Pats show they have a lot of work to do
Bills QB Allen takes them to school
The Patriots certainly made strides this season. They were much better than the 2020 version.
But after watching them get slaughtered by the Bills, they are still a far cry from where they need to be in order to compete for a championship, or even regain their AFC East title.
The gap between them and the Bills is significant, and looked even wider than what appeared to be the case before they stepped into the Buffalo freezer Saturday night.
The Patriots were mercilessly pushed around and completely humiliated by the Bills, 47-17, in their Wild Card playoff game.
It was the worst whipping of any Bill Belichickcoached team during the postseason, or regular season for that matter.
Every weakness, every hole was exposed. And then some.
Beating Buffalo on Week 13 in gale force winds was clearly an aberration. The Week 16 loss to the Bills in Foxboro, and Saturday’s playoff beat-down, told the more accurate story of where the Patriots stand.
The Bills, long the personal punching bag of Tom Brady and Belichick, now own the Patriots.
It’s not an overreaction. It was black and white Saturday night.
The Bills have the money quarterback in Josh Allen, and a great supporting cast around him on offense. They also have a much better defense. One that has speed to cover, speed to
rush, and talent at every level.
The Bills are also much hungrier to win a championship. They have focus and a purpose.
The Patriots don’t have any of that. Not yet.
They have Mac Jones, and while he stands as the future at quarterback, Allen is in another class. When he’s on, as he’s been in three of the last four meetings, there’s no beating the Bills.
Embarrassing Belichick’s defense as thoroughly as Allen has done the past two seasons merely adds salt to the wound. While he does throw up a stinker every so often, he’s more often saving his best for the Patriots.
He stole the show in the Patriots’ first playoff game without Brady. The Bills scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions, with Allen throwing five of them. He made it look so easy. Defensively, the Patriots looked old and slow. Compared with Buffalo, they lack both talent and speed. The free agent additions from the offseason, Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux, had zero impact Saturday night. Judon, who
started out like a house on fire, completely faded down the stretch.
Perhaps he’s been playing injured, but without him generating a pass rush, and rookie Christian Barmore a bit hobbled up front, the Patriots’ deficiencies on defense were on full display.
The Bills just went up and down the field. Allen played pitch and catch, and the Patriots could do nothing to stop him.
He went 21 for 25 for 308 yards, with five touchdown passes. He also rushed for 65 yards on six carries. While he was in, the Bills were 6-for-6 on third down, and gained 484 overall yards.
The last two games, the Bills haven’t had to punt. It doesn’t get much worse than that for a defense, much less a Belichick defense.
And there’s the rub. The Bills not only have the better team, but they have the best player on both teams — Allen.
He might not have any rings, just yet, but the Patriots are overmatched by his presence. When Belichick has no answers to slow an opposing team’s biggest threat, that’s a huge red flag.
Veterans of past Super Bowl teams had little impact trying to stop him. Dont’a Hightower has been a shell of himself. Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins were nonfactors. Stefon Diggs got the better of Pro Bowl corner J.C. Jackson, and with Jalen Mills on the COVID-19 reserve list, the Patriots were left with a cast of nobodies manning the opposite corner.
Whether it was Joejuan Williams, practice squad players De’Vante Bausby or D’Angelo Ross, Allen picked them apart.
And while the objective was to “contain” Allen, and prevent him from beating the defense with his legs, he ran over them in the first drive alone with two rushes for 41 yards to set up the Bills opening score.
The point here, is that while the Patriots can beat the lesser teams, as well as the average teams, they’re still not close to the elite teams in the AFC. The did beat Tennessee, but the Titans were ravaged by injuries at the time.
They aren’t in the same league as Buffalo. That much is obvious. The tables have officially turned. And that’s going to be the story for more years to come until Belichick gets his defense more equipped to handle a modern quarterback, and adds some linebackers who can move.
He also needs to supply Jones, who finished 24 for 38 for 232 yards with two TDs and two picks, with more help on offense. He needs more weapons in the receiver room, whether it’s a top gun or a legitimate slot receiver.
Ground and pound doesn’t work when the defense can’t stop the other team from scoring.
What the Patriots displayed down the stretch, losing four of five games to good teams, but especially the Bills, revealed who they really are, and how much more they need to improve.