A Terrible Season For The Patriots (8-9) Thankfully Ends Without An Undeserved Postseason Berth

 

    For months, this doomed to fail season for the Patriots needed to end and finally, it all came crashing down on Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, NY as they fell 35-23 to the Bills (13-3). They would have made the playoffs if they had beaten Buffalo, something which they can't do anymore without the help of a biblical storm. Besides having very little free time to write these days (haha who knew that a baby was so much work?), this version of the Pats gave me few reasons to bother mentioning them during this utterly pathetic campaign. I never openly rooted against them (although it was close more than a few times in 2022-2023) but I am truly happy that we can move on with our lives now until free agency and the NFL Draft this spring. Head coach/GM Bill Belichick gave us no reason to believe in this team from the start and hopefully finishing with a regular season record two games worse than last year and missing the postseason for the second time in three seasons brings about some real changes that they so desperately need.

    You don't have to be a football genius to know that having two complete bozos (say hi Matt Patricia and Joe Judge) take on roles that they have never had before-after each guy flamed out as head coaches in other places-would not go well. Second-year quarterback Mac Jones regressed big time this season but how much of that can you blame on him since he had a quarterbacks coach (Judge) who is best suited as a special teams coach while his offensive coordinator (Patricia) had only ever worked with defenses and offensive lines before this? It is also tough to objectively evaluate Jones when Bill's drafting history in recent years has been mostly terrible and his free agent moves have also been spotty. Did I mention that New England's offensive line was awful-one of the worst in the NFL-and their skill position guys were average at best? 

    This is now three years post-Tom Brady and it has not been a pretty picture for Belichick who has been seriously exposed without the greatest quarterback in NFL history by his side. Being the second oldest head coach in the league probably doesn't help either along with surrounding himself with nothing but yes men, his sons and his friends. The gap between the Bills and Patriots is scary-like it used to be in the opposite direction. With quarterback Josh Allen leading them, Buffalo has won three AFC East titles and they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Thanks to the Pats' loss and Miami's win in the regular season finale, the Dolphins snuck into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs (where they will have the honor of getting blown out by the Bills next weekend). New England swept their two games with the Jets this season as usual but if New York can just get steadier quarterback play, they will be right there with the Patriots if not ahead of them. 

    This is all pretty grim if you are a Pats fan. Granted, we had an unprecidented run of success with Brady here that will never be duplicated again in our lifetimes. Still, is it too much to ask to be competitive year after year? Patriots owner Robert Kraft is not dumb at all and he is also not young so you wonder how much longer he will stand for this (being a middling team in the NFL)? I'm not suggesting that Belichick will be fired this week nor that he should be but if they simply run it back with the same flawed set of coaches and incomplete roster, why should we expect different results anytime soon? Without saying it after Sunday's loss, it seemed like two of the few remaining leaders from their glory days (safety Devin McCourty and special teams ace Matthew Slater) are both about to retire thus leaving a huge void in the locker room if that is the case. The 2023 offseason is upon us for the Patriots and they are due for some serious housekeeping if they want to get back to relevance leaguewide.

In The Super Wild Card Round, The Pats Got Blown Out By The Bills 47-17 So Their Season Is Over

 

    Seeing the Patriots (10-8 overall, 6-3 away) lose tonight at Highmark Stadium to the Bills (12-6 overall, 7-3 home) certainly was not a surprise to any realistic Pats fan. However, the way that Buffalo completely ran over them to the tune of 47-17 was pretty scary considering that Bills quarterback Josh Allen (21-of-25 for 308 yards, 5 TDs; 66 yards rushing) is only 25-years-old meaning that he and his team are probably going to dominate New England and the AFC East for years to come. For the Patriots, losing in the Super Wild Card Round was fitting since frankly they played like anything but a playoff-worthy club in the past month. This loss meant that they finished the 2021-22 campaign by losing four of their last five games. 

    In his first NFL postseason start, New England's rookie QB Mac Jones (24-of-38 for 232 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) was OK. The real issue is the no-show from almost everyone around him: namely any skill position players on offense not named Kendrick Bourne (7 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDS) and the very overrated Patriots defense that for the second game in a row against Buffalo failed to force a single punt. How is that possible? Finally, if we didn't already know this, a beating like that serves as a painful reminder that head coach Bill Belichick and this team really are nothing special when they don't have Tom Brady on their side. Safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Levi Wallace each had an interception for the Bills as their defense looked much faster than New England's on the frozen field and they also seemed to hit way harder than them. 

    As usual during this depressing slide by the Pats, they did not even give themselves a chance as they got buried early and with their pedestrian offense, they cannot possibly rally to win against any decent (or in this case very good) opponent. Bills tight end Dawson Knox (5 catches, 89 yards) caught two touchdowns in the first quarter and running back Devin Singletary (16 carries, 81 yards) ran for a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter as Buffalo opened up a stunning 27-3 halftime lead. In terms of margin, it was the worst defeat of Belichick's storied postseason career and it was also the most points that his team had ever allowed in a playoff game. The ghost of Emmanuel Sanders caught a 34-yard touchdown from Allen early in the third quarter which made it 33-3. New England showed a hint of pride as Bourne caught a three-yard touchdown from Jones later in the frame but it was long over in the frigid cold by then. 

    In the garbage time fourth quarter, wide receiver Gabriel Davis caught a touchdown from Allen and the ultimate disrespect from the Bills came when Allen's performance was capped by a one-yard touchdown pass to some nobody backup offensive tackle named Tommy Doyle (who I checked, shockingly isn't from Southie). Yes, the Bills were clearly running up the score and having Allen in there that late was a stupid risk but this is the same stuff that Brady & Belichick did to them forever. It doesn't feel so great being on this side of it now, huh? God bless Bourne as he caught a four-yard touchdown from Jones to at least send the rookie into the offseason with a glimmer of confidence. Buffalo advances to the Divisional Round next weekend and they look like a serious Super Bowl contender-granted it was hard to gauge with the way that New England flopped this evening. 

    So where does Belichick and Co. go from here? They are now a million miles behind Buffalo who humbled them twice in the past few weeks. They have absolutely no clue how to stop Allen or even contain him anymore. Jones is the main positive from this season and there were some other bright spots like Bourne but for the most part, this will leave a rotten taste in our mouths for a long time since they crumbled so epically after the bye week. It was not that long ago that New England was the No. 1 seed in the AFC and thought to be a legitimate contender. Yikes, how wrong we all were about that. There are still countless issues in all three phases of the game and it feels like a bunch of prominent assistant coaches (Jerod Mayo, Josh McDaniels, etc) could be gone tomorrow for heading coaching jobs around the league and who could blame them? Plus I wouldn't be surprised to see some of their older veterans like Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater all retire since what else do they have to prove at this juncture of their great careers? Without another big infusion of talent via the draft and free agency, it looks like the Pats will be stuck in NFL purgatory (as a middling team) for the near future and that is a terrible reality to accept. 

Patriots Lose Another Head-Scratcher In Miami 33-24, Now Onto Buffalo For Rd. 3 In The Playoffs

 

    Thank God that the Patriots (10-7 overall, 6-2 away) have a chance to redeem themselves next Saturday night (8:15, CBS) in the playoffs when they visit the Bills (11-6 overall, 6-3 home) in the Super Wild Card round, because if tonight's 33-24 loss at Miami's (9-8 overall, 6-3 home) Hard Rock Stadium was the final memory of the 2021-22 season, that would have made for a truly yucky offseason. At this point, I think that we're all (Pats head coach Bill Belichick included) out of possible explanations for why New England has struggled so much in Miami in recent years. Since 2013, today's loss dropped them to a mind-numbing 2-7 in Miami. If you believe that momentum going into the postseason is important, then you probably don't trust the Patriots who have lost three out of their last four games but still managed to reach the tournament (for the first time) in their second year without Tom Brady. 

