The New England Patriots beat up on the struggling Buffalo Bills as they improved to 10-2 on the year after a 23-3 victory away at Buffalo. The offense found success within its ground game and we continue to see bright spots shining throughout the defense. Without further ado let’s get into this week’s winners and losers.
Winners
Rob Gronkowski
Although he may be suspended from next week’s game due to his cheap shot on Tre’Davious White, I am not going to take him off my winners list. Gronkowski was Brady’s most consistent target throughout the game and he impressed throughout. Finishing with nine receptions for 147 yards. He could not be contained and something has to be said about the fact that he was held heavily during Brady’s interception. The entire play gave him no excuse to do what he did but he had a good point in saying that he is constantly held because he can’t be contained.
Rex Burkhead & Dion Lewis
Burkhead had two touchdowns again in this game as he continues to be a red zone threat. Burkhead was left out of the mix at the beginning of the year similar to Dion Lewis but now finds himself getting the ball the most along with Lewis. They have both taken a big turnaround in their seasons and the patriots are thankful for it. Lewis carried the ball extremely well as he finished 15 carries for 92 yards.
Eric Lee
Talk about a change of scenery. Lee was playing scout team against Tyrod Tayler just two weeks ago and found himself one of the stars of the Patriots defense on Sunday. Lee finished with four tackers, 1.5 sacks, two deflations, three QB hits and an interception coming at the goal line. The patriots will look for his success to continue.
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Scoring defense
Before everybody gets all high and mighty claiming that it was “just the bills.” The Patriots defense has now officially played at a high level for the last eight weeks. Letting up just 3 points against any team is impressive and that is regardless of whether or not a team is struggling or not. The defense continues to play better and this week it was led by the unlikeliness of Stephon Gilmore and Eric Lee who got some sweet revenge against a former team.
Losers
Patriots passing attack
For a lot of teams, the Patriots passing attack might have seen a decent day but it’s typically pretty alarming to see when Brady does not throw a single passing touchdown. The Patriots went into the half with just 9 points and couldn’t make anything substantial happen in the red zone and Gronwkoski was the only consistent force.
Brady’s MVP bid
Carson Wentz saw his team lose for the first time in some time. He did not play particularly well the entire game. Unfortunately for Brady, neither did he. Finishing with 259 yards and an interception, Brady was clearly frustrated a lot of the game. He couldn’t get anything truly going. He will need to finish out the last 4 weeks very strong. Lastly, he must hope his team finishes with a better record than the other candidates’ teams.
Joe Thuney
Letting up two sacks in the first half was alarming. Brady continuously got beat up in this game. The offensive line will need to improve in order for this team to be the continue being an offensive juggernait.
–Jared Talbot is a Staff Writer and covers the New England Patriots for Full Press Coverage Sports Media. Follow him on Twitter @JaredTalbot17.
