Bill Belichick, Patriots Ready to Buckle Down for Week of Preparation Before Heading to Buffalo

Bill Belichick openly admitted that Sunday's game against the Packers was not the way he wanted his team to win a football game. In fact, wins will be harder to come by if the Patriots play like that again this season.

Sunday's slim victory over the Packers was not one player's fault, and Belichick made a point to emphasize that it was the entire team's struggles that almost snapped their five-game win streak.

"At times we didn't tackle well, didn't cover well, didn't have enough rush or the combination of those things all going together," Belichick told reporters on Monday. "We just need to do a better job all the way around: coaching, playing, and overall execution. We just have to be more consistent."

The head coach even blamed himself for the Patriots' mishaps against Green Bay. Most notably, the onside kick and the 66-yard touchdown reception by James Jones.

"There were a lot of plays in the game that we have to do a better job of," he said. "I've got to do a better job in coaching the team and preparing them and making sure that plays like that [Jones touchdown] and the onside kick and strip sacks and stuff like that — that stuff can’t happen. It can't happen or it will kill us."

By the final whistle, however, the Patriots did enough to come away with the four-point win. It wasn't pretty, but it was enough. And even though this week is a holiday, Belichick and the Patriots will be plenty focused on the upcoming matchup with the Bills up in Buffalo.

"You've got to give the players credit for playing 60 minutes and finishing the game and now we've got to get on to Buffalo who's really playing well. It's always a challenge to go up there," Belichick said. "We've got to have a good week of preparation. Obviously, it’s Christmas week and it's an important time of year for all of us and our families, but with that being said, we've got an important job to do and we'll try to balance those things out this week."