    This one had the familiar trappings of New England's recent losses to Indianapolis (9-8) and the Bills as the Pats were down 14-0 less than ten minutes into the game and they were never able to fully recover. We all know what makes this edition of the Patriots successful: they have to own the lead and then they can dictate things (ie. run the ball often and play defense). When they have to rally against a quality opponent, they can't really do it at least not yet with a rookie quarterback-Mac Jones (20-of-30 for 261 yards, TD, INT)-who has very few dangerous weapons at his disposal outside of tight end Hunter Henry (5 catches, 86 yards) and maybe a converted wide receiver-Jakobi Meyers (4 catches, 70 yards)-who was a QB in college. Mac did himself no favors in New England's second loss to Miami this season (bookending the year) as he threw a brutal pick-six on the Patriots' third play of the game. 

    The Dolphins went right down the field on their opening drive (13 plays, 77 yards, 7:26) and their former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (15-of-22 for 109 yards, TD, 38 yards rushing) tossed a seven-yard touchdown to their old Crimson Tide teammate and rookie wide receiver sensation Jaylen Waddle. Kicker Jason Sanders added the point after and it was 14-0 in the blink of an eye as cornerback Xavien Howard returned Jones' terrible decision 37 yards for another score. Sanders' second PAT made it 14-0 Dolphins. He added a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter and Miami led 17-0. Running back Brandon Bolden (46 yards rushing, 20 yards receiving) was the unexpected spark that got New England going although it's truthfully never a good sign in an important contest when he's easily one of their best players.

    Bolden ran for a 15-yard touchdown and kicker Nick Folk added the point after but New England still trailed by 10 points (17-7) at halftime. Folk's 43-yard field goal midway through the third quarter briefly cut it to a one-score game but the Patriots' overrated defense couldn't stop journeyman running back Duke Johnson (25 carries, 117 yards) who punched in a one-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter. Sanders kicked the extra point and he blasted a 49-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to basically put it out of reach at 27-10. Bolden added an 18-yard catch-and-run for another TD while running back Damien Harris notched a one-yard touchdown run and Folk hit both PATs but time ran out on the Pats and the Dolphins scored a meaningless touchdown on the goofy final play of the game.

    Jones (who also had a sloppy fumble off of a dropped snap that was all his fault) and Co. have no choice but to hopefully move on quickly since that all-important meeting with the now back-to-back AFC East champs will be here before they know it. Down to the final game of the regular season in the NFL-Raiders vs. Chargers (9-8) on Sunday Night Football-the Pats were either going to Cincinnati (10-7) or Buffalo depending on the result. The Bengals are very explosive but inexperienced so who knew what to expect against them. With Vegas' (10-7) absolutely bonkers 35-32 OT victory against LA, the Patriots and Bills are set to meet for the third time in the last six weeks which is also insane. 

    New England memorably won Round 1 in that hurricane tinged Monday Night game in Orchard Park, NY 14-10 but three weeks later, Josh Allen and his crew came to Gillette and looked like the superior team 33-21. For the Pats to pull off this upset, they'll need another weather related game which is a good bet for mid-January in Buffalo. Another thing working in their favor is that all the pressure will be on the Bills, nobody will expect Jones and the Patriots to get this one. Both clubs are extremely familiar with each other and that should make for another entertaining chapter in this finally growing rivalry.  

With The Regular Season Winding Down, The Pats Are Fading Away After A 33-21 Loss To The Bills

 

    The ups and downs of this season for the Patriots (9-6 overall, 3-5 home) have been nothing short of insane: they started a hapless 2-4 then reeled off seven straight wins before losing last week at Indy (9-6) and then falling 33-21 to Buffalo (9-6 overall, 5-3 away) in a huge divisional showdown this afternoon at Gillette Stadium. With a chance to put the Colts loss behind them not to mention to sweep the season series with the Bills, the Pats did a face plant in a major way. Unlike New England's fluky 14-10 wind-and-weather aided win in Buffalo three weeks ago, this felt like a more true representation of these teams at the moment. Bills quarterback Josh Allen (30-of-47 for 314 yards, 3 TDs; 64 yards rushing) was unstoppable and Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones (14-of-32 for 145 yards, 2 INTs) was predictably no match for him. With two games left now in the regular season, Buffalo has the inside track to another AFC East crown. A few weeks ago, the Pats seemed to have a legitimate shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC, now they will have to scramble to hang on to a playoff spot. 

    To say that New England's overrated defense could not get off the field was not a bland statement but rather a depressing fact. This was the first time in Pats head coach Bill Belichick's exceptionally long and successful career that the opposing team never had to punt against him. Buffalo simply wore down the Patriots as they racked up eight more first downs (28-20), they possessed the ball for more than 10 minutes longer than the home team (35:09-24:51) and their defense forced two turnovers (2 INTs by safety Micah Hyde) while the Bills never coughed it up. With wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis both out due to Covid-19 protocols, you figured that the Patriots could focus on Stefon Diggs (7 catches, 85 yards, TD) and nobody else would be able to do much against them. Wrong. Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie set a career-high in catches (game-high 11) and yards (game-high 125) as Belichick watched undrafted second-year cornerback Myles Bryant repeatedly get burned by McKenzie. 

    After a terrible start doomed them against Indianapolis, you knew that the Patriots would play much better to start this game. Except that never really happened. Running back Damien Harris (18 carries, 103 yards, 3 TDs) was fantastic for New England but the same could not be said about any of his teammates on this day. Buffalo had the lone score of the first quarter: a three-yard touchdown pass from Allen to McKenzie and kicker Tyler Bass added the point after for a 7-0 lead. Harris responded with a 16-yard touchdown run (and Nick Folk PAT) to tie it up at seven early in the second quarter. Buffalo's issues in the red zone meant that Bass had to kick a 25-yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage. Allen zipped a sweet 12-yard touchdown pass to Diggs with 1:45 left in the first half. Bass' point after made it 17-7 in favor of the Bills at halftime. 

    Once again New England's defense held strong in the red zone and Bass had to salvage things with a 34-yard field goal which gave Buffalo a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter. Harris answered with a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that coupled with Folk's kick trimmed Buffalo's lead to 20-14. The Bills closed strong in the fourth quarter thanks to a two-yard touchdown run by running back Devin Singletary but they failed on the two-point conversion attempt to leave it at 26-14. Harris' last touchdown run (of the 8-yard variety) and Folk's final PAT brought the Patriots within five points but Allen and Co. proceeded to march down the field methodically and clinch the victory with a two-yard shuffle pass from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox. That backbreaking play coupled with Bass' point after sent most of Gillette streaming for the exits (and the endless traffic in the parking lots and on Route 1, good times!). 

    The only positive news that I can think of for the Pats is that they have the good fortune to host the Jaguars (2-13 overall, 0-7 road) next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS)-their first contest in 2022. That is about as close to a guaranteed win as you will find in the NFL which is otherwise impossible to predict from week-to-week. New England will definitely have an eye on Monday Night Football tomorrow (8:15, ESPN) as Miami (7-7) visits New Orleans (7-7). Other than the Chiefs, the Dolphins are the second-hottest club in the league as they have surprisingly won six straight games. A triumph for the Saints would go a long way to bolstering the Bills and Patriots' playoff hopes. Most importantly, Jones has to get some of his confidence back because he's been a mess in these consecutive losses. I was never under any illusion that he will be a superstar but I think that Jones could be a very solid game manager type (I know, everybody hates that phrase) in the NFL for years to come. This is also not all on him either since almost all of the other Patriots have struggled recently too. 

The Patriots Traded Cornerback Stephon Gilmore To The Panthers For A Sixth-Round Pick In 2023

 

    The Stephon Gilmore era as a Patriot came to a predictable but nonetheless disappointing end this morning. At first, reports said that New England was about to release him but a few hours later, he was flipped to Carolina for a sixth-round draft pick in 2023. That makes a huge difference, not! (Borat voice). Ugh, look we all knew that his days were numbered here last year once he held out and suffering a season-ending quad injury did not help matters. He began this season on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list so he never actually played a game in 2021. Still, he just turned 31 years old a few weeks ago and this is a guy who was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 so the fact that Pats head coach/GM Bill Belichick basically gave him away for nothing is a joke. 

