The AFC East throne is sticking around in Foxborough for at least another year after the New England Patriots handed the Buffalo Bills a crushing 24-17 loss on Saturday night. It was a much-needed confidence building performance for a Patriots team desperately searching for an identity ahead of the playoffs.
They might have finally found it against the Bills. Here are five takeaways from the Patriots’ AFC East division-clinching win.
Brady starting to look comfortable
So much has been made about Brady’s continued frustrations with the offense and lack of receiving weapons. However, that has seemingly died down in the waning weeks of the season. Perhaps it’s simply a case of a 42-year-old quarterback facing reality. Rob Gronkowski isn’t coming out of retirement, and the Patriots aren’t bringing back Antonio Brown.
The hopes of repeating as a Super Bowl champion rides solely on the success of the pieces in front of Brady. There aren’t many of them, but there isn’t a quarterback in NFL history that has done more with less than the future Hall of Famer.
He looked especially sharp on Saturday against the No. 3-ranked defense in football, finishing 26-of-33 passing for 271 yards and one touchdown. There have been far too many unfair takes on his supposed rapid decline.
If the offensive line can block up front and the team can continue to run the ball effectively, Brady is more than capable of forging the path towards another Super Bowl run.
Michel is running with authority
Where has this version of Sony Michel been all season?
The Patriots’ second-year running back stepped into a time machine and traveled back to 2018 against a top-10 Bills rushing defense. For the first time all season, he looked confident in his cuts and showed the power to shed tackles.
Isaiah Wynn being back full-time at left tackle has played a significant role in the Patriots rushing attack being resuscitated. Yet, Michel deserves a ton of credit for running with the type of ferocity that spearheaded the team’s late Super Bowl LIII surge last season.
He finished with 21 carries for 96 yards on a night where the offense racked up 143 total rushing yards and one touchdown.
The offense looked much more efficient when the ground game was working. For all of the identity questions surrounding the Patriots, they finally got their answer on Saturday. The running game is the key to unlocking everything.
Patriots finally have their kicker
Few things were as exciting from a Patriots perspective on Saturday than seeing kicker Nick Folk drill a 51-yard field goal. Every fan at Gillette Stadium held their collective breath as the kick soared through the uprights.
The mere fact that Belichick trusted him enough to even take the kick speaks volumes of the team’s belief in him.
Not enough people are talking about how devastating the loss of longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski has been for the Patriots. His absence has led to the team kicking the tires on a multitude of different players like Mike Nugent, Kai Forbath and even YouTube sensation Josh Gable.
Being able to count on Folk means one less thing the Patriots have to worry about.
Edelman is all heart
There is no questioning the fact that Julian Edelman has long been the heart of the Patriots offense. He has been banged up all season long, and it hasn’t altered his approach to the game. His willingness to catch passes in traffic, while absorbing hit after hit is stuff of legend.
It’s also a bit concerning with the playoffs right around the corner. If the Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, one has to assume Belichick would consider resting Edelman in Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins. That would essentially give him two weeks to get healthy before the AFC divisional round in the playoffs.
He exited Saturday’s game with a head injury before ultimately returning and contributing a beautiful two-point conversion reception on the team’s game-winning drive.
Defense comes up when it matters
There were a couple bumps in the road for the Patriots secondary against the Bills offense. The first came on a 33-yard pass to Bills tight end Dawson Knox that set the team up for a game-tying touchdown right before halftime. Then there was the 53-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Josh Allen and speedy wideout John Brown that gave the Bills the lead in the third quarter.
The Patriots defense responded as anyone would expect by pitching a shutout in the fourth quarter. Allen was knocking on the door for another game-tying touchdown, but he was ultimately held out of the end zone thanks to a herculean effort from the league’s No. 1-ranked defense.
Given the limitations of the offense, they will have to continue to be special once the postseason gets here.
