FOXBORO, Mass. — The 2023 Patriots are not dead yet.
On the heels of a three-game losing streak and a fourth-quarter collapse that saw them surrender two Buffalo touchdowns in the final six minutes, the Patriots rallied to notch their best victory in years, 29-25 over the heavily favored Bills at Gillette Stadium.
Much-maligned quarterback Mac Jones led an eight-play, 75-yard, game-winning drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds remaining.
It was just the second fourth-quarter comeback of Jones’ Patriots career — his first since his rookie year in 2021 — and only New England’s second win over Buffalo in the post-Tom Brady era. With the victory, they improved to 2-5 on the season entering next Sunday’s Week 8 road matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
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Here are six instant-reaction thoughts on a dramatic afternoon in Foxboro:
1. The Patriots nearly gave this one away — but didn’t
A 4-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Kendrick Bourne put the Patriots ahead 22-10 with 7:36 remaining. But Josh Allen and the Bills, who had been stymied by New England’s undermanned defense to that point, closed the gap with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs and a 1-yard QB-sneak score.
The latter came after Bourne fumbled deep in Patriots territory with just under five minutes remaining. But Jones completed 6 of 7 passes on the final Patriots drive, and New England got the touchdown it needed to save its season.
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The Bills had one final chance in the closing seconds, but Allen fumbled on a Hail Mary bid, and special teamer Brenden Schooler recovered to ice the game.
Credit the Patriots’ defense for consistently pressuring Allen despite missing three of its top edge rushers (Matthew Judon, Josh Uche and Keion White) and largely limiting the always-dangerous Diggs, who finished six catches on 12 targets for 58 yards and one score. Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore, Anfernee Jennings and Ja’Whaun Bentley keyed the pass rush while J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones led the charge against Diggs.
2. Feed Pop
When Demario Douglas gets the ball, good things tend to happen. The rookie slot receiver saw the largest workload of his young career Sunday and capitalized, catching four of his five targets for 54 yards. Among those: a 19-yarder in traffic that set up Bourne’s fourth-quarter touchdown.
Douglas, who missed the previous game with a concussion, also picked up 25 yards on an impressive punt return and 20 on a jet sweep, flashing his rare quickness and evasive ability on both. He drew two penalties to boot, including one that gave the Patriots a first-and-goal in the final minute.
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It wasn’t a perfect day for Douglas, who appeared to make the wrong read on a botched third down late in the first half. But he’s the Patriots’ most explosive playmaker and deserves to be featured in their offense even after JuJu Smith-Schuster is healthy enough to return. Smith-Schuster hasn’t played since suffering a concussion in Week 4 and was bringing little to the table before his injury.
Speaking of underperforming veterans, DeVante Parker hardly played until late in the game, finishing with one catch on one target for 8 yards. Tyquan Thornton also saw only sporadic playing time (one target, one catch, 2 yards), with New England mostly opting to roll with Bourne, Douglas and elevated practice squadder Jalen Reagor.
4. Peppers stays hot
Jabrill Peppers set the tone early for the Patriots’ defense by intercepting a Josh Allen pass on Buffalo’s first offensive snap. Allen was trying to hit tight end Dawson Knox and never saw the veteran safety, who was dropping in zone coverage.
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It was the Patriots’ fourth takeaway of the season, and Peppers had a direct hand in three of them. He also forced a Jalen Hurts fumble in Week 1 and nailed Davante Adams to create an interception in Week 6. Christian Gonzalez even credited Peppers with the coverage adjustment that led to the rookie cornerback’s Week 2 INT.
Peppers is having a very good season and has been a huge asset for New England’s defense, but he did have one costly miscue later in the game. He missed an open-field tackle on James Cook’s 8-yard third-quarter touchdown.
Fellow defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Myles Bryant and Jack Jones and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley also whiffed on tackles on plays that resulted in Buffalo first downs.
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4. A long-awaited O-line change
After struggling for over a year to find a viable answer at right tackle, the Patriots finally relented and moved Mike Onwenu there from right guard. Without the benefit of film review, Onwenu seemed to be an upgrade over Vederian Lowe, who started the previous four games at right tackle and badly struggled. Getting left guard Cole Strange back and healthy after a three-game absence also appeared to help on the interior.
Lowe did wind up seeing action at a key juncture, but his outing was forgettable and short-lived. Entering at left tackle in place of an injured Trent Brown, he was penalized for illegal man downfield on his first snap, wiping out a long completion to Pharaoh Brown. Lowe then suffered an injury of his own two plays later.
Brown returned for the game-winning drive.
5. Big-play Pharaoh Brown
The Patriots’ third tight end has been an unexpected asset in the passing game this season. All five of Brown’s targets have resulted in gains of at least 13 yards, including pickups of 25 and 26 on Sunday. He also had a 22-yarder wiped out by Lowe’s illegal man downfield penalty.
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6. QB shakeup
One week after surprisingly installing Malik Cunningham as their primary backup quarterback, the Patriots went back to the status quo on Sunday. Bailey Zappe was QB2, Will Grier was the emergency third option, and Cunningham was a healthy scratch.
Jones played every snap for New England for the first time since Week 3. He went 25-for-30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers in the signature win of his career to date.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
