The New England Patriots didn’t go into their playoff bye week as they might have hoped, but expecting a win in Week 17 would have been foolish.
The Patriots elected to enter Sunday’s game without two of their starting offensive linemen and quarterback Tom Brady’s two favorite weapons. Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning had a difficult enough time moving the ball on the Buffalo Bills’ stout defense with all of their weapons. Expecting Brady to do it without wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski was almost asking the impossible.
Check out why the Patriots fell to Buffalo 17-9 in their regular-season finale in this week’s film review.
QUARTERBACKS
Neither Brady nor Jimmy Garoppolo were put in the best situation to succeed against the Buffalo Bills, who have perhaps the best defensive line in the NFL, featuring Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes.
Brady threw eight incomplete passes, and three can be blamed on No. 12. He threw at running back Brandon Bolden’s feet while on the move, led tight end Tim Wright too far in the middle of the field and overthrew receiver Brandon LaFell in the end zone.
One incompletion can be blamed on officials, when they didn’t call Ron Brooks for illegal contact despite shoving receiver Brian Tyms out of bounds well past the 5-yard boundary. Tight end Steve Maneri and receiver Danny Amendola both dropped passes from Brady, and two incompletions can be blamed on the offensive line allowing pressure.
Garoppolo did fine despite being pressured on 11 dropbacks. He held onto the ball too long on his third sack and should have thrown the ball away, but there were no receivers open. Starting left tackle Nate Solder left the game before Garoppolo entered, and rookie Cameron Fleming struggled in his place.
Garoppolo showed decent footwork and a quick release when he was able to get the ball away. It would be foolish to criticize his performance given the parameters that he was expected to play under.
The rookie’s escapability was the most impressive aspect of his game. His best play was a 9-yard scramble on third and 6 to pick up a first down.
Left tackle Marcus Cannon got on an island with Bills edge rusher Jerry Hughes and could do nothing to stop him. Garoppolo made two instinctual spin moves before taking off for the first down.
RUNNING BACKS
LeGarrette Blount had a solid game that was helped by a 34-yard run in the third quarter. Blount had solid blocking from Maneri, Amendola and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, and he wasn’t touched until he was 20 yards downfield.
Maneri and Hoomanawanui created a huge hole for Blount by walling off their defenders. Blount showed off his sneaky speed by running right past linebacker No. 52 Preston Brown.
Shane Vereen has had trouble shedding tacklers all season, which has limited his ability in the running game.
The Patriots actually used a Wildcat formation with Brandon Bolden, splitting out Garoppolo. He picked up 5 yards.
WIDE RECEIVERS
LaFell went over 900 yards on the season with a 27-yard catch and run in the first half. He injured his foot in the fourth quarter, briefly coming out of the game.
Tyms showed that he can be a serviceable backup wide receiver. The Patriots had really only used him on go routes prior to Sunday’s game. He finished with four catches for 39 yards while lining up all over the field and being used in a variety of routes.
Amendola had a solid game with Edelman out, catching four passes for 24 yards. The Patriots’ receivers were having a tough time getting open without Gronkowski eating up the middle of the field.
TIGHT ENDS
Maneri dropped his only target, but he was fantastic as a run blocker.
Wright hasn’t been heavily involved in the offense since Week 12. Perhaps the Patriots are saving that wrinkle for the playoffs?
OFFENSIVE LINE
With Gronkowski out, the Bills were able to blitz on nearly one-third of the Patriots’ passing plays. The Patriots’ offensive line had a difficult time protecting Brady and Garoppolo, allowing pressure on 19 of 44 drop backs.
Cannon, left guard Josh Kline and offensive tackle Cameron Fleming had the most trouble against the Bills’ pass rush. When Sebastian Vollmer, Dan Connolly and Nate Solder return to the offense, those players will be off the field.
Center Bryan Stork was the only offensive lineman who didn’t allow a pressure. He’s progressed nicely in his rookie season and is undoubtedly the Patriots’ rookie of the year.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Patriots had a tough time getting after quarterback Kyle Orton. Top pass rusher Chandler Jones didn’t record a single pressure and was even stonewalled by tight end and former Patriots draft pick Lee Smith late in the first quarter.
Defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, who claimed he’s “healthy as a rock” after the game, made two “wow” plays late in the fourth quarter before leaving the game with an injury.
Siliga slipped past center Eric Wood and into the backfield to stop running back Fred Jackson for a 2-yard loss.
Here, Siliga powered past left guard Cyril Richardson to stop Jackson for another 2-yard loss.
Edge rusher Akeem Ayers recorded three pressures, including a sack. The Patriots should find a way to get him more involved during the posteason, likely as a third-down pass rusher.
LINEBACKERS
The Patriots really missed Dont’a Hightower, both against the run and in pressuring Orton. Jamie Collins and Jonathan Casillas weren’t as decisive as Hightower in filling gaps. Casillas also had a tough time getting off blocks at the second level.
Collins’ best play came when he whiffed on a sack, then got back on his feet, strip-sacked Orton and recovered the fumble.
Collins blitzed up the A-gap and destroyed running back C.J. Spiller, who then didn’t bother to see if the Patriots linebacker would be nice and just decide to keep lying on the ground.
CORNERBACKS
Darrelle Revis allowed just one catch on two targets. On the 43-yard reception allowed to Sammy Watkins, Revis appeared to be blanketing the rookie wideout, but he somehow whiffed on a pass breakup.
Revis was slighly late with his swat and took a risk by diving. Safety Devin McCourty didn’t help matters by failing to make the open-field tackle on his first try.
Kyle Arrington didn’t play a single snap in the game despite being active. It appears the Patriots might have run out of inactive slots.
Rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler allowed four completions on five targets for 40 yards. He certainly hasn’t been a liability for the Patriots, but he gets targeted often when he’s on the field.
SAFETIES
Patrick Chung had a nice bounce-back game after struggling against the New York Jets. He allowed just 11 yards on two catches and three targets.
McCourty and Duron Harmon did a nice job patrolling the back half of the field. The Patriots only allowed one passing play over 20 yards despite Orton having tons of time to throw without a consistent pass rush.
Thumbnail photo via Elise Amendola/Associated Press