    Many of us have started to question Bill's ability to coach in today's modern NFL but don't get me started on his numerous shortcomings as a GM. The scary part is that Gilmore was the team's best player and the closest thing they currently have to a No. 1 cornerback is J.C. Jackson who is going to be a free agent after this season so is there any doubt that he will soon be gone too? Gilmore had four mostly great seasons as a Patriot: he made 13 interceptions (11 in the regular season & 2 in the playoffs) and scored two touchdowns, he went to three Pro Bowls, was named an All-Pro twice and most importantly was a key part of their last Super Bowl title in 2019 vs. the Rams. Not only does he basically get to go home now (he grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina) but he will supposedly return in Week 7 when he's eligible to get back on the field and he wants to play out the year on his current deal-something that he had no interest in doing here. 

    This is yet another star player for the Pats that got run out of town for having the audacity to want to be paid what he is actually worth. Haha the nerve of that guy! The problem now is that without Tom Brady the greatest quarterback in NFL history on his side, Belichick is going to have a hard time attracting top free agents like Gilmore (who was signed after spending his first five NFL seasons with Buffalo). New England was a mess last season and finished 7-9 as they missed the playoffs. This season, rookie quarterback Mac Jones has looked promising but the fact is that they have started 1-3 so it is going to be an uphill battle to get into playoff contention. If the team continues to slide into mediocrity, what will be the draw to come here? Our crappy weather or mediocre home stadium and facilities? Bill completely bungled one of his few really valuable assets that he had left. He should have traded Gilmore before last season, instead he is left with almost nothing in return for a guy who pretty recently was a top player in the league. 

This Miserable Season For The Pats Can't End Soon Enough After A Humiliating Defeat To The Bills

 

    It's only fitting that in the worst year in modern human history, the Patriots (6-9 overall, 4-3 home) have come crashing back to Earth after an unmatched nearly two decades long run of incredible success. We knew that life after Tom Brady would be rough but who could have guessed that it would get this ugly this fast? Tonight they hosted the AFC East champion Bills (12-3 overall, 6-2 away) at Gillette Stadium which used to be a place where the visitors could never do anything right. Not anymore. After a slow start, Buffalo rolled to a laughable 38-9 victory (the worst home loss in the Bill Belichick era) which puts them in good shape for the No. 2 seed in the AFC for the upcoming playoffs. It also gave them their first season sweep of New England since 1999; the Jets and Dolphins both swept the Pats in 2000, since then they had at least split with everyone in their pathetic division for the last 19 years. The Bills embarrassed the Patriots in every possible way including executing a successful fake punt throw that went for 13 yards and a first down conversion while also going a flawless three-for-three on fourth-down conversions. 

    With all their gross warts on full display for the world to see, perhaps the scariest aspect of this one-sided loss for the Pats was that the gap between them and the Bills is now immense and I don't know how that changes in the near future. Buffalo's star quarterback Josh Allen (27-of-36 for 320 yards, 4 TDs; 35 yards rushing) is playing at an MVP level-not that he'll probably get it in 2020 over Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers-while wide receiver Stefon Diggs (9 catches for 145 yards and 3 TDs on 11 targets) has made a huge impact right away in his first year with the Bills. He's at least entered the conversation of the top wideouts in the league and his connection with Allen is almost unstoppable. The Pats famously cannot draft receivers so they'll have to follow Buffalo's lead and trade for a top one or use all that cap space ($51 million?) to sign one hopefully this off-season. 

    The Patriots quagmire of a quarterback situation coupled with their lack of any weapons is downright horrifying. There are a million issues currently with this team but as this season has proven, even with Belichick the head coach, without a decent QB they have nothing. Cam Newton (5-of-10 for 34 yards; 24 yards rushing, TD) for some reason that only New England head coach Bill knows, still started but he was pulled in favor of Jarrett Stidham (4-of-11 for 44 yards) in the third quarter. After not scoring a touchdown in the past two games, the Pats finally found the end zone with a nine-yard touchdown run by Cam in the second quarter. It was a small morsel of 2015 MVP Cam that we've seen far too little of in a Patriots uniform. Forget that his 13th rushing TD set a new franchise record for QBs (sorry Steve Grogan), that's only an indictment on their lack of athletic signal-callers throughout their history. Also, please note that quarterbacks run way more now in today's NFL.

    Just like it's hard to complain after the Patriots have brought us so many wonderful moments, it's also silly to bitch about the Bills finally looking like contenders again for the first time in this century. Even if you love the Pats like me, you probably hate other dynasties (Cowboys, Lakers, Yankees, Canadiens, Alabama football, Duke basketball, etc.) so it's impossible to have it both ways. Buffalo is our lovable, drunken neighbors that have been a laughingstock for ages but that has changed in their favor with Brady in Tampa Bay. Ditto for Miami (10-5) who have a chance to make the playoffs as well if they can beat the Bills on Sunday in the regular season finale. 

    This couldn't have featured a more perfect start that epitomized this waste of a season by the home team. For once, they actually ran a pretty trick play as a flea flicker from Newton to Damiere Byrd would have put New England on Buffalo's goal-line during their opening possession. The problem was that the open Byrd simply dropped the ball. Nick Folk eventually settled for a 45-yard field goal and a 3-0 Patriots lead-their only one of the contest. New England's defense stopped Buffalo at the goal-line on their first drive and Tyler Bass settled for a 22-yard field goal. It was 3-3 after a utterly thrilling first quarter that we all will be talking about for the rest of our lives.

    The Bills woke up in the second quarter and as you can guess, the Patriots had no response. Rookie running back Zack Moss ran for a five-yard touchdown that gave Buffalo a 10-3 advantage before Newton's TD run that was capped off with a PAT miss by Folk (his 3rd of what otherwise has been a great season for him). Former Patriots great Lee Smith-a blocking tight end roughly the size of an interior lineman-caught a four-yard touchdown from Allen and Diggs started to heat up with a 50-yard catch-and-run for another score late in the second quarter. 

    The Bills led 24-9 at halftime and they never let up (no complaining since the Patriots did this for years) as Diggs caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Allen in the third quarter where he bounced off multiple hits from New England's useless secondary. Stats are for losers as we have been told but let the record show that Allen set a single-season record for passing yards by Bills QBs and Diggs set a single-season record for receiving yards by Bills WRs. That dynamic duo ended it with a diving eight-yard touchdown catch by Diggs in the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter. With former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore on IR, Diggs repeatedly abused his fellow Maryland alum and Pro Bowl snub J.C. Jackson. It got so bad that the immortal Matt Barkley got some garbage time snaps at quarterback for Buffalo. 

    It makes me barf even thinking about it but the Pats do have one more completely meaningless game to look forward to on Sunday (1, CBS): they host the Jets (2-13) who bungled away the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft (which is sure to be Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence) by winning their last two games. That means the only thing left to be decided in this worthless matchup is New England's draft position in 2021. With a glut of 5-10 and 6-9 teams in the NFL this season, they could potentially finish anywhere from No. 7 to No. 15. New York is locked into the No. 2 pick and as they've shown the last few weeks, they are dumb enough to win when it does them no good at all. Therefore, here's hoping that Stidham starts and he stinks, Pats lose and boom they get a Top-10 pick. That wouldn't fully make up for this lost season but at least it would give us something positive to rally around. Otherwise, what else about the Patriots gives you any hope for 2021 and beyond?

