Patriots at Bills Week 8: 3 things we learned
By Matt Kerns
As the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills on Sunday with ease, it’s time to take a deeper look at what we learned from the game.
This was the game where the Bills had the opportunity to prove themselves. It was the game where they could have swept New England, which would have been the first time since 2001 that the Pats had been swept by a divisional foe. But they didn’t.
In fact, the Bills didn’t look like they were in the same league as New England, but then again who is? Bills fans who attended and tuned in on TV would have liked for their team to at least put up a fight. The fight was nowhere to be seen.
Buffalo took a 3-0 lead on their opening drive but New England responded with a touchdown. It was that sort of day for the Bills. Whenever Buffalo threw a punch, New England countered with a harder one.
1-The AFC East is no longer open for contention
The Pats closed the door shut on any chance of the division being stolen from them. Mathematically, yes, the door is still open for any team to win this division. But at the halfway mark of the season, the Jets, nor Bills, nor Dolphins will be able to steal the crown from New England.
It’s only Week 8 yet the Patriots have this thing sealed up like a cork in a bottle. One of the big reasons why the Pats have been so good over the years is because of their play within the AFC East. Yes, some years the Jets have thrown scares at them but sitting here today there’s nobody that scares me in the AFC East if I’m a Pats fan.
Crazy things can happen and they will, but it’ll take something drastic for the Patriots to not win the division. New England has a three-game lead on the Bills, a four-game lead on the Dolphins, and a 4.5 game lead on the Jets.
2-Without LeSean McCoy, the Bills offense isn’t much
Coming into this game, Buffalo was without receivers Sammy Watkins and Marquise Goodwin. But hands down their biggest missing piece on offense was running back LeSean McCoy. They need him healthy and effective.
The issue is that running backs in today’s NFL can’t be relied upon as heavy as McCoy has been. The Bills have ridden him through the first eight weeks of the year and when he’s in, it proved to be great. However, when he’s injured and not playing, the team’s offense notably declines in production.
Buffalo is really missing backup running back Karlos Williams who led the Bills in rushing touchdowns with seven of them a year ago. Unfortunately, Williams had off the field issues and was released this summer. In order for the Bills offense to sustain success week in and week out, they need a proven backup running back.
3-The Bills need a solution at QB
Tyrod Taylor is not a bad QB. He does a lot of nice things and can make plays down the field and throws a pretty deep ball. But in order for that to happen, he needs the benefit of a sustainable running game, something the Bills haven’t had these past two weeks.
This is not a shot at Taylor but he’s got to prove he can put this team on his shoulders and at least put up points to keep games close. Nobody expected this game to be won by the Bills, but I personally thought they would have put up a fight.
Next: Bills lose second game in a row
Taylor finished the day with 183 yards passing on 38 attempts. He completed only 19 passes for a completion percentage of exactly 50%. He didn’t throw an interception but didn’t make any big spark plays either. With his legs, he ran the ball five times for 48 yards and picked up a score. There are a lot of missing pieces on this offense, though, so we have to account for that as well.