Ten Takeaways From the Patriots 24-21 Loss to the Bills

The New England Patriots entered their Week 16 game against the Buffalo Bills with little to lose. They had been eliminated from the NFL Playoffs weeks ago and nobody expected them to pull off a road upset against a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Sometimes having nothing to lose can work to a team’s benefit, and for one half that seemed to be the case.

New England got out to an early 14-0 lead and put a scare into their hosts. Unfortunately, the team with nothing to lose still hasn’t figured out how to win. Buffalo scored 24 unanswered points and escaped with a 24-21 win. The Patriots faced a tough task in trying to overcome the Bills. They made things more difficult by needing to overcome themselves, commiting three costly second-half turnovers.

The Bills improved to 12-3 on the season, while the Patriots fell to 3-12.

Also Read – Kelley: Ten Fair Criticisms of the 2024 New England Patriots

Here are ten initial takeaways from the Patriots loss in Week 16:

Productive Start for the Patriots

New England received to start the game, and Antonio Gibson made it a solid start for the Patriots. He fielded the kickoff at the goal line and returned it 42 yards. It marked the second-longest kickoff return for New England this season.

The Patriots’ offense picked up a first down on a completion from Drake Maye to Hunter Henry. Buffalo linebacker Baylon Spector got flagged for defensive pass interference on the next play, keeping the drive moving. Three plays later, Maye went deep, connecting with Kayshon Boutte for a 28-yard touchdown. Great pass, great catch, 7-0 Patriots lead.

New England Defense Starts Strong Too

Buffalo picked up 11 yards on three plays when they got the ball back for a first down. But the Bills’ opening drive stalled out there. Daniel Ekuale stuffed a Ray Davis rush for no gain. Josh Allen followed that up with consecutive incomplete passes to bring on the punting unit. A 48-yard punt from Sam Martin landed at New England’s nine-yard line with no return.

Although it was only one drive and left the Patriots deep in their territory it was unquestionably a major success. Buffalo’s offense has been a machine, with Josh Allen the MVP favorite heading into the game. Last week they scored 48 points on the road against an excellent Detroit Lions team. Maybe it was only one possession, but it was something for a struggling defense to feel good about as they protected the lead early.

Impressive Drive to Extend Lead

The New England Patriots’ second possession could not have gone much better for them. Beginning at their nine-year line, New England took the ball 91 yards for their second score of the game in as many possessions.

When Jerod Mayo called his team soft after their loss to Jacksonville, he cited his team getting beaten badly in the running game on both sides of the ball. New England preached wanting to be a “run first team” dating back to the preseason. They came out for their second drive looking strong, led by running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

Stevenson rushed three times to begin the drive, picking up 24 yards. The ground game opened up the passing attack, with Maye then completing passes to Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry, and DeMario Douglas to move into Buffalo territory.

The drive was not without mistakes from both teams. Each was called for two penalties on the drive, helping out the opposition but ultimately offsetting each other. The Patriots capped off the drive the way it began by giving the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson. He ran into the end zone from 14 yards out to give New England an unexpected 14-0 lead. Nobody had to worry about Mayo describing that drive, especially the final run, as soft.

New England’s drive spanned 91 yards and took up 9:57 of the game clock. The Patriots started their drive with 9:13 remaining in the first quarter and didn’t let the Bills’ offense on the field until the second quarter. The best way to keep Josh Allen from beating them is keeping him on the sideline.

Buffalo Battles Back

Nobody should have expected Buffalo to be beaten by a 14-0 first-half deficit. They were not. On the fourth play of their drive, James Cook ran the ball 46 yards into the end zone to get Buffalo on the board. The deficit was cut in half, 14-7. New England enjoyed their two-touchdown lead for only 2:20 before the Bills reminded them what they were dealing with.

The Cook touchdown sparked the first major momentum change of the game. Buffalo’s defense forced a three-and-out on New England’s ensuing possession. Two incompletions were followed by a Kendrick Bourne reception that was a solid yard short of the first-down marker.

Buffalo took over following a Bryce Baringer punt. Three straight completions worked the ball into New England territory. The Bills’ defense finally made some stops, and their offense was looking like their regular selves. With 9:02 remaining in the second quarter, Buffalo had the ball at first-and-ten from New England’s 38-yard line. An 11-3 team giving a 3-11 team a dose of reality felt almost inevitable despite the strong start from the Patriots.

Patriots Show Some Spunk

Instead of Buffalo tying it up on that possession, they turned the ball over. Josh Allen threw into the end zone, where Marte Mapu easily intercepted the pass. However, the interception wasn’t the major momentum swing it could have been. Mapu inexplicably tried to run it out of the end zone and was tackled inside the one-yard line. It appeared he realized it was a bad idea too late. New England was left trying to simply avoid a safety, which seemed to be an unfavorable position for a team celebrating a turnover.