It's Clear That In 2020 The Patriots (2-5) Simply Cannot Have Any Nice Things Without Tom Brady

 

    Remember when we thought this NFL year would be a fun debate over who was ultimately more important to the Patriots' dynasty: Tom Brady or Bill Belichick? It's not even halfway through the regular season for New England (2-5 for the 1st time since 2000) but after their heartbreaking 24-21 loss this afternoon against the Bills (6-2) at New Era Field, we can conclude that while Belichick is the greatest head coach in league history, he wouldn't have been anything close to that without Brady who has the Bucs (5-2) sitting pretty with an easy win on the docket tomorrow night at the Giants (1-6). This was the fourth straight loss for the Pats (for the 1st time since 2002) and unquestionably the worst given the stakes: there was a path to climb back into the playoff race if they could beat the AFC East leader. Instead, now you wonder what their plan is for Tuesday's trade deadline (4 pm) and then for the rest of the cursed 2020 campaign. 

    In the good old days, this had all the makings of a contest that the Patriots come out on top of based mostly on its opponent falling apart in key moments. Instead, already in field goal range (that would have sent it to overtime) Cam Newton (15-of-25 for 174 yards; 54 yards rushing, TD) fumbled after a hit by something called Justin Zimmer with another nobody (Dean Marlowe) recovering it at the Bills' 13-yard line. Game over. New England's dominance vs. Buffalo was renowned when Brady was here, in fact this marked the first time the Bills had beaten the Patriots at home (!) since 2011. Expect many other stats and streaks like that to continue to fall for the Pats over their final nine games.

    With their best defensive player (cornerback Stephon Gilmore) and their best offensive player (wide receiver Julian Edelman) both out with various injuries, the Pats did a more than admirable job hanging in there with a pair of second-year players-running back Damien Harris (16 carries, 102 yards, TD) and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (6 catches, 58 yards on 10 targets) giving them the biggest boosts while also bringing up the question of why weren't they getting more touches earlier this season while the offense continued to flat-line? Moreover, while his lack of arm strength is still very scary, Newton at least was making plays consistently for the first time since he contracted Covid-19. He outplayed Bills quarterback Josh Allen (11-of-18 for 154 yards, INT; 23 yards rushing, TD) who continues to regress since his strong start to his third pro season. 

    Like the Pats, Buffalo got most of its offense done on the ground-Massachusetts high school style (you know when that was still a thing pre-Covid). Devin Singletary (14 carries, 86 yards) and rookie Zach Moss (14 carries, 81 yards) had nearly identical numbers save for the fact that Moss found the end zone twice for his first two scores in the NFL. The Bills made the most of having Stefon Diggs (6 catches, 92 yards on 9 targets) on their team as he looks every bit the part of one of the best receivers in the league. New England never led in the entire game so I guess it would have felt a bit like stealing if they had somehow won. Allen did his part to keep it close by throwing an awful interception right to Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson and rookie receiver Gabriel Davis dropped a sure-touchdown on Buffalo's final drive. 

    I get that he has limited options right now but I doubt that you will be hearing Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' name mentioned anytime soon for another crack at a head coaching job in the league. Like Bill, many of his warts are being exposed without TB12 to gloss over them with his insane skills and brilliant football mind. New England's offense took awhile to get going as Moss' eight-yard touchdown run was the only score of the first quarter. Patriots kicker Nick Folk accounted for all the points in the second quarter on a 43-yard kick and a 33-yard kick (when the Pats didn't even dare to try and call one more play from the red zone before halftime). 

    Moss added a four-yard touchdown on Buffalo's first drive of the third quarter but Harris answered with an impressive 22-yard touchdown run (his first NFL TD) of his own late in the frame. The Pats tied it up at 14 and grabbed the momentum thanks to Newton's two-point conversion pass to Meyers. Allen's two-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter was mirrored by Cam's two-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive. Rookie Tyler Bass' 28-yard field goal turned out to be the winning-play for the Bills after Gabriel's drop. No surprise, you could see Newton's visible frustration while he sat on the bench after he gave the game away. You have to feel for a guy that at one time was an NFL MVP, it has to be brutal to see your skills erode to this sad point.

    I never thought I would say this but for as long as I can remember, this is the first Patriots season that I hardly care much about. I think that's due to a combination of factors: the pandemic has shown how trivial many things in life can be plus watching the Pats lose week after week admittedly takes much of the enjoyment out of the whole process. I know, I know, we were so incredibly spoiled for almost 20 years. To use a modern analogy, this is the equivalent of breaking up with or no longer being friends with someone then seeing them on social media supposedly thriving with another person. After cheaping out on weapons for Brady the past few years and due to his many turd-filled draft classes, it seems like Belichick the GM is getting what he deserves. On the other side, TB12 is 43 on one of the great losers in pro sports and yet he's already created a huge culture change playing for a dopey head coach (Bruce Arians) who at least had the knowledge to surround his star with tons of great players. 

    At this point, the Pats would probably have to go at least 7-2 down the stretch to have a realistic shot at making the NFL playoffs. Is there any chance you can see that as a remote possibility for this woefully thin roster? Yeah, me neither. They are doubly screwed too because they still have to play the Jets (0-8) twice and New York is halfway to a winless season for the sole purpose of having the No. 1 overall pick and presumably drafting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Additionally, it's tough to picture Belichick or many of the veteran Patriots shamefully tanking at any time no matter how bleak the outlook appears to be. For some unknown reason, ESPN booked Pats-Jets for Monday Night Football (8:15) next week at Metlife Stadium. Even before the season began, who was dumb enough to think that meeting would have any juice? You might hate me for saying this but I'd almost root for New England to lose that one but with the way this year has gone, I know they would undoubtedly screw that up too. Oy, the weather this weekend felt like winter and without the NBA and NHL seasons likely starting again until 2021, we need something to watch sportswise until then. Unfortunately, in that way and countless others, the Patriots just aren't getting the job done anymore when we could truly use them the most.

      

    

    

Today In Depressing Pats News: Julian Edelman Had Knee Surgery & Is Out For Sunday vs. Buffalo

 

    The weather the last few days in New England has been pretty miserable (cold and rainy) which feels fitting for the dark cloud that has been surrounding the Patriots (2-4) over the past few weeks during their three-game losing streak. This afternoon brought the revelation that the team's best wide receiver-Julian Edelman-is out for this Sunday's (1, CBS) must-win at Buffalo (5-2) and probably a few more weeks after he underwent a "precautionary knee procedure" this morning. With the NFL trade deadline coming up on Election Day (next Tuesday at 4 pm) this ensures that at least Edelman isn't going anywhere for the rest of the season. 

    Watching him in 2020, you knew that something was up with Edelman's health since after his career-high 179 yards in the Week 2 loss at Seattle, he has been a ghost. During this slide, he has a combined six catches for 56 yards which makes sense when you realize that New England has scored just 28 points in those three setbacks. Given his age (34), smallish size and with his BF Tom Brady thriving in Tampa Bay, you figured that this would be a rough campaign for Edelman. Whenever he retires, this is a guy that will be remembered as an all-time great Patriot who came out of nowhere (7th round pick and quarterback at Kent State) so it is particularly sad to see his NFL career circle the drain like this.

    Early reports said that this shouldn't be a season-ending injury but if the Patriots keep losing, why would he rush back to join these bums? 

    Looking ahead to the first meeting of the season with the AFC East leading Bills, the Pats depth chart at wide receiver is straight up nightmare fuel. I don't expect N'Keal Harry to play either after he suffered a concussion in Sunday's loss to the Niners and so far this week, he hasn't practiced which is never a good sign for his availability. New England will have to elevate someone from the practice squad but as it stands, Cam Newton will be left with Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski to throw to (no need to mention the Pats awful tight ends) not including the running backs. Given how badly the Patriots have played the last few weeks and the fact that the Bills are already a few games ahead of them, it feels like a changing of the guard is happening in the AFC East where the Pats have won the last 11 division crowns. 

    Patriots head coach/GM Bill Belichick is usually active around the NFL Trade Deadline (which frankly isn't the same event that it is in the NFL, NHL or MLB) so if they lose this weekend, it will undoubtedly be time for the team to move on from whatever veteran players have any real short-term value. It would have been a bummer to see Edelman in another uniform therefore in a weird way, this saves us from that gross possibility. Still, we need any reason to be happy about the Pats right now (especially with Brady looking fantastic in Tampa Bay) and this is yet another reason to weep while we watch some of our old Patriots Super Bowl DVDs trying to savor the good times.

