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The New England Patriots are back. On Monday night in Orchard Park, NY, the Patriots grinded out a massive win over the Buffalo Bills to take a commanding 1.5 game lead at the top of the AFC East.
In a game dominated by swirling winds as much as it was tough defenses, the Patriots leaned heavily on their run game and a stout front seven to get the 14-10 victory.
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Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw just three passes, completing two of them for just 19 yards. With winds gusting at close to 40 miles per hour, Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick decided to take most of the pressure off Jones to win the game.
New England ran the ball 46 times for 222 yards and a TD while the Bills attempted 25 rushes for 99 yards. Buffalo allowed Josh Allen to test his powerful arm a bit more, but he was only able to complete 15 of 30 passes for 145 yards and a TD.
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Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Patriots’ big win.
Twitter Reacts to Patriots at Bills
It was a tough night for most offensive players, but Bills tight end Dawson Knox was bitten by a plethora of errors including a crucial false start penalty late in the fourth quarter.
NBC Sports’ Albert Breer and The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn seemed to be feeling Knox’s pain:
If there was a down spot in the big win, the Patriots might have lost Adrian Phillips to a knee injury. There was no early diagnosis because the injury happened late in the fourth quarter, but NFL.com’s Mike Giardi saw the medical staff doing the dreaded ACL test.
While a safe gameplan and ball control did the trick on offense, it was the Patriots’ stout and nasty defense that really won this game. They didn’t force turnovers, but they did come up with every big stop they needed. That’s impressive.
This game felt like quintessential football. It was cold, nasty, windy and once the snow started to fall, Fox 61’s Ryan Breton and I were all in.
https://twitter.com/RyanBretonWX/status/1468069530048118786
As The Village Voice’s Vincent Velotta pointed out, there were tons of happy Patriots fans after the win–except for the ones who had Jones as their fantasy football quarterback.
What a historic win for Belichick as he inches up on the Miami Dolphins’ Don Shula for most wins all time. The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price dropped the knowledge along with the updated AFC standings.
What’s Next For the Patriots?
The Patriots are off in Week 14 for a bye, the latest in NFL history. When they return, a very tough matchup awaits against the Indianapolis Colts.
Led by Jonathan Taylor, the Colts have been a handful running the football. Stopping the run has been difficult for the Patriots, and that aspect of their game figures to tested in a major way in Week 15.
Here is a look at the Patriots’ schedule and all of their results through 13 weeks.
New England Patriots (9-4) 2021 Regular Season Schedule
- Week 1 – vs. Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16
- Week 2 – New England Patriots 25, at New York Jets 6
- Week 3 – New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 13
- Week 4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19, New England Patriots 17
- Week 5 – New England Patriots 25, at Houston Texans 22
- Week 6 – Dallas Cowboys 35, New England Patriots 29 – OT
- Week 7 – New England Patriots 54, New York Jets 13
- Week 8 – New England Patriots 27, Los Angeles Chargers 24
- Week 9 – New England Patriots 24, at Carolina Panthers 6
- Week 10 – New England Patriots 45, Cleveland Browns 7
- Week 11 – New England Patriots 25, at Atlanta Falcons 0
- Week 12 – New England Patriots 36, Tennessee Titans 13
- Week 13 – New England Patriots 14, Buffalo Bills 10
- Week 14 – Bye Week
- Week 15 – at Indianapolis Colts at 8:20 pm ET – NFL Network – December 18
- Week 16 – Buffalo Bills at 1 pm ET – CBS – December 26
- Week 17 – Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 2
- Week 18 – at Miami Dolphins at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 9
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