Patriots’ Lessons-Learned from Week Sixteen Loss to the Bills

The New England Patriots fell to 9-6 on the 2021 season following a 33-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The New England Patriots dropped to 9-6 on the 2021 season after their loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon.

Running back Damien Harris was the lone bright spot for the Pats, carrying the ball 18 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. However, quarterback Mac Jones finished the game completing just 14 of 32 passes for 145 yards and two interceptions. Still, the story of the day for New England would be costly penalties, and the inability of both the Patriots offense and defense to make plays when most needed. For the second straight week, the Patriots could not overcome an early, self-inflicted deficit, falling to the Bills 33-21 in Week Sixteen in Foxboro.

With the loss, the Patriots fell behind Buffalo in the race for the AFC East title, and now sit as the sixth seed in the AFC’s postseason positioning.

With a great deal of frustration certainly circulating throughout New England’s locker room, there are still plenty of lessons to be learned from the Pats’ performance on Saturday against Indianapolis.

Lesson One: For the Bills, this wasn’t strictly business, this was personal

Despite any transparent attempts to downplay their embarrassment after a 14-10 loss to the Patriots at Highmark Stadium on December 6, the Bills entered this Week Sixteen matchup with a score to settle. From the outset, Buffalo showed aggression, physicality and versatility in their game planning on both sides of the ball. Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen threw for 314 yards with three touchdowns, while also serving as their leading rusher, logging 12 carries for 64 yards. Reserve wideout Isaiah McKenzie led all receivers with 125 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, the Bills kept Mac Jones off balance for most of the afternoon, affecting the rookie’s accuracy and comfort in the pocket. Safety Micah Hyde intercepted Jones twice on Sunday.

Although Buffalo clearly had the better day on the field, they also won the intensity battle. Bills’ coach Sean McDermott clearly channeled his Belichickian envy into a fire that permeated through the Bills’ roster. From receiver Stefon Diggs peppering Patriots fans with some truly distasteful language following his first-half touchdown, to both Hyde and fellow safety Jordan Poyer jawing with the crowd on the sidelines, Buffalo was clearly the more agitated team in Week Sixteen. It worked to their advantage, as the team clearly fed off the revenge vibe. Following the game, Allen was heard boasting about his performance to teammate Harrison Phillips, saying (as detailed by Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic) ‘I don’t know who the f*** they [Patriots] thought I was?’ Like it or not, the Bills backed up their bravado. To paraphrase the words of Sonny Corleone, ‘this was business and this kid [Allen] took it very, very personal.’ As a result, Allen and the Bills took a giant step towards securing their second straight AFC East title.

Lesson Two: Damien Harris is still New England’s feature running back

While rookie Rhamondre Stevenson has all the necessary tools to be a feature back for the Patriots in the near future, that title still belongs to Damien Harris. The Alabama product rushed 18 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He also had the longest run of the afternoon for either team, a 31-yard power run in the third quarter. Harris collected his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the 2021 season. Since 1970, only Curtis Martin (nine in 1995) and Corey Dillon (nine in 2004) have had more than five 100-yard games in a season for the Patriots. John Stephens also had five 100-yard games in 1988. With Stevenson sidelined on COVID-19/Reserve, Harris was the only offensive player to consistently make plays in Week Sixteen. When provided with the space to maneuver, Harris is capable of breaking for significant yardage; a trait which he exhibited on Sunday. If the Patriots hope to have any success heading into the postseason, they will need to utilize their running game to its fullest extent, which includes having Harris continue to be their feature runner.

Lesson Three: Despite an off day, the Patriots defense is still stout in the red zone.

While New England’s defense atypically had difficulty stopping the Bills’ offense in the intermediate area of the field, they still showed some mettle in the red area. Buffalo seemingly had its way with the Pats' preventive unit between the 20s. Buffalo convincingly won the time-of-possession battle, owning the ball for 35:09, as opposed to the Patriots 24:51. The Bills also logged 28 first downs, while converting 6-of-12 third downs and 3-of-four first downs. However, New England did get some critical stops in the red zone that kept the game close. When was able to get adequate coverage, the front seven was able to apply pressure to Allen and force uncomfortable throws. Ultimately, Buffalo would convert 4-of-7 from the red zone. Still, New England battled admirably with the Bills near the goal, a takeaway that is likely to be among the few positives which the Pats will look to build upon in their upcoming week of practice.

Lesson Four: Jonesing for Jones (no, not that one…)

With both Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis shelved via COVID-19/Reserve, reserve wideout Isaiah McKenzie found himself drawing the coverage of Patriots slot corner Myles Bryant in Week Sixteen. Though Bryant occasionally aligned as the third safety in the Pats customary three-safety set during the Week Thirteen meeting between the two teams, his primary focus was Beasley. The Bills’ slot target was held to only one reception or 11 yards. However, Bryant made arguably the play of the game late in the fourth quarter. In man coverage on Beasley, Bryant made a heads-up read on quarterback Josh Allen. He made the move to Allen’s intended receiver, Gabriel Davis, batting the ball down and securing the victory.

However, on Sunday, Bryant did not have the same success on McKenzie. The Bills’ receiver logged 11 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. Though McKenzie had some success against the Pats zone coverage on Sunday, Bryant was easily beat by McKenzie in man coverage, especially on the inside. With New England locked into their man coverage matches, Bryant often found himself playing from behind when releasing to the outside. As the afternoon wore on, it became evident that the Patriots needed additional help for Bryant in Week Sixteen, especially with Joejuan Williams and Shaun Wade inactive, and practice squad elevation D’Angelo Ross lacking the experience to be effective. In short, New England greatly missed the prowess and field awareness of starting slot corner Jonathan Jones, who typically thrives in such coverage schemes, on Sunday. Jones is currently on season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury. 

The Patriots will now prepare to host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts at 1:00pm ET for the first game of the calendar year in 2022, on Sunday, January 2.