UPDATE 10/30/2020: The Patriots confirmed what we all basically knew: Edelman (knee) & Harry (head) are both out on Sunday vs. Buffalo. Gulp. 

UPDATE 10/31/2020: Oh hey, more bad news for the Pats going into tomorrow's game vs. the Bills. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore (knee) didn't make the trip so he will also be out along with Edelman (who went on IR today so he'll be out for at least the next 3 games) and Harry. Good grief! 

Until Further Notice, The AFC East Continues to Run Through Foxborough, MA

If the Bills are the biggest threat in the AFC East to the Patriots in 2015, it should be another cakewalk to a meaningless division title. Poor Buffalo (1-1 overall, 1-1 home) was all geared up for the annual Rex Ryan (who is now 4-10 against the Patriots in his career as a head coach) Week 2 Super Bowl vs. New England (2-0 overall, 1-0 away). In fact, the Bills looked the part of a true contender for the opening drive of the game and then in the fourth quarter which was mostly garbage time until they made it interesting in an eventual 40-32 loss at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Tom Brady (38 of 59, 466 yards, 3 TDs), Julian Edelman (11 catches, 97 yards, 2 TDs), Rob Gronkowski (7 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD) and Dion Lewis (98 yards receiving, 40 yards rushing, 1 TD) shredded what is supposedly one of the top defenses in the NFL. Other than Rex Ryan's crazy lack of discipline (14 penalties, 140 yards) and attention to detail, the biggest tangible question surrounding the Bills is whether Tyrod Taylor (23 of 30, 242 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs; 43 yards rushing) can be a starting quarterback on a playoff contender. Throwing mostly short yardage passes might work in the regular season against garbage defenses (hi Indy) but that's not how you get to the postseason.

Buffalo received the opening drive and went 80 yards in 10 plays: rookie Karlos Williams capped off the 5-minute drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. New England bounced back with an 8-yard touchdown catch by Edelman. The Pats then took advantage of two very short fields to go ahead 21-7 on Lewis' 6-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter and Gronk's 2-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter. Former Dolphin Charles Clay's 9-yard touchdown catch cut it to 21-13 but Dan Carpenter missed the extra point. Those were Buffalo's last points until the fourth quarter when the Patriots had expanded their lead to 37-13.

New England's defense combined for eight sacks (their most since 2003) and three interceptions (by Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler). The Bills have much higher paid defensive players like Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams but there was no question that Chandler Jones (6 tackles, 3 sacks) and Jamie Collins (11 tackles, 2.5 sacks) were the most dangerous guys on that side of the ball at least on Sunday. Stephen Gostkowski's 46-yard field goal made it 24-13 heading into halftime for the visitors. LeSean McCoy (89 yards rushing, 27 yards receiving) doesn't seem to be Rex's favored type of physical running back despite his superior talent.

Gostkowski opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 21-yard field goal followed by a 22-yard touchdown catch by Edelman and a 50-yard field goal. After getting blanked in the third, the Bills showed some fight in the fourth on Robert Woods' 32-yard touchdown catch (that went right over Butler's hands). New England outsmarted themselves trying to run up the score when they just could have burned the clock and gotten out of Buffalo smoothly. Instead, they turned it over on downs and the Bills inched closer on Taylor's 7-yard touchdown run then truly made things interesting on a 24-yard touchdown catch by Sammy Watkins (who had burned Bradley Fletcher) following a fumble by Brady.

New England drove 72 yards in seven plays (3:01) and made it 40-32 on Gostkowski's 25-yard field goal with 1:15 remaining. Ryan iced it with his game-ending interception on an overthrow by Taylor. In the first two games this season, Lewis has been a revelation that looks like he'll be a very useful weapon if he can just hang onto the ball (he fumbled for the second week in a row). Today, the pleasant surprise was provided by Aaron Dobson (7 catches, 87 yards) who actually looked like an NFL player. New England only dressed three wide receivers and while Edelman can come close (tying his career-high with 19 targets), they need other guys to turn to once in a while. Danny Amendola had his customary one catch but at least it was a great one: a sweet diving 29-yard grab on the final drive.

So much changes from week to week in the NFL that is really silly to draw any type of conclusions from results between other teams, particularly this early in the season. With that said, the fact that Miami struggled so much in their Week 1 victory at Washington then followed that up with a 23-20 loss at Jacksonville (1-1) this afternoon shows that they seem to be their usual mediocre selves. How is Joe Philbin still employed there? If the Jets (1-0) lose tomorrow night in Indy (0-1) as expected, the Patriots will be up one game already on the rest of the soft AFC East.

New England's Week 3 meeting with the Jaguars next Sunday (1, CBS) has all the makings of a trap game: they are going into a bye week after that and they know that they can sleepwalk and still beat lowly (but improving!) Jacksonville. That's why I can picture the Pats looking terrible but still beating the Jags by a few scores. They always have a game like this, especially early in the regular season when they are getting the kinks out and some useless team (think Oakland last season) comes to Gillette for their beating. Prepare to be frustrated since I know that the Patriots will be double-digit favorites at home.

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Well That Was More Like It: Patriots Win 37-22 at Bills Thanks to 4 TDs from Brady

Since my chosen occupation is sportswriter, I'd like to think that I can always find the right words, phrases or sentences to describe almost anything (within reason wise guys). However, tell me how you can sum up Tom Brady's 23-2 career record vs. Buffalo? For the second week in a row, New England (4-2 overall, 2-2 away) started to look like themselves again and this time they took their show on the road with a 37-22 win this afternoon vs. Bills (3-3 overall, 1-2 home) at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Brady (27 of 37 for 361 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 139.6 QB Rating) has quieted the doubters the last few games and he had another stellar performance. This one was vintage TB12: he hit 10 different receivers with passes led by Brandon LaFell (4 catches, 97 yards, 2 TDs), homeboy Rob Gronkowski (7 catches, 94 yards) and Julian Edelman (9 catches, 91 yards). The most promising part of the passing game (alliteration much?) was that Tim Wright (1-yard) and Brian Tyms (43 yards for his 1st career NFL TD) also caught touchdowns.

Without question, the win took a toll on the Pats though (how much we'll find out tomorrow) as Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley suffered potentially season-ending knee injuries. Plus it sounds like Dan Connolly picked up another concussion which is really bad news since Brian Stork was inactive, New England's offensive line is still a nightmare.

The pattern is usually that the Bills play the Patriots tight in Buffalo and then get blown out in late December at Gillette Stadium. For a while, Buffalo hung around today but they never led, not even once. New England was up 13-7 at halftime so they outscored the Bills 24-15 in the second half. Kyle Orton (24 of 38 for 299 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was fine by his low standards but Jamie Collins picked him off and Chandler Jones forced and recovered a fumble. I still don't understand why the Bills benched E.J. Manuel for him but then again, they are the Bills so logic or intelligence rarely applies when talking about them.

Buffalo lost the turnover battle 3-0, capped off by a C.J. Spiller fumble right before halftime that the Pats converted into a 53-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski (3 field goals, 4 PATs). What was Buffalo doing, why didn't they just kneel like every other team in the league would have in a heartbeat?

After a scoreless first quarter, that set the NFL back 20 or 30 years, New England opened the scoring with a 1-yard play action pass from Brady to Wright. It was all set up by a pass interference penalty drawn by Edelman in the end zone.

Sammy Watkins (2 catches, 27 yards) took a one-way trip to Revis Island which left Scott Chandler (6 catches, 105 yards) and Robert Woods (7 catches, 78 yards) to pick up the slack. Woods caught a 7-yard touchdown from Orton which tied it at seven, the only that Buffalo knotted it up. Gostkowski missed a field goal earlier, because of Danny Aiken's garbage low snap, but he made up for it with a 42-yard kick then the bomb at the end of the second quarter.

