1 – A demonstration of the chokehold
The Bills’ 24-10 victory over the Patriots on Thursday night football won’t win them many style points, but the manner in which they did so demonstrated their capacity to end games when they are ahead in Bills vs Patriots.
Although the run game for Buffalo wasn’t quite as effective as it had been in the previous three games, when it exceeded 160 yards, it was still sufficient to keep the Bills offence on schedule. The fact that James Cook and Devin Singletary combined for 115 yards on 27 carries killed a significant amount of time off the clock.
Mitch Morse, a centre for the Bills, believed that the balance of 37 runs and 33 passes kept the Patriots defence on its toes.
“Matt Judon, Josh Uche, or any of those interior players they have are just darn good football players, so anytime we can put ourselves in a position where we’re not just taking five step drops and playing a lot of empty (backfield) and make them think a little bit, that helps us out a lot,” said Judon.stated Morse. “We need to execute a little bit in order to accomplish that and for the offensive coordinator to feel comfortable making those calls. On the sidelines, we were able to make adjustments and focus on the plays that were effective for us. In order to give ourselves a little breathing room and avoid feeling like we had to drop back and play one-dimensionally against a very difficult front, it felt nice to execute in the run game.” Bills vs Patriots.
Josh Allen said, “I thought (Coach) Dorsey did a good job of mixing those (run calls) in. “In my opinion, James Cook and Motor Singletary ran the ball extremely hard, and we avoided some third downs, which is always a plus. Then, when we did have third downs, we were playing some physical football while keeping our heads down and going for it. Again, the more those guys can work, the more opportunities will present themselves to us.”
The Patriots frequently used a cover two shell with both of their safeties deep because they were aware of the Bills’ explosive passing ability.
They were essentially daring us to run it, Allen claimed. “I considered (Coach) Dorsey’s patience to be admirable. The way our players handled the football while making good cuts, runs, and chain moves when we could was admirable.”
The game-winning drive, which took nearly nine minutes off the clock and ended the contest with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, was a lengthy 15-play, 94-yard drive. Buffalo’s drive, which started at their own six-yard line, gained more yardage than the Patriots’ subsequent six possessions after their touchdown drive in the first quarter.
Anytime you can go 95 yards, that’s a plus, but when you do it that way on a long, sustained drive, that feels really good.Added Allen. “The drives when the O-linemen can just kind of go in and hammer it out are their favourites. We played really well, in my opinion. Despite the fact that we scored only 24 points, our defence played excellent defence and prevented any mistakes from being made. These are solid victories, both at home and in the division.”
The team’s lengthy touchdown drive was its fifth of at least 90 yards this season, which is the most since it had five such drives in 1991.
Stefon Diggs, who had seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown, said, “It’s about playing at a high level in high-pressure circumstances, leading with Josh making excellent decisions, players blocking really well, and running backs protecting the ball.” “Those little passes that gained us eight or nine yards or first downs were extremely helpful. We are therefore second and inches as opposed to third and one. Simply put, I believe that success comes from everyone working together to accomplish a task.”
Three straight away games and numerous injuries made for a difficult 12 days for head coach Sean McDermott and his staff, but they managed to get three crucial wins out of it, with the last one being the most crucial as it was their first win in the division this season. Bills vs Patriots.
Red zone roll: Step 2
Although Buffalo’s offence didn’t score much, they were certain to capitalise with seven points once they entered the red zone. The Bills converted on all three of their chances in the red zone despite playing against the seventh-ranked red zone defence in the league.
Dorsey called seven run plays to the backs on 14 red zone plays, and Allen ran on the other two.
The offensive line, under the direction of Coach (Aaron) Kromer, has done a fantastic job, and frequently that is where the game is decided, according to McDermott. “I believed they came in with a good plan and carried it out,”
Josh Allen successfully finished off two of the opportunities in the end zone. The first came on a clever play with Diggs, who beat Jonathan Jones, the CB, with a good inside fake before sprinting to the left sideline in the end zone and catching a touchdown pass from eight yards away only four seconds into the second quarter. Bills vs Patriots.
Later in the same quarter, Allen bought time by moving to the far sideline to his right. He fired a pass to Gabe Davis to the left of two defenders just before stepping out of bounds with a Patriots pass rusher pursuing him. Gabe Davis then redirected himself to find an opening for another eight-yard reception.
Allen of Davis stated, “I believe in him. “He made a play, and I simply gave him the opportunity to do it, so I appreciate him working on that play still,”
When the back side opened up for a walk-in touchdown to cap off the nearly nine-minute drive to win the game, Singletary ran in the final red zone touchdown on a third-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Buffalo has now successfully advanced the ball into the end zone on six of their previous seven red zone possessions when combined with last week’s 3-for-4 effort. It has given the offence the impression that they are creating something long-lasting in the crucial part of the field for the five games left in the regular season.
I do, Allen said emphatically. We are aware that we haven’t performed as well as we would have liked to down there, so a major focus for us has been on ensuring that the play calls are fantastic and the players are competent and effective. The way Dorsey is mixing things up and letting us go down there and be free, in my opinion, is excellent.
That information is crucial, according to McDermott. “You’ve got to cash in when you have the ball down there in the red zone, and we’ve done that the last couple of weeks,” said the player.
3. Bills “D” secured it.
While Buffalo’s offence played well, the Patriots’ attack was met with roadblocks from the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots were limited to just 242 total net yards by Leslie Frazier’s team, the fewest yards Buffalo has allowed since Week 3. Being able to stop New England on third down was a key factor in their success.
The Bills forced New England to punt on six of their first eight possessions, with three of those being three-and-outs, as they limited Mac Jones and the Patriots offence to just one third down convert on their first eight attempts. Bills vs Patriots.
Jordan Poyer remarked, “Our D-line was getting at him as those guys have been doing all season.” “Greg (Rousseau) stepped up a lot. The list of players that stood out in that game is endless, and we should be applauded for only trying to give them an extra second to get to the quarterback. And for the past few weeks, it has been a major focus for us. Being able to leave the field on third down is something that, Coach Frazier.
While harassing quarterback Mac Jones for the majority of the game and holding New England’s top rusher and receiver, Rhamondre Stevenson, to 54 rushing yards and 24 yards on six receptions, Buffalo’s front linemen managed just one sack in their first game without Von Miller. However, they did have four tackles for loss and four quarterback hits.