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. 

Well That Was Unexpectedly Easy: Patriots Blow Out Broncos 43-21 to Grab AFC's Top Seed

Even in the wildest dreams of the biggest Patriots honk (and they are everywhere), I find it hard to believe that anyone could have predicted that New England would handle big bad Denver frankly so easily on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots (7-2 overall, 5-0 home) trailed 7-3 in the first quarter but then scored 24 unanswered points en route to a 43-21 victory over the Broncos (6-2 overall, 1-2 away).

The snow that covered the ground this morning had melted away by gametime but Peyton Manning's (34 of 57 for 438 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) same old problems vs. Tom Brady (he fell to 5-11 against him) continued along with the fact that he needs so many different factors to be nearly perfect (weather, wind, temperature, etc.) to break all these records that ultimately mean absolutely nothing. It was the fifth straight win for the Patriots since their debacle on Monday Night Football in Kansas City a month ago.

The win really meant something for the Pats since this was their chance to go ahead of the Broncos in the all-important race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Tom Brady (33 of 53 for 333 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) continues to play at an MVP-level, a far cry from before this win streak when we all thought the world was ending (starting with him being an average quarterback).

Rob Gronkowski (9 catches, 105 yards, TD) is playing some of the best football of his career while Julian Edelman (9 catches, 89 yards, TD; 84-yard punt return for a TD) had one of the best games as a Patriot. Anytime you can hold a Peyton-led team to 21 points, your defense is doing something right. New England's offseason plan of acquiring Darrelle Revis (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and Brandon Browner (interception) sure looked like money well spent.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call Denver soft but much like Manning, when things don't seem to go there way, they appear to let it get to them rather quickly. Emmanuel Sanders (10 catches, 151 yards) had a huge performance but New England kept him out of the end zone after he scored three times in the week before vs. San Diego. Demaryius Thomas (7 catches, 127 yards) is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL but again, the Patriots didn't allow him to score.

The first quarter wasn't exactly an instant classic as Stephen Gostkowski hit a 49-yard field goal and Ronnie Hillman had a one-yard touchdown run for the short-lived 7-3 Broncos lead. Gostkowski opened the second quarter with a 29-yard field goal and then it was the Edelman Show as he caught a five-yard touchdown pass then returned that punt (his 4th career punt return TD, a new Patriots record) 84 yards for the electrifying moment.

The Pats have made it a habit of scoring right before halftime this season and today was no exception as Shane Vereen caught a five-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the second quarter. New England leading 27-7 at the break was a dream but the sobering memory from last year (the Patriots rallied from a 24-point halftime deficit to win in overtime vs. Denver) made us not get too ahead of ourselves, well at least a few of us.

Julius Thomas showed up for a minute in the third quarter, catching an 18-yard touchdown pass that cut it to 27-14. The Patriots continued to shred Denver's supposedly great defense with a 45-yard field goal by Gostkowski then Browner picked off Manning (who hung poor Wes Welker out to dry) and returned it for 30 yards down to the Broncos' 10-yard line. Brandon LaFell caught a touchdown on the next play and the rout was on.

Hillman made a nice play to dive around the pylon for a score after a 15-yard catch and run later in the third quarter. Gronk closed out the scoring with a one-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth. Rob Ninkovich had a key interception in the first half when it was still competitive and New England's defense held Denver to 3-for-11 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down.

The bye week comes at a good time (I know everyone always says that)-halfway through the regular season. The Patriots earned some rest and a little time away from football before they reconvene to start work on the Colts (5-3 overall, 1st in AFC South) who they meet for Sunday Night Football (8:25, NBC) at Lucas Oil Stadium.

You try not to read too much into one game since as we see every week in the NFL: things change rapidly and good teams lose to bad teams all the time. Still, as a Pats fan you couldn't have asked for a better showing from your favorite team against their biggest rival/threat in the AFC. Should these teams meet again in January (most likely in the AFC Championship Game), and you know the NFL wants nothing more than that, you'd have to like New England's chances if it was in Gillette again.

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Emmanuel Sanders Has Potential, Julian Edelman Does Not But The Patriots Are Still Obsessed With Him

For the life of me, I'll never understand why the Patriots love wide receiver Julian Edelman so much. Yes, he's versatile (slot receiver, punt returner, defensive back) and can play a bunch of positions if he has to but what does that matter when he can't stay on the field healthy?

It looked like he might be gone in free agency to the Giants but today New England brought him back on a one-year deal. In four seasons, he's never appeared in all 16 regular season games (11, 15, 13, 9) so I don't get why they continue to pretend like he'll suddenly be immune to all the injuries he normally picks up.

He was having somewhat of a breakout year (for him at least) last season with 21 catches for 235 yards, he also returned 17 punts for 263 yards and one touchdown plus he carried the ball four times for 45 yards. Predictably, his season was over in Week 13 (after 9 games mind you) with a broken foot. For what it's worth, he's the only guy in the NFL with a punt return for a TD the last three seasons.

What interests me way more is that they finally signed former Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to a one-year offer sheet. Last year in Pittsburgh (his third season in the NFL), he set career-highs in catches (44) and yards (626). He's small but a great route runner and he appeared in all 16 regular season games so if they get him, it's not hard projecting him to become Brandon Lloyd 2.0 (with more potential). The Steelers have five days to match or else the Pats will give them a third-round pick in this year's NFL Draft.

UPDATE 4/14: The Steelers matched the offer for Sanders (1 year, $2.5 million) so he's staying in Pittsburgh. In this case, being cheap and trying to outsmart everyone left the Patriots with nothing. Ugh, if they had just spent a little more they could have gotten a quality wide receiver that they desperately need.

UPDATE 4/16: The Pats resigned tight end Michael Hoomanawanui to a one-year tender.



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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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