I don't want to make too much out of it since it's the NFL and almost everyone makes a play at some point in their career (except for Danny Amendola) but Tyms' long post route and grab between two defenders was a revelation (and a replay of what he did multiple times in the forgotten preseason). Brady hasn't benefited from a legitimate deep threat since Randy Moss was traded to Minnesota. We'll need to see Tyms do it more often but at least this was a very positive start in his first game back since his suspension.

UPDATE 10/13: As we suspected, Ridley (ACL, MLCL) and Mayo (knee) are both done for the season due to their injuries. Yuck, those are two big holes for the Patriots to fill right when the team finally looks good.

The Bills didn't fold, well not right away, as Fred Jackson responded with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut it to 20-14 (as close as they would get for the rest of the contest). Gostkowski's 43-yard field goal put New England up two scores (23-14) heading into the fourth quarter. LaFell was the story in crunch time with a beautiful 18-yard catch and run and 56-yard bomb where he broke a tackle sandwiched around Chris "Hollywood" Hogan's 8-yard touchdown catch (and 2-point conversion by Woods).

It wasn't their best performance of the young season but the Patriots' defense did more than enough for a road win against a divisional "rival." Zach Moore (who?) recovering a fumble was neat and Collins' interception showed his game-breaking ability but my favorite part besides Revis blanketing Watkins was that Rob Ninkovich had three sacks among his six tackles (4 for loss). He was a ghost for the first five games so this was something to build on for one of their team leaders.

They are back in sole possession of the AFC East but there is no time to rest for the Patriots since they have the unfortunate honor of hosting the Jets (1-5) on Thursday (8:25, CBS). If you've learned anything this season, the Thursday Night games are a complete trainwreck. Without fail, every week one team has shown up while the other mostly gets their doors blown off. Since it is at Gillette Stadium and the Jets are playing like one of the worst teams in the NFL (not named the Raiders or Jaguars but do they count?), I'd expect the Pats to be a double-digit favorite.

New England could make a few roster moves in the short week too since they figure to need another running back, linebacker and possibly offensive lineman. Get some rest everybody!

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LeGarrette Blount Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Granted it means absolutely nothing headed into the playoffs but for what it's worth, Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his career-best game against the Bills on Sunday, a 34-20 Patriots win.

Blount rushed for 189 yards with two touchdowns and also returned a pair of kickoffs for 83 and 62 yards respectively (setting a new team record with 334 all-purpose yards in one game). Obviously Buffalo won't be in the postseason (that's not allowed in this century) so you can't expect a Tecmo Bowl style output like that. Still, he has firmly established himself as New England's No. 1 running back and he will get more carries than Stevan Ridley for as long as the Patriots advance.

The Pats have a week to heal up, dry out from Sunday's monsoon and figure out who they'll meet next Saturday night (8:15, CBS) at Gillette Stadium-either the Colts, Chiefs or Bengals. LeGarrette was the second Patriot to earn this award this season, following Tom Brady after Week 12's epic comeback vs. Denver.

UPDATE 1/2: Austin Collie was re-signed for the third time this season.

UPDATE 1/3: Josh Boyce was put on IR so we know why Collie was brought back. What a forgettable rookie season for the fourth round pick.

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Patriots Clinch No. 2 Seed Thanks to LeGarrette "Walter Payton" Blount's Career Day

It wasn't pretty but what would you expect from a regular season finale vs. the Bills in a freezing rain that pounded Gillette Stadium for the entire game? The Patriots (12-4 overall, 8-0 home) wrapped up the No. 2 seed with a 34-20 win over Buffalo (6-10 overall, 2-6 away). The Pats are off until Saturday, January 11th when they will host either the Bengals, Chiefs or Colts at 8:15 p.m. in the AFC Divisional round.

LeGarrette Blount was a man among boys with 24 carries for a career-high 189 yards and two TDS. He also added two kick returns for 145 yards to set a new Patriots record for total yards by one player in a single game. Football players never make excuses for some of the absurd elements they have to play in but tonight's pounding storm affected everything, namely Tom Brady (14 of 24 for 122 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT) and New England's passing game. However Julian Edelman (9 catches, 65 yards) was still able to over 1000 yards for the season and 100 catches as well. Who would have thought he would become so indispensable?

Stephen Gostkowski also set two records: most field goals in a season for a Patriot and most points. He had two field goals in the first quarter (43, 35) sandwiched around a 51-yard kick by Dan Carpenter. Blount's 36-yard TD run in the second quarter was just the start of the best game of his NFL career while Gostkowski added a 29-yard field goal at the end of the half for a 16-3 Pats lead.

Behind the immortal Thad Lewis (16 of 29 for 247 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT)-their backup quarterback-and C.J. Spiller (19 carries, 105 yards) Buffalo hung around with a 12-yard touchdown catch by T.J. Graham in the third quarter which cut it to 16-10. Shane Vereen caught a 5-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter but the Bills answered with a 5-yard TD run by Fred Jackson.

Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal was matched by Carpenter's 37-yard kick. Blount's 35-yard touchdown run was the one that finally put away the stubborn Bills. PS the last time they made the playoffs was 1999. Where Blount's emergence leaves Stevan Ridley (12 carries, 74 yards) is anyone's best guess. He's still more talented but Blount has really come on late in the season plus can you trust Ridley in a close game not to fumble? I think not.

Of the three teams I mentioned, I believe the Pats would match up best with the bi-polar Colts. They already lost to the Bengals and the Chiefs are decent (good defense and Jamaal Charles would eat them alive). Either way, I like New England's chances in a cold weather night game against any of those three teams at Gillette. I think I speak for the entire world when I say we want Patriots-Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Of course, that means Peyton Manning has to win one home game (which he couldn't do last year) to set it up. Regardless, see you in two weeks.

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Week 17 Injury Report: Patriots vs. Bills + 4 Patriots Named to the Pro Bowl

You probably lost track of it over the holidays (you're excused) but the Patriots (11-4) have a very important game in their regular season finale, Sunday (1, CBS) vs. Buffalo (6-9) at Gillette Stadium. With a win, the Pats will earn the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They can also get it with a loss but since it is the Bills, let's just focus on beating that hopeless franchise.

Today's injury report had some interesting things on it: Josh Boyce (ankle) is out and Devin McCourty (concussion) is doubtful for New England. Bills mercurial wide receiver Stevie Johnson is out (his mother passed away) and safety Aaron Williams (ribs) is also out while quarterback EJ Manuel (knee) is doubtful but backup Thad Lewis has already been named the starter.

The Patriots have 11 players that are questionable: Kyle Arrington (groin), Alfonzo Dennard (knee/shoulder), Aaron Dobson (foot), Dane Fletcher (groin), Steve Gregory (finger/knee), Rob Ninkovich (ankle), Nate Solder (concussion), Brandon Spikes (knee), Will Svitek (ankle), Kenbrell Thompkins (hip) and Shane Vereen (groin).

In the past, I've written a specific blog just about the Pro Bowl selections for the Patriots but in my wiser age, I realized who gives a shit? The Pro Bowl rosters were announced tonight and it still boggles my mind that so many people care who is on it or not. I mean really? Anyways, I just thought I should mention that the Pats had four Pro Bowlers in 2013: Tom Brady, Logan Mankins, Aqib Talib and Matthew Slater. Bye!

UPDATE 12/28: Safety Kanorris Davis and cornerback Justin Green were promoted from the practice squad for tomorrow's game.

UPDATE 12/29: The Patriots inactives are Steve Beauharnais, Dennard, Boyce, Isaac Sopoaga, McCourty, Jake Bequette and Chris Barker. The Bills inactives are Manuel, Johnson, WR Cordell Roberson, RB Ronnie Wingo, DB Brandon Smith, OG Mark Asper and OG Antoine McClain.

