If the Patriots are to beat the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, they'll need to practice far better than they did last week.
Quarterback Mac Jones called out himself and his teammates after New England's 27-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. Jones, and other Patriots players, pointed toward a bad week of practice as a factor in their disappointing performance at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"I just don't think it was our best effort," Jones said at the beginning of his postgame press conference. "It starts with me, just throughout the week, we didn't have a great practice every day. So, it is what it is. You just have to move on and keep your head high."
During his weekly interview on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," head coach Bill Belichick was asked to identify what went wrong on the practice field.
"Just execution, concentration, things that we just didn't do well enough," Belichick said, as transcribed by WEEI's Ryan Hannable. "I mean, it wasn't one thing, or one person, or whatever, just general level of execution in practice."
New England was not good in Indianapolis, despite a spirited comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. All that matters now is how the Patriots respond, beginning with the job they do at practice this week.
The Patriots can strengthen their AFC East lead with a win over the Bills, while Buffalo would retake first place in the division with a victory at Gillette Stadium.
