‘And while everyone is quick to point out that Buffalo was missing Matt Milano and Rasul Douglas, I frankly don’t want to hear it. It’s Week 16 – every team is banged up. There is no excuse for throwing Baylon Spector on the field and watch as the Patriots run every play directly at him. There is no reason why the 26th ranked offense on third down should be able to convert on their first five third downs and go 7-of-12 overall on the evening.’
BillsBeat - December 24, 2024
Bills head coach Sean McDermott shows sense of humor with reference to 9/11 analogy
‘”I was about to use an airplane flying analogy but I’ll stay away from that,” McDermott said.’
Murphy: With playoffs on the horizon, Bills ponder ‘how much do we want to show?’
‘That’s a line that could become clearer Christmas Day when Kansas City plays Pittsburgh and Baltimore plays Houston. A Chiefs win puts Buffalo out of contention for the 1-seed and Houston victory over Baltimore makes the Bills playoff seed #2 regardless of what Buffalo does the rest of the season.’
Bills notebook | Baylon Spector injury update, successful end-of-game strategy & cleaning up pre-snap penalties
‘The Bills had only one injury of concern coming out of their 24-21 win over the Patriots. LB Baylon Spector is week-to-week with a calf injury.’
BillsBeat - December 23, 2024
Observations: Hat trick of takeaways helps Bills' defense overcome slow start in win over Patriots
‘The defense, however, rebounded from its tough start to record takeaways on three straight New England drives in the second half. The last of those went for a touchdown that provided some much-needed breathing room against the Patriots (3-12), who played tougher than their record.’
Ryan O'Halloran: Playoffs for Bills should be 'Let Jimbo Cook More Often' time. It's the right move
‘Let Jimbo cook more often. Let Jimbo shake and sprint to the end zone. Let Jimbo gash through and dash by opponents. Let Jimbo run so Allen won’t have to as much on designed keepers.’
Josh Allen was cleared to return, finished game vs. Patriots after he 'lost some feeling' in right hand
‘“Yeah, I mean, it took a good five to 10 minutes, so just making sure, trying to get some blood flow back in there, some activation,” Allen said. “When it’s cold like that, too, the more you leave it out, the number the whole hand gets. So, it was a weird feeling. Just glad it’s gone now.”’
Three questions: Run defense remains a worry after Bills hold off Patriots
‘New England rushed 17 times for 80 yards, a 4.7-yard average in the first half. The Patriots are not a dominant running team. They held the ball for 20:20 in the first half. The Bills are staring at potential playoff games against power running teams Baltimore or Pittsburgh. The Ravens, of course, destroyed the Bills on the ground back in Week 4.’
Takeaways, game balls, gassers from the Buffalo Bills' tough win over New England
‘The Patriots, with rookie quarterback Drake Maye, rolled up 238 first-half yards and converted five of their first six third-down opportunities. When New England made it 14-0, it was the sixth consecutive touchdown drive by a Bills opponent. Six! The Patriots’ 16-play drive was tied for the longest allowed by the Bills this season, the 91 yards third longest and the 9:57 time of possession the longest. In the second half, though, the Patriots were held to 131 yards.’
Plays that shaped the game: Long arms of Greg Rousseau create key turnovers for Bills' defense
‘“I got cut-blocked, so I knew it was a screen,” Rousseau said, referring to a low block from tackle Demontrey Jacobs that he avoided. “I went straight to the running back and got a hit on him. I should have recovered it, but Taron got it.”’
Report Card: Bills' running game was strong in narrow victory over Patriots. As for special teams ...
‘Another week, another notable error. Head coach Sean McDermott was not happy that the Patriots pulled off a fake punt in the second quarter. It certainly feels as if special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley is going to be on the hot seat after this season. Tight end Quintin Morris committed a penalty on special teams. It wasn’t all bad, though, as Tyler Bass drilled a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter to give his team the lead. Bass has hit 50-plus-yard field goals in back-to-back games, the third such streak of his career and only the 12th time that’s been done in team history. Sam Martin placed two of his four punts inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line, making his 37.8-yard net average look a little better. Ray Davis had a 24-yard kickoff return that gave the Bills a decent drive start. Rookie Brandon Codrington’s decision-making was solid as a returner.’
Bills avoid upset scare with depleted defense forcing 3 turnovers to put away Patriots
‘In the end, the talent differential between the two teams finally began to show up in the second half as the Bills tied the game on their first possession of the third quarter, and then three consecutive New England turnovers led to a field goal and a Taron Johnson recovery of a backward pass in the end zone for a defensive touchdown that gave the Bills a 24-14 lead, and that turned out to be the decisive blow in a 24-21 victory that was so much harder to achieve than anyone expected.’
Bills report card: James Cook helps Buffalo overcome struggles by Josh Allen and defense
‘This was a somewhat alarming performance against a defense that should have had no business being as stingy as it was. It’s tough to rag on an offense that had scored 30 points in eight straight games, but the Bills need to get some things worked out, in particular, Cooper’s role. He had a nice game in LA, but otherwise, his play since he arrived in the trade from Cleveland has been underwhelming. Keon Coleman hasn’t done much either since his return from injury as he had just one catch for 17 yards.’
Allen’s injury scare a reminder: his health is top priority
‘Allen didn’t have a great game on Sunday even before he knocked his right elbow on either a Patriot helmet or the cold, hard turf (he wasn’t sure which) early in the fourth quarter. He temporarily lost feeling in his throwing hand — and temporarily sent any Bills fan watching into a panic. Before anyone else knew it was a problem, Allen tried to throw deep to Dalton Kincaid on the next snap, but the ball slipped and fluttered out of his hand so badly it negated a clear case of pass interference for being an “uncatchable” ball.’
Turnovers save Bills defense after a slow start
‘The good news for the Bills defense is they didn’t allow another point until New England’s last drive of the game, with 1:13 remaining. What changed in the second half? “It was a couple of things,” linebacker and captain Terrel Bernard told the Times Herald. “A couple plays there where somebody might have been out of the gap or we weren’t necessarily on the same page all the way through. I think that and then in the run game, suffocating the line of scrimmage a little bit more and forcing it to a drop-back passing game, not letting them win first down. I think that was a huge part of why we were more successful in the second half.”’