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Shane Vereen Broke A Bone In His Wrist, Welcome Back From the Doghouse Stevan Ridley!

Fortunes change so quickly in the NFL since there is an absurd amount of injuries every week. That's why talk of a longer regular season is always borderline insane, if there were any more games teams would be left with a totally shredded roster and who wants to see practice squad bums playing in December and January?

This is a long-winded way of saying that the Patriots (1-0) could have their hands full in Week 2 with the Jets (1-0) on Thursday (ABC & NFL Network, 8:25) because reports surfaced today that promising young running back Shane Vereen (159 total yards vs. Buffalo) broke a small bone in his wrist on the first play of the game so he'll be out for a few weeks following today's surgery. Oh and rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld (a temporary starter) pulled his hamstring, why he sat out the fourth quarter, so his availability is in doubt too.

The ripple down effect of this means that Stevan Ridley will have to get his head out of his ass and hopefully stop fumbling all the time. After he coughed the ball up twice yesterday (one wasn't technically ruled a fumble cause replays were inconclusive) in the first half, he didn't see the field again all afternoon. Ridley has plenty of talent, this is the same guy who had 1263 rushing yards and 12 TDs last season. He was even on his way to a good game in Buffalo, with nine carries for 46 yards before his bad habit bubbled up yet again.

Should Ridley struggle, there are other options: Brandon Bolden, LeGarrette Blount and Leon Washington. Granted, they are low on the depth chart for a reason. The injury reports will come out tomorrow so we'll get a better idea if the Pats will need to sign another tight end assuming Sudfeld is out. If he can't play, New England would be left with one healthy tight end on the roster: Michael Hoomanauwanui. Yikes.

Even with these injuries, the Patriots will be heavily favored against the Jets in their 2013 home opener at Gillette Stadium but these setbacks won't help an offense that looked very shaky against a mediocre at best Bills squad that they absolutely own.

UPDATE 9/10: Undrafted rookie defensive tackle AJ Francis was re-signed to the practice squad. To make room for him, rookie wide receiver Quentin Sims was released. The Pats put Vereen on injured reserve, designated to return which means at the earliest he can play in Week 11 (they have a bye the week before). To take his roster spot, they re-signed tight Matthew Mulligan who was with the team last week before the latest cut.

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Beating The Bills Doesn't Mean Much, The Patriots Have Plenty of Work To Do

You know that as a fan base we are truly spoiled when we can look at a season-opening win on the road, against a divisional opponent that featured a last-minute drive and think, man the Patriots really played poorly. Such is the world we live in where 23-21 victories over the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium fill us with more frustration and anger than joy. Stephen Gostkowski's clutch (for him) 35-yard field goal with five seconds left was the difference.

This is more than us being miserable bastards, after all of New England's recent history of being regular season heroes then losing in the postseason, these games take on a more sterile look and feel. A function of being in the AFC East (one of the worst divisions in pro sports) is that the Pats are basically a lock to win it and/or make the playoffs every season that Tom Brady (29 of 52, 288 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Bill Belichick are employed in Foxborough.

It was a sloppy contest with both teams combining for five turnovers and Buffalo getting whistled for 10 penalties (75 yards). New England started off well, leading 10-0 after the first quarter, and ended strongly (outscoring Buffalo 6-0 in the fourth quarter) so it was the second and third quarters that were bizarre even by wacky opening day standards.

I will resist the urge to draw final conclusions off of one game but there were certainly some trends to keep an eye on. Danny Amendola (10 catches, 104 yards) might be made of glass but when he can drag himself onto the field, he has great hands and Brady already seems to have built a connection with him. Conversely, preseason All-Stars Kenbrell Thompkins (4 catches, 42 yards; 14 targets) and Zach Sudfeld (0 catches, 1 target) looked like the undrafted rookies they are rather than the preseason standouts that everyone went overboard praising.

Bills rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel (18 of 27, 150 yards, 2 TDs) was predictably up and down. He showed the ability to run (19-yard carry) and sling it (witness the beautiful 18-yard TD pass to Stevie Johnson) but he also lacked touch on some of his easier throws.

Bigger picture, three of New England's obvious storylines coming into this season only got further muddled: 1) their defense got no pass rush (0 sacks, 4 QB hits); 2) Stevan Ridley (2 fumbles, 1 lost) has a case of fumbilitis that might be fatal; 3) outside of Amendola, who can Brady confidently throw to?

Julian Edelman (7 catches, 79 yards, 2 TDs) and Shane Vereen (101 yards rushing; 58 yards receiving) were the unexpected (but not really) workhorses for the Patriots. New England's defense looked solid (albeit against the Bills and a rookie QB that nobody fears), it's not a leap to say they only really gave up seven points since the Bills got a 74-yard fumble return for a TD by Da'Norris Searcy and a gift interception (off Sudfeld's stone hands) that set them up with a short field for another 18-yard touchdown pass-this time to rookie Robert Woods. Jerod Mayo had 15 tackles (12 solo) and Kyle Arrington forced two fumbles that were recovered by Tommy Kelly and Rob Ninkovich respectively.

To state the obvious: Brady really missed Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The good news is that the former should be back in a few weeks when the competition ramps up (sorry Jets and Bucs). Amendola's groin injury is a worry heading into Thursday's (8:25, NFL Network) home opener vs. Jets (1-0). Playing two divisional games on such a short schedule to begin the season seems cruel but I'm not Adrian Gonzalez so I won't complain.

The Jets should be 0-1 but thanks to an all-time bonehead penalty, they were able to kick a last-second field goal of their own for an 18-17 win vs. Buccaneers that they didn't deserve. Oh well, the Pats will face another rookie quarterback-Geno Smith-who started his pro career by going 24 of 38 for 256 yards, one touchdown, one interception and 47 yards rushing. The Patriots and Bills won't cross paths again until Week 17 at Gillette Stadium, you know by then that Buffalo will be playing for nothing but pride and a high draft pick.

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Week 1: Patriots at Bills Injury Report

I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune by the end of the regular season but at this moment, I'm genuinely excited to look at the Patriots' injury report for their Week 1 game on Sunday (1, CBS) at the Bills. Yes, I know I have a problem. You'll have to excuse my sickness because it's been 8.5 months since we had one of these to pour over and blindly speculate about.

There weren't many surprises for either team but I guess that is to be expected. Patriots offensive lineman Will Svitek (knee) is out while tight end Rob Gronkowski (back) is doubtful. Running back Brandon Bolden (knee), safeties Nate Ebner (ankle) and rookie Duron Harmon (hamstring) along with rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson (hamstring) are all questionable.

Buffalo kept it simple: kicker Dustin Hopkins (groin), cornerback Stephen Gilmore (wrist) and center Doug Legursky (knee) are all out. Safety Jairus Byrd (foot) is doubtful, I don't expect him to play after he held out for most of training camp and the preseason. There is no way he is in game shape already.

Stay tuned on Sunday afternoon when I'll update this before the opening kickoff at Ralph Wilson Stadium (pictured above).

UPDATE 9/7: Rookie offensive lineman Josh Kline was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. Also, Leon Washington was re-signed and defensive tackle A.J. Francis was waived. Rookie center Braxston Cave was re-signed to the practice squad.

All the guys on the Patriots' injury report from Friday have been ruled out. It makes sense because they have their next game on Thursday so it's a very quick turnover, plus they should roll over the Bills and Jets regardless of who is available.

UPDATE 9/8: Byrd is out for the Bills.

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Patriots Sign Donald Jones, Bring Back Kyle Arrington For Four More Years

Thanks to Twitter and the fine work of tireless NFL writers, we can all feel like ESPN's Adam Schefter with all the non-stop action in terms of NFL free agency. Today, the Patriots signed former Bills wide receiver Donald Jones (terms of the contract weren't known) and re-signed cornerback Kyle Arrington to a four-year deal.

