The worst a part of the Patriots’ loss to Buffalo on Thursday evening?
Not the stagnant, white-bread offense that drew criticism from contained in the locker room post-game. Not the protection that also can’t sluggish or clear up Josh Allen. Not even the teaching that bumbled a important 2-minute drill earlier than halftime.
The agony of final Thursday evening begins with the Bills taking part in the precise recreation the Patriots teaching workers hoped they might play — and profitable anyway.
Defensively, the Pats fielded six defensive backs on 78% of their snaps over Buffalo’s first two collection, a transparent invitation to run. Starting on their third possession, the Bills obliged. Rushing persistently might have stored the Patriots protection on the sector, however it additionally prevented Allen and Co. from hanging shortly and fatally, like that they had within the 47-17 Wild Card blowout final January.
Over its ultimate eight possessions, Buffalo scored simply 14 factors. Early in these eight drives, Allen grew impatient, threw a pair passes that bounced off defenders’ arms and led to the Bills’ first punt in 24 possessions towards the Pats. On the subsequent collection, Allen scrambled wildly and received strip-sacked contained in the 2-minute warning for a important turnover.
Success. Except the Patriots took that present, a misplaced fumble at midfield with 1:20 left within the half, and … squandered it with three runs and two burned timeouts over the subsequent 50 seconds.
In truth, their offense did even worse, going scoreless till the ultimate 1:57, when Nick Folk kicked a pointless discipline aim in a half-empty stadium. Buffalo’s protection didn’t disrupt the Pats. Rather, after dominating them with man-to-man protection of their earlier two conferences, the Bills backed off.
They performed delicate zone on all however 4 of Mac Jones’ dropbacks, the identical kind of protection the Patriots shredded final week at Minnesota.
“We didn’t do anything different,” said Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa post-game. “We didn’t do our blitzes. We didn’t do anything extraordinary. We just kind of did what we do.”
And but, offensive play-caller Patricia didn’t deviate from his brief passing recreation plan designed to use Buffalo’s tackling points and defend a leaky offensive line. Eventually, his cussed timidity — which included calling a downfield vast receiver display screen on third-and-14 at midfield early within the third quarter whereas trailing by 10 — had Mac Jones exploding on the sideline. By the time the Patriots attacked downfield, they trailed by three scores late within the quarter.
As their season closes (crumbles?), it’s essential to recollect Bill Belichick streamlined the offensive system for his new coaches as a lot as his gamers. Because coaches, like offensive newbies Patricia and Joe Judge. can solely train what they know. It’s why they journey from job with the identical playbook tucked beneath their arms, besides in New England the place Belichick is the system and the system Belichick.
The trade-off Belichick supposed to make for his gamers with this modification was lightening their psychological load so bodily they may play sooner. It’s how the Bills protection operates, calling and executing the identical handful of complementary coverages and blitzes that they grasp 12 months after 12 months after which disguise every week versus their opponents. Aside from a transparent expertise hole, the distinction Thursday stemmed from teaching the small print of that philosophy
While the well-coached Bills protection beat the Pats to the purpose of assault, the fitting hole and ultimately the scoreboard, each Patriots O-lineman, besides proper guard Mike Onwenu, was whistled for holding. Hunter Henry allowed a run stuff and dropped a go. Kendrick Bourne and Rhamondre Stevenson dropped others, too. Mac Jones was allowed to try simply 5 play-action passes, regardless of finishing most of them, and stopped throwing RPOs late, regardless that one created his 48-yard landing to Marcus Jones.
And the worst a part of that? It wasn’t even his fault.
Here’s what else the movie revealed about Thursday’s loss:
Mac Jones
Stat line: 22-of-36, 195 yards, TD, 1 sack
Accurate throw proportion: 72.7%
Under strain: 5-of-13 for 20 yards, 1 sack
Against the blitz: 3-of-3, 67 yards, TD, 1 sack
Behind the road: 7-of-7 for 68 yards, TD
0-9 yards: 12-of-17 for 85 yards
10-19 yards: 3-of-6 for 42 yards
20+ yards: 0-of-3
Notes: Limited by a conservative recreation plan and his personal offensive line, there was little extra Jones might do Thursday than survive.