To their credit, New England got the ball out of danger. They picked up a first down to give themselves breathing room. The Patriots then faced a fourth-and-one from their 24-yard line and lined up in punt formation. The snap went directly to Dell Pettus, who picked up another first down on the fake punt.

New England ended up punting on the drive, and Buffalo punted back before the end of the first half. But it was notable that the Patriots displayed a bit of swagger, especially after picking up the first down on the fake punt. It appeared a decent amount of trash talk was happening on the field. Some might find it unwarranted from a team eliminated from the postseason long ago, but showing some fight was nice to see.

Halftime Reality

New England went into halftime with a 14-7 lead. There was a lot for the Patriots to feel good about. They were beating the Bills on the road, dominated time of possession, hadn’t turned the ball over, and their offensive line looked better than usual.

Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye was outperforming Bill MVP candidate Josh Allen. Maye completed 14 of 20 passes for 158 yards. He threw for a touchdown and committed no turnovers. By contrast, Allen completed just nine of 17 passes for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an threw an interception.

But there was also the reality of their situation. Despite seemingly dominating for most of the half, New England led by only one score, and Buffalo was receiving to start the second half. There was a long way to go for a Patriots team that faced long odds coming into the game. Playing nearly perfectly left them leading by only seven points. How much better could they play?

Bills Come Out Cooking

James Cook ran for a 25-yard gain on Buffalo’s first offensive play of the second half. It served as a reminder that the Bills remained in control of this game. New England’s did nothing on that opening drive to change that opinion.

Buffalo began the possession at their 32-yard line. After controlling the ball for 5:19, they drive ended in New England’s end zone to tie the game. Cook caught a four-yard pass from Allen and made it a 14-14 game with 9:41 to play in the third quarter. The two-touchdown lead had officially been wiped out and everything was even with nearly 25 minutes to play in regulation.

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

It is difficult for any NFL team to win a game while turning the ball over regularly. That job becomes much harder for teams with minimal margins of error. The 2024 New England Patriots are not a good enough team to overcome turnovers. Certainly not three of them in one half against a team as good as the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots’ first turnover of the half came on their first offensive possession. It was a Rhamondre Stevenson fumble, his seventh of the season. Stevenson played well up until that play, but the turnover gave Buffalo the ball at New England’s 42-yard line. They turned it into a field goal and a 17-14 lead.

New England’s second offensive possession resulted in their second turnover of the half. The Patriots put together a nice drive, which was highlighted by a 22-yard completion from Maye to Boutte. Stevenson re-entered the game and picked up 13 yards, bringing the ball into the red zone at the Bills’ 16-yard line. Maye threw it into the end zone on the next play. The pass was intended for Austin Hooper but resulted in a Cam Lewis interception.

New England completed a turnover hat trick on their third possession of the second half. The Patriots began the drive on their 10-yard line. On second-and-eight, Maye attempted a screen pass to Stevenson. It fell incomplete, but since the pass was thrown backward, it was a live ball. The Buffalo Bills fell on the ball in the end zone for a defense score and a 24-14 lead.

Too Little, Too Late

After New England turned the ball over on their first three second-half possessions, there was 10:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, and they faced a two-score deficit. The Patriots offense picked up a first down before facing a third-and-one situation. A delay of game penalty drove them back five yards. After an incomplete pass, New England opted to punt from their 46-yard line. It gave Buffalo the ball back with 8:26 left in regulation. The decision to punt was questionable.

The Patriots got the ball back with 4:25 to play. Drake Maye led a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry.

New England’s onside-kick attempt failed. Buffalo was able to hold on for the 24-21 win.

Moral Victory?

It is tough for any NFL team to enjoy a moral victory. However, the New England Patriots gave a good performance on Sunday. The Buffalo Bills are a superior team but only pulled out the game by three points at home. New England did themselves no favors with the trio of second-half turnovers. New England can leave Buffalo feeling like that was a game they could have won.

The reality, however, is that they lost. Good teams find ways to win even when they are injured or not playing their best. Bad teams find ways to let winnable games slip away, via turnovers, penalties, or conservative coaching. The Buffalo Bills are a good team. The New England Patriots are not.

New England can return home feeling better about themselves and excellent about a handful of their players, but the distance between them and contending teams felt somehow reinforced by how far away they felt, even with the final score being close.

New England Patriots Three Stars

1 – Marte Mapu (7 tackles, 2 PBU, Interception)

2 – Kayshon Boutte (5 receptions, 95 yards, TD)

3 – Christian Gonzalez (0 receptions allowed)