This loss now pushes the Bills down to the No. With the wind a big obstacle in this game, Bill Belichick simply elected to not test Mother Nature and deployed his running game heavily throughout Monday's contest. Of the Patriots' 49 total plays on the night, 46 were running plays that were spearheaded by Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson.
That duo combined for yards rushing on 34 carries. Specifically, the Patriots were winning on power runs to the outside that helped move the chains.
In all, 10 of their 11 first downs came on the ground. Harris was also able to help New England get on the board first with an yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Patriots' altered play-calling due to the weather was evident immediately following that score as they opted to go for the two-point conversion rather than kicking the extra-point attempt into the wind. On the defensive side, the Patriots were able to apply pressure on Allen in timely situations, which helped keep the Bills from capturing the lead late.
Naturally, that late red zone stand at around the two-minute mark was a pivotal moment to ensure victory more on that below , but the prior drive was arguably just as high-pressured for both sides.
As the Bills advanced the ball to the Patriots' 9-yard line at the mark of the fourth quarter, a Matthew Judon 9-yard sack on Allen set up a third-and-long attempt that eventually fell incomplete to Dawson Knox. On fourth down from the Patriots' 15, Tyler Bass would then miss the yard attempt to keep the Bills trailing by four.
Buffalo largely got in its own way in this matchup. The Bills turned the ball over on their second possession of the contest on a toss to Matt Breida at the New England yard line, which the Patriots were able to capitalize on with a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Knox also had an night to forget as he recorded a number of key drops that would have moved the chains for a first down and was called for a critical false start during the Bills' final possession of the game that turned a third-and-9 attempt into a third-and While the wind was certainly a factor throughout the evening, Buffalo did seem to miss a golden opportunity for what would have been the biggest passing play of the game. With just over eight minutes to play in the third quarter, Allen launched a first-and throw from the New England yard line to an open Stefon Diggs that would have gone for a touchdown, but the receiver couldn't come up with the grab.
Later in the game, the Patriots elected to go for it on a fourth-and-1 attempt from the Buffalo yard line with to play in the third quarter. A Jones sneak seemed apparent to the naked eye, but the Bills were unable to get set and line up on top of the Patriots quarterback, who eventually moved his way for the first down. Not only did that move the chains, but that took precious time off the clock where the Bills' offense would have been moving with the wind, which proved to be extremely important in this game.
That's also another second guess on the part of Sean McDermott. Due a rule change a few years ago , the Bills -- because they had won the coin toss to begin the game and elected to defer -- they had the option to receive the second-half kick or decide which way to kick.
While teams almost automatically decide to receive the ball, there was an option to dictate when the Bills would be going with the wind. McDermott could have decided to give his offense the wind in the fourth quarter, making a potential comeback attempt easier as the game moved on. Bass' missed yard field goal attempt in the fourth also likely would have connected had he not been booting into the wind.
Xavien Howard's pick-six set to the tone of the rest of the game and created a two-score cushion for the Dolphins to play with six minutes still remaining in the opening quarter. Mac Jones seemed think that Howard was going to follow Nelson Agholor up the right sideline. However, the veteran corner stat about five yards off the line of scrimmage, saw that Jones was zeroing in on Jakobi Meyers and was able to to jump the route to make the pick. While the Patriots were able to cut this lead to just a field goal later on in this game, those back-to-back touchdowns by the offense and then by the defense had New England paying catch-up throughout the afternoon.
From here, the Dolphins will enter the offseason, while the Patriots will begin for their preparations for a postseason run as a wild card entry. If the Raiders beat the Chargers, they will travel to Buffalo to face the Bills. If the Chargers win or their matchup with Las Vegas ends in a tie, they will face the Bengals in Cincinnati. Slow start and costly mistakes lead to disappointing defeat against the Dolphins.
Slow start leads to disappointing defeat against the Dolphins. FinsUp x HardRockHolly pic. Postseason next. DHx34 for 6. Not over yet. This is very similar to New England's loss to the Colts a few weeks ago. They came out flat but were able to claw their way back into the game. Let's see if this time around they are able to fully mount the comeback. Now things are interesting. Damien Harris rushes for a 1-yard touchdown and the Patriots trail by just three points.
Brandon Bolden is having himself a day as he has his second touchdown. Patriots have cut the lead to 10, but they'll have to work quickly if they want to mount this comeback. Rowe has been downgraded to out. The CBS broadcast is reporting that an equipment issue is what held starting center David Andrews on the sideline during that fumbled snap with Ted Karras.
Pretty much a no-show by the Patriots in this Week 18 game. Will add insult to injury if the Jets are able to upset the Bills on the road. From yards out, the kick is good! On a second-and-8 attempt with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Taylor broke off a yard touchdown run that broke the game wide open for Indianapolis, giving them the win in this Week 15 matchup that snapped New England's seven-game winning streak.
It was an uncharacteristic night for the Patriots, who were plagued with special teams issues -- including a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown -- and inconsistent play both offensively and defensively. Indy was able to capitalize on those mistakes and jump out to that early lead, which helped cushion the Patriots' late comeback attempt.
Carson Wentz wasn't asked to do much heavy-lifting in the passing game as he completed just five of his 12 throws on the night for 57 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Arguably his biggest plays on the night game courtesy on his legs by converting a number of first downs in critical spots.
Taylor finished with yards on the ground, which included that clinching score. Meanwhile, Mac Jones completed 26 of 45 for yards, two touchdowns -- both to Hunter Henry -- and two picks.
Over the first three quarters, Indianapolis largely was able to take advantage of New England's mistakes and were able to exploit a couple of key matchups. The biggest was the Patriots' weakness in defending the run.
That was on full display on the club's second offensive possession of the night where they traveled 78 yards almost exclusively on the ground. That culminated in the game's first touchdown when Wentz completed a shuffle pass to Nyheim Hines following a direct snap to Taylor. Through the first half, of Indy's total yards of offense came via the running game. As Indy hammered that advantage, it was also able to capitalize on general poor play by the Patriots.
The Colts were able to block a punt after New England seemed to let a Colts defender run through the line unscathed and put a hand on the football. That was almost immediately recovered by the Colts in the end zone to create the two-score lead. Even as the Patriots mounted their comeback attempt in the second half, they were able to make clutch plays at the right moment. The Taylor touchdown run in the fourth quarter is an obvious example, but holding New England to a field goal after they got the football down to the Indianapolis 2-yard line proved to be a big swing in the game.
Had the Patriots found the end zone during that drive, they would have trailed by just six and that second score by Hunter Henry later in the fourth would have given them the lead. While Wentz had a quiet night through the air, he was extremely clutch with his legs. All three of Indianapolis' fourth-down conversions were via a Wentz sneak, which either resulted in points being put on the board or simply killed clock in what proved to be a tightly contested game late.
The Patriots were the anti-Patriots for the first three quarters of this game. There were a number of uncharacteristic plays by Bill Belichick's team, which contributed to the Patriots falling behind early. To begin the day offensively, they did move the ball well for a moment. Once they entered Indianapolis territory on the opening possession, however, they collapsed: Kendrick Bourne was held to a 1-yard rush on an end-around, a Shaq Mason penalty negated a yard pass, and Jones was later sacked for a yard loss, which forced the Patriots into a fourth-and situation.
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