morse was slow to get up after the Bills’ third play of the game but eventually walked off the field under his own power after briefly being looked at by trainers. He left for the locker room shortly after, however, and was quickly ruled out.’

Run game pushes Bills past Patriots

‘Despite New England’s struggles, Buffalo seemingly gave them every opportunity to stay in the game.’

Opinion: Bills hang on for one of their biggest wins this century

Opinion: Arrow Up/Arrow Down – Patriots at Bills

‘As good as the Bills running game was on offense, it was equally as bad on defense, almost precisely equally. The Patriots ran the ball 34 times for 188 yards, a 5.5 yard per carry average.’

Bills top Patriots at home for first time since 2011 in 24-21 win

‘With the win the Bills improve to 6-2 on the season and 4-0 in their division.’

Singletary and Moss break free, ground game comes alive in 24-21 win over Patriots

‘”It was good getting our guys going. Zack [Moss] and Motor [Devin Singletary] ran the ball extremely well,” quarterback Josh Allen said after Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots. “Super happy for that and getting the run game going. You see what happens when we have good games like that on the ground, especially in a typical AFC weather game like this. We needed it and our guys responded and stepped up.”‘

‘Quiet assassin’ makes play of the season as Bills knock off Patriots

‘“I honestly don’t know what to feel right now, I’m still just breathing heavily from the game,” Zimmer said after the game. “[I’m] just excited. It will probably take me a good 24 hours just to realize kind of everything that happened. But right now I’m just excited.”’

Here’s a snapshot of the last time the Bills defeated the Patriots at home

‘The average price for a gallon of gas in Upstate New York that month was roughly $3.79.’

Bills topple Patriots 24-21

‘The Patriots trounce down the field with a 12 play, 65-yard drive. Newton keeps it himself and runs towards the endzone, but Justin Zimmer forces Newton to fumble the ball on the 14-yard line and it’s recovered by the Bills!’

Bills finally get their running game going with big performance vs. Patriots

‘“We came in here with a plan, made a statement to run the ball today. Today was going to be our day to run the football. The Patriots are a great team, they had a great defensive plan but we just kept it personal that we were gonna run the ball today,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said.’

Sean McDermott says beating the Patriots is an “emotional win for our entire city”

‘“That’s critical even for myself you know you work hard and you try and be consistent through the weeks and that’s important. This is an emotional win for our entire city, a lot’s gone into this to get us where we are and there’s still a lot of football yet to be played and a lot of things we have to get better at but I’m gonna go home tonight and just take an hour or two to enjoy being around my family,” McDermott said.’

Zimmer reflects on game-winning forced fumble

‘“Once I got to the sideline, everybody was hugging me. I don’t know who was first or who was the last, it was an onslaught of people congratulating me,” Zimmer said.’

4 Observations: Bills beat Patriots 24-21

‘The Bills has struggled to get the establish the run for most of the season but it was a different story against the Patriots. What changed? Starting guard Jon Feliciano made his season debut and it clearly made a difference. Feliciano brings a nastiness to the Bills offensive line and the rushing attack benefited. The Bills finished with 190 yards on the ground. Feliciano versatility paid dividends in his season debut, he started at left guard and moved to center when Mitch Morse left the game with a concussion.’

Bills Gameday Roster Moves vs. Patriots

‘After making the Bills first interception of the season against the Jets in Week Seven, rookie cornerback Dane Jackson was elevated from the practice squad for Buffalo. Defensive tackle Brandin Bryant and safety Josh Thomas were all elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game vs. New England.’

09/13	Jets	27-17
09/20	@ Dolphins	31-28
09/27	Rams	35-32
10/04	@ Raiders	30-23
10/13	@ Titans	16-42
10/19	Chiefs	17-26
10/25	@ Jets	18-10
11/01	Patriots	24-21
11/08	Seahawks	44-34
11/15	@ Cardinals	30-32
11/29	Chargers	27-17
12/07	@ 49ers	34-24
12/13	Steelers	26-15
12/19	@ Broncos	48-19
12/28	@ Patriots	38-9
01/03	Dolphins	56-26
01/09	Colts	1:00 pm

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30