He lived inside 10 yards of the road of scrimmage and by no means ventured deep, whereas coming beneath fireplace on practically 40% of his dropbacks. Jones was additionally barely extra inaccurate than regular, usually firing too excessive, and practically took a security when he was flagged for intentional grounding exterior the aim line when he ought to’ve thrown the ball away on the high of a coated 3-step drop passing play. All collectively, he performed a strong recreation on an evening he wanted to shine, however was hardly ever afforded a chance to influence the sport.
Studs
OLB Josh Uche
His finest recreation as a professional. Uche registered two sacks, hurried Josh Allen on two different snaps and performed constant run protection. The breakout is actual, and it’s spectacular.
CB Marcus Jones
Jones scored the Patriots’ solely landing and performed exterior nook for stretches over fellow rookie Jack Jones. While the remainder of the rookie class has pale because the bye, Jones has starred.
Duds
CB Jack Jones
He was whistled for a game-high two penalties, together with one go interference name. Jones additionally let up a pair catches and was briefly benched within the center quarters.
CB Jonathan Jones
No Patriots confronted a harder 1-on-1 matchup than Jon Jones, who battled commonly with Bills All-Pro wideout Stefon Diggs. But that doesn’t totally excuse being in protection on Allen’s landing throws or permitting six different catches.
OT Trent Brown
Brown, who was sick Thursday evening, surrendered two hurries, a QB hit and one run stuff. He was additionally whistled for holding.
Offense
Game plan
- Personnel: 80% of snaps in 11 personnel, 20% snaps in 12 personnel.*
Personnel manufacturing: 4.7 yards/play in 11 personnel, 3.9 yards/play in 12 personnel - First down play-calls: 27% run (4.7 yards per play), 73% go (5.2 yards per play)
- Play-action fee: 15.8%
Key areas
- Third downs: 3-12
- Red-zone effectivity: 0-1
- Pressure fee allowed: 39.5%
Player stats
- Broken tackles: Rhamondre Stevenson 7, Marcus Jones
- Sacks allowed: Team
- QB hits allowed: Trent Brown
- Hurries allowed: Brown 2, Conor McDermott 2, Mike Onwenu 2, Cole Strange 2
- Run stuffs allowed: Brown, Hunter Henry, Team
- Penalties: OT Trent Brown (holding), C David Andrews (holding), OG Cole Strange (holding), OT Conor McDermott (holding) QB Mac Jones (intentional grounding)
- Drops: Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne
Notes
- In his makes an attempt to guard an injured offensive line, play-caller Matt Patricia damage the offense as a complete together with his passing plan. It was not numerous nor threatening sufficient to offer the Patriots an opportunity within the second half.
- Patricia opened a number of drives with Day 1 set up ideas like Stick, slant-flat, double slants and bubble screens off RPOs. Like each different protection within the NFL, the Bills have seen these numerous instances earlier than and reacted as such.
- Patricia’s preliminary script was encouraging, with most of his first 9 calls consisting of play-action and RPOs. But he largely ditched each down the stretch in favor of a brief, static passing recreation.
- The Marcus Jones wrinkle was his solely success, and it was hardly a stroke of genius. Jones, who took some offensive snaps in faculty, is among the Pats’ most athletic gamers and finest ball carriers. Featuring him on occasional snaps made sense.
- But exterior of Jones, the Patriots did not complete 200 yards towards a protection they need to have stored in thoughts when streamlining their offense final spring. Buffalo has allowed the Pats fewer than 19 offensive factors per recreation since coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017.
- Before their ultimate drive, the Patriots transformed a single third down and didn’t take a snap contained in the crimson zone.