In addition to those moves, running back Danny Woodhead signed a two-year deal with San Diego and the Patriots hosted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders ( I like him better than Jones but he's nothing special), defensive ends John Abraham and Dwight Freeney along with safety Adrian Wilson. If you need to sit down for a second or stop looking at the computer screen, I understand. Can you say ice cream headache? Woodhead will be missed but with Leon Washington, his role was basically eliminated.

Jones won't set the world on fire but he registered career-highs in catches (43), receiving yards (443) and receiving touchdowns (4) last season in Buffalo with the erratic Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing him the ball. The Pats obviously saw him up close and personal the last three years and he had two solid performances against them in 2012: he combined for eight catches, 164 receiving yards and two touchdowns (1 in each game). He set a career-long with a 68-yard catch against New England in Buffalo in Week 4. Hopefully, he can learn the playbook quickly and find a connection with Tom Brady. It could do wonders for his career, we'll have to wait and see.

Arrington fell to third on the Pats cornerback depth chart last season after they acquired Aqib Talib and the emergence of rookie Alfonzo Dennard. Now, Talib is a free agent (who knows if he'll return) and Dennard is potentially facing jail time, they had to bring Arrington back since he's young (26) and entering his fifth year in New England's system. He's durable since he's played 16 games in each of the last three seasons and versatile because he also plays on special teams. His seven interceptions in 2011 seems like a random blip since he had zero interceptions last season but I have no problem with a few more years of Arrington.

Moving forward, the Patriots need to keep bringing in talent on defense. Veterans like Abraham, Freeney and Wilson are all appealing since while they might be a bit long in the tooth, they can still make plays and most importantly, they can bring the leadership that they side of the ball desperately needs with so many young but important guys on the team (Devin McCourty, Chandler Jones, Brandon Spikes, Dont'a Hightower, etc).

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Nobody Makes You Feel Worse About A Win Than These Patriots

I thought I had run out of ways to describe a terrible win a few weeks ago when the Patriots were handed a 29-26 overtime win against the Jets in Week 7. New England (6-3, 3-1 home) outdid themselves this afternoon at Gillette Stadium with a 37-31 "victory" over the Buffalo Bills (3-6, 2-4 away).

I hate repeating myself but in this case, it's totally necessary. Once again, New England's defense couldn't get off the field or stop one of the worst teams in the NFL. Also, their offense similarly couldn't get their job done either since they had a chance to ice it with a long drive and TD but they had to settle for a field goal.

Therefore, we had to sweat out a two-minute drive by Ryan Fitzpatrick (27 of 40, 337 yards, 2 TDs, INT, fumble) that looked destined to end with a touchdown. That is until the Harvard product remembered who he is and what he does in that type of situation: Devin McCourty (8 tackles, 4 solo, forced fumble, pass defensed) picked him off in the end zone to finish it.

Exhale. Buffalo hasn't won in Foxborough since 1999 (hello Doug Flutie) and they probably would have done it today if they didn't continuously shoot themselves in the foot with penalties (14 for 148 yards) and costly turnovers (3). Tom Brady (23 of 38, 237 yards, 2 TDs) improved to 20-2 in his career against the Bills and the Patriots swept the season series against Buffalo in 2012.

It's hard to explain how a team that had an extra week to prepare, against a divisional opponent that they know very well, could still struggle so badly on defense. I guess the best we can muster for an explanation is that the Bills' skill players are a matchup nightmare for the Patriots.

Buffalo easily could have scored 45 points if Fitzpatrick had thrown a touchdown at the end and Fred Jackson (80 yards rushing, 2 TDs; 35 yards receiving) hadn't fumbled at the 1-yard line. C.J. Spiller (70 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving), Steve Johnson (6 catches, 86 yards), Donald Jones (6 catches, 74 yards, TD) and Scott Chandler (5 catches, 65 yards, TD) made their fantasy owners happy.

On the positive side, when the Pats had the ball, they toasted Buffalo's defense. Stevan Ridley had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown, Wes Welker had six catches for 74 yards while Danny Woodhead had two touchdowns and Rob Gronkowski caught a touchdown (something he's done in all six games against his hometown team).

Stephen Gostkowski's 43-yard field goal and a 1-yard touchdown run by Ridley were the only points in the first quarter. Rian Lindell got Buffalo on the board with a 41-yard field goal before Woodhead's 15-yard TD run made it 17-3. Jackson answered with a 14-yard TD run and the teams traded scores as neither defense could get off the field. Gronk had a pretty diving 2-yard TD catch but Chandler had a 3-yard TD catch with 31 seconds left in the 1st half.

Woodhead's 18-yard catch and run increased New England's lead to 31-17 in the third quarter but Jackson's 1-yard run showed the Bills weren't going away. Gostkowski had a 48-yard field goal in the fourth before Jones caught a 2-yard touchdown. Gostkowski's 27-yard field goal provided the final points.

With the Dolphins (4-5) loss and the predictable Jets (3-6) no-show in Seattle, the AFC East is the same graveyard it has been for much of the last decade. More importantly for the Patriots, who have won three in a row, they can find out where they stand against some real teams beginning next Sunday. The Colts (6-3) led by rookie quarterback Andrew Luck come to Gillette (4:25 p.m., CBS) riding a four-game win streak.

UPDATE 11/12: Linebacker Jeff Tarpinian was released (he still has practice squad eligibility left) with cornerback/savior Aqib Talib taking his place on the 53-man roster.

UPDATE 11/13: The Pats signed free agent guard Mitch Petrus (a former Giant) to the roster and released linebacker Jerrell Harris from the practice squad. Additionally, Tarpinian was re-signed to the practice squad.

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Week 10: Patriots-Bills Injury Report

It seems like a year ago that we last saw the Patriots (5-3) in action-crushing the Rams in London before Halloween. They meet the Bills (3-5) on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) at Gillette Stadium and this afternoon, the teams submitted their official injury reports.

Coming off the bye week, you would assume that New England is healthier than they've been since the preseason. However, they still managed to list 14 players as questionable. In addition, three guys are already declared out. Rookie running back Brandon Bolden has been suspended four games by the NFL for using PEDs while defensive end Trevor Scott (hamstring) and linebacker Tracy White (foot) are still nursing old injuries.

The Patriots that are questionable represent basically the same group that was questionable earlier this season: Cornerback Kyle Arrington (concussion), defensive tackle Ron Brace (elbow), safeties Patrick Chung (shoulder) and Steve Gregory (hip); tight ends Rob Gronkowski (hip) and Aaron Hernandez (ankle); linebackers Dont'a Hightower (hamstring), Jerod Mayo (elbow) and Brandon Spikes (knee); wide receivers Brandon Lloyd (knee) and Wes Welker (ankle); guard Logan Mankins (calf/hip), offensive lineman Nick McDonald (shoulder) and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee).

The Bills defense is particularly banged up, they've already ruled four players out including three on that side of the ball. Defensive end Mark Anderson (knee), cornerbacks Terence McGee (knee) and Aaron Williams (knee); offensive tackle Erik Pears (hip) will all be on the sidelines.

Buffalo might be terrible as usual but at least they seem to be learning something from New England: they list six guys as questionable. Defensive tackles Spencer Johnson (ankle) and Kyle Williams (ankle); wide receiver Stevie Johnson (thigh), defensive end Chris Kelsay (neck), linebacker Shawne Merriman (chest) and guard Kraig Urbik (foot) are all 50/50 to play on Sunday.

Stay tuned tomorrow and Sunday afternoon as we find out who else will be missing when these AFC East rivals take the field.

UPDATE 11/11: ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Hernandez won't play tomorrow. Consequently, the Patriots have activated Visanthe Shiancoe, who has yet to appear in a game for New England.

UPDATE 11/11: Defensive end Jake Bequette, Brace, Chung, Hernandez, Scott, White and cornerback Malcolm Williams are all out for the Patriots. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, linebacker Kirk Morrison, cornerback Mena Silva, offensive tackle Thomas Welch, Williams, McGee and Anderson are the Bills that won't play.

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