Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Dramatic Win Over Bills

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Just like that, the Patriots have their best win in the Mac Jones era.

New England on Sunday led all afternoon until Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a three-point lead. But Jones orchestrated an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 1:46 to give the Patriots a 29-25 advantage with 12 seconds left. Tight end Mike Gesicki caught the game-winning touchdown.

MIKE GESICKI ON #NATIONALTIGHTENDSDAY‼️@MacJones_10 | @mikegesicki

📺 on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/4MWKEuAN3X

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 22, 2023

Jones completed 25 of 30 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns in arguably the best game of his career. Certainly, this is his biggest win.

Kendrick Bourne paced the offense with six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown to go along with a fumble. Demario Douglas caught four balls for 54 yards, while Pharaoh Brown and Rhamondre Stevenson each registered 51 receiving yards. Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott combined for 65 rushing yards with Elliott delivering a touchdown in the first quarter.

On the other side, Allen went 27-of-41 for 265 yards and two touchdowns to go along with one interception, which was picked off by Jabrill Peppers. Tight end Dalton Kincaid led Buffalo with eight catches for 75 yards, while star receiver Stefon Diggs caught six balls for 58 yards and the touchdown that gave the Bills their fourth-quarter lead.

Overall, the Patriots racked up 364 yards of total offense compared to 339 for the Bills. Bill Belichick's team also was better on third downs, converting on 44% of opportunities compared to 42% for Sean McDermott's club.

New England improved to 2-5 with the win while Buffalo dropped to 4-3 with the loss. The Patriots will visit the Miami Dolphins next Sunday.

Here are three studs and three duds from a memorable afternoon in Foxboro:

STUDS
QB Mac Jones
Jones took a couple of bad sacks and he wasn't asked to do anything overly difficult in this game, but none of that matters. He avoided any big mistakes and finally delivered his first signature victory.

DT Christian Barmore
Was an absolute force this game, finishing with a sack and three tackles. But the stat sheet doesn't begin to tell the story, as Barmore generated a ton of pressure on Allen and flushed him out of the pocket in some key situations. Barmore messed up with a justified roughing-the-passer penalty in the fourth quarter, but otherwise played great and now has consecutive strong performances to build upon. Maybe he's heard the trade rumors.

P Bryce Baringer
The rookie had two excellent punts in this game. One traveled 64 yards to flip the field in a big spot, and the other landed coffin-corner style on Buffalo's 3-yard line. Baringer's been a bit of a rollercoaster this season, but he was great Sunday. Yes, we probably should've put Douglas in this spot, but we're gonna show some love for The Brand.

Honorable mentions: Demario Douglas, Deatrich Wise, Pharaoh Brown, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Brenden Schooler, Jabrill Peppers, Anfernee Jennings

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DUDS
Defensive backs
What's up with all the missed tackles? It's been a huge issue in recent weeks, and it continued again Sunday afternoon. On Buffalo's TD drive to open the third quarter, Myles Bryant and Jabrill Peppers both missed tackles, with the latter's resulting in a James Cook score. Kyle Dugger also had a huge missed tackle on a third down late in the third quarter, and J.C. Jackson couldn't bring down Diggs on a TD late in the fourth. The Patriots surely have been driving this point home in practice, and yet the problem persists.

WRs DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton
Parker caught just one ball, and Thornton turned his only target into one catch for two yards. To make matters worse, both receivers lost significant playing time to Jalen Reagor, who was a practice squad elevation. The Patriots aren't getting anything from these two, and it's a problem.

Special teams coaching
You can count on at least one boneheaded special teams play from the Patriots in each game, and this week's version arrived in the third quarter. As Chad Ryland was lining up for a 49-yard field goal attempt, New England had to call a timeout because it only had 10 players on the field and Sidy Sow couldn't make it in time. That's on the coaching staff, which is a big reason why the Patriots once again have the NFL's worst special teams unit.

Honorable mentions: Jack Jones, Cole Strange