Buffalo Bills come away with their biggest win of the season over the New England Patriots by a final score of 33-21
There was no question that the Buffalo Bills knew what was at stake in this game as they needed a win over the New England Patriots if they wanted to have any chance of winning the AFC East. It wasn’t going to be easy with the Bills going on the road to Gillette Stadium and trying to avenge a Week 13 loss to the Patriots by a final score of 14-10.
The Bills responded and rose to the occasion with a 33-21 victory over the Patriots that now allows them to control their own destiny. They move ahead of the Patriots within the division and if they win out will win their second consecutive AFC East title and secure a home playoff win.
These are some quick postgame thoughts from the Buffalo Bills victory in Week 16 against the New England Patriots.
Josh Allen delivers when Buffalo Bills need him the most
Time and time again Josh Allen has delivered and this week against the New England Patriots was no different. He would finish the game with 314 passing yards, 64 rushing yards, and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
The moment never seems too big for Allen and there may not be a better example than what he did late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots had just cut the Bills lead to five points after a Damien Harris touchdown made the score 26-21.
The Bills would get the ball back with about seven and half minutes left in the fourth quarter and Josh Allen would engineer a five-minute drive down the field that included a fourth-down conversion, a shuffle pass to Stefon Diggs on third and 10 to complete a first down and then another shuffle pass to Dawson Knox for a touchdown that essentially secured the victory.
The Buffalo Bills have been looking for a franchise quarterback since the days of Jim Kelly and believed they had one after last season. They committed to him with one of the biggest contracts in league history. Josh Allen continues to validate that trust with performances like this.
Buffalo Bills offensive line has a big game
The Buffalo Bills offensive line has been a constant point of discussion for this team this year, due more to their struggles at different times. This week, it seemed like they could once again be heading that way with Jon Feliciano and Cody Ford on Reserve/COVID-19 and Dion Dawkins just coming off on Saturday.
The Bills entered this game with Dawkins on the sideline and a starting lineup that had Spencer Brown at left tackle and Ryan Bates getting the start at right guard. This group looked good early but the coaching staff once again had to shuffle when Ike Boettger went down with an Achilles injury.
Dawkins was forced to come into the game and the coaching staff moved Daryl Williams to right guard, Spencer Brown to right tackle, and Ryan Bates to left guard.
Even with all the shuffling, the offensive line played great and gave Josh Allen plenty of time in the pocket, and didn’t allow a single sack all game. This group played great today under tough circumstances and deserves a great deal of credit.
Sean McDermott was aggressive in decision making
The Buffalo Bills head coach was uncharacteristically aggressive and did it in one of the biggest games of the season. He showed it early by going for it on fourth down from the three-yard line, which the Bills would convert for a touchdown when Josh Allen found Isaiah McKenzie in the end zone.
After a red zone field goal on their second drive of the game, McDermott once again went for it on fourth down in the red zone on their third drive but this time didn’t convert. Even though the Bills didn’t come away with any points, it signaled that the Bills were going to challenge this Patriots team.
Then late in the game, the Bills potentially had a chance to kick around a 50-yard field goal that would have extended their lead to eight points. However, McDermott put the ball in the hands of his best player and Allen made an incredible run to convert and keep the drive alive.
It will be interesting to see if McDermott sticks with this type of game management or if this was just a situation where he knew he had to push the New England Patriots.
Isaiah McKenzie has a career game of Cole Beasley
The Buffalo Bills entered this game short-handed at wide receiver with Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis both on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. However, it didn’t seem to matter as Isaiah McKenzie stepped up and had a career game for the Bills making a number of timely catches, particularly in the fourth quarter.
McKenzie would finish the game with 11 receptions on 12 targets for 125 receiving yards and one touchdown. He is the second receiver to finish with double-digit receptions this season in a game, with Beasley being the other.
The slot receiver position is a critical position in this Bills’ offense so the absence of Beasley certainly had a chance to be a big issue. However, McKenzie played great and really helped Josh Allen and this offense.