- Rhamondre Stevenson took 53 of the group’s 54 offensive snaps, the opposite going to sixth-round rookie Kevin Harris, who received blasted on his solely carry. Stevenson is getting near over-worked, because the Patriots main rusher and high goal of their passing recreation.
- Mac Jones’ belief points, each together with his safety and receivers’ means to separate downfield, floor most clearly when he zips by his reads to seek out Stevenson for a checkdown, one thing that occurred ceaselessly towards Buffalo.
- Out vast, Marcus Jones led all Patriots’ go catchers in yards and completed with two catches, trailing solely Stevenson and Jakobi Meyers in that division.
- Tyquan Thornton’s chemistry with Mac Jones has eroded over the previous few weeks. The rookie’s function has primarily been to filter out the deep safeties, and whereas he’s efficient in that function, the Patriots would profit from transferring him across the formation and utilizing him in movement.
- The offensive sort out state of affairs is a multitude. Trent Brown was the Pats’ worst-performing participant there Thursday, and whether or not it’s Yodny Cajuste, Isaiah Wynn or Conor McDermott at proper sort out, the Pats have been unable to resolve that place all 12 months.
Defense
Game plan
- Personnel breakdown: 53.5% dime bundle, 22.5% three-safety nickel bundle, 10% three-corner nickel bundle, 8.5% base, 5.5% greenback.**
- Blitz fee: 29.7%
- Blitz efficacy: 6.4 yards per play allowed
Key areas
- Yards per carry allowed: 3.6
- Third downs: 9-15
- Red-zone effectivity: 3-3
- Pressure fee: 29.7%
Player stats
- Interceptions: None
- Pass deflections: Kyle Dugger 2, Marcus Jones
- Sacks: Josh Uche 2
- QB hits: Uche, Dugger, Matt Judon, Davon Godchaux
- Hurries: Uche 2, Lawrence Guy, Daniel Ekuale, Raekwon McMillan
- Run stuffs: Judon, Ekuale, Jabrill Peppers, Jack Jones
- Missed tackles: Dugger, Ekuale, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jonathan Jones, Myles Bryant, Mack Wilson
- Penalties: CB Jack Jones (go interference, holding), CB Jonathan Jones (holding) LB DaMarcus Mitchell (holding on kick return)
Notes
- The Patriots efficiently slowed Buffalo with gentle personnel and disguised Cover 2 and man-coverage calls, however by no means seized management of the sport. Josh Allen, when he wasn’t making boneheaded throws, was just too good; most notably on his second landing go to Gabriel Davis.
- The identical could be stated for Diggs, for whom the Pats nonetheless haven’t any solutions. He transformed three third downs within the second half and caught a landing within the first quarter. Within time, he smoked each Patriots cornerback in 1-on-1 protection.
- Defensive play-caller Steve Belichick didn’t do sufficient to assist his cornerbacks when matched 1-on-1 with Diggs in key conditions. Whenever Allen sniffed out man-to-man, he performed matchup ball and picked his best choice.
- Belichick additionally thew the kitchen sink at Allen with creeper calls (4-man rushes with one man dropping off the road of scrimmage and a second or third-level defender blitzing), 8-man coverages, zone blitzes, disguised man-to-man defenses and extra.
- Allen usually killed the clock by checking to run performs towards 2-high coverages. Bills operating again James Cook expedited this course of by breaking 4 tackles.
- The Patriots toyed with the Bills’ safety to begin their first and third possessions, dropping Matt Judon off the road and blitzing from the alternative aspect.
- Quiet recreation for Deatrich Wise, who completed with out a strain for the primary recreation all season.
Statistics for passing depth, damaged tackles and missed tackles courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
*11 personnel = one operating again, one tight finish; 12 personnel = one operating again, two tight ends; 21H = two halfbacks, one tight finish.
**Base protection = 4 defensive backs; nickel protection = 5 defensive backs; dime protection = six defensive backs; goal-line protection = three defensive backs; greenback protection = seven defensive backs.
Source: www.bostonherald.com