Sean McDermott Credits Patriots Offense For ‘Staying On Schedule’

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots earned their second win of the season against a Buffalo Bills team that had owned them for the last three seasons.

The Patriots found a rhythm on offense and stepped up in the clutch with a game-winning drive to clinch a thrilling 29-25 victory over the reigning AFC East champions.

New England did everything it needed to have a chance to beat a formidable opponent – start fast, take the ball away and stay balanced offensively.

Buffalo’s head coach Sean McDermott certainly noticed that ability after the thrilling finish, particularly as the Patriots jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead along with an early interception of Josh Allen.

“When you look at the first half, two short fields led to 10 points,” McDermott told reporters. “First play on offense is an interception. Punt return and field position led to 10 points. … Too many yards on first down for their offense. Not getting into enough third-and-long situations. The quarterback did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage early in the game.”

The Patriots stayed efficient to keep moving the chains offensively, picking up 21 first downs on Sunday. The performance marked the best New England has had against Buffalo in years.

“It starts with staying on schedule,” McDermott explained. “You look at their offense, they did that today. They won first down, they stayed on schedule. They stayed out of third-and-long for the most part during the day, When you do that, you’re playing two-dimensional on offense. That’s when it gets hard to call a game against the two-dimensional offense, when you’re on schedule.”

McDermott added that the Patriots capitalized on several plays in which the Bills put themselves at a disappointment.

“It makes it tough,” McDermott added. “We’re not playing complimentary football. We missed a field goal. Those are things we’ve got to do. We’re beating ourselves at times. We’re not linking up three phrases to control a game.”

Even on the final drive of the game, McDermott recognized that the Patriots took what the Buffalo defense gave them to set up a game-winning score.

“I think that first play was a huge play for them,” McDermott said. “They could run it, they could draw. They could screen early and they did. We’ve got to be better not allowing it. 34 yards is unacceptable. Part of that is leveraging the formation into a four-by-one set and making a tackle.”

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The 4-3 Bills get ready for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night while the 2-5 Patriots prepare to meet the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday.