There are two things to take away from the Bills’ 16-10 loss against the Patriots: the defense is ready to compete in the division, the offense is not. While the Patriots defense is definitely a force-to-be-reckon with, the Bills were given not one, not two but three different opportunities to take the lead late in the game. All three times ended in either a punt or an interception.

 

The Bad

Quarterback to wide receiver connection 

Josh Allen and the offense did not see the end zone until the third quarter when Allen extend out past the goal line for a score to cut the lead 13-10. Allen would then leave the game after taking a nasty head to head hit from a Patriots defender which would cause him to exit the game early. On the Bills’ second to last offensive drive, there was not one, not two but three consecutive drops by Bills’ wide receivers.

Before exiting the game with a head injury, Allen threw for three interceptions, two of them which were on long throws. Allen did not seem like he was on the same page his receivers all game long. Throwing for only 153 yards, Allen showed that the room improvement continues to grow.

 

Turnover Battle

The Bills had 375 yards on offense compared to the 224 yards by the Patriots. The Bills time of possession was 32:40 minutes and the Patriots had the ball for 27:20 minutes. The Bills offense obtained 23 first downs while Brady and the Patriots had eleven. The Bills won in these categories which matter.

The biggest loss was the turnover battle. The Bills threw four interceptions, one which was a game-winning pick thrown by Matt Barkley. The Patriots ended the game with one turnover. The Patriots live off of opponents’ mistakes and today proved it once again.

 

Offensive Line

As much as this unit has improved from last season, the Patriots defense got the best of them. They flat gave up under pressure and were responsible for multiple penalties which including holding and false start. Bobby Johnson will have to correct that immediately.

 

The Good

Defensive Unit

This defense has earned the respect around the league. They did not give up a touchdown after the first quarter. Brady had no passing touchdowns and Micah Hyde picked off Brady in the end zone. The running game could not get going to New England at different times and the passing defense showed up today.

The Bills’ defense allowed only 224 yards against what was arguably the best offense coming into this Sunday. This defense is legit and showed it today.

 

Frank Gore

This man just doesn’t stop producing. Running for over 100 yards on 17 carries, Gore showed what he was meant for in Buffalo. At 36 years old, Gore continues to dominate on the ground and ripped off a couple great runs against the Pats defense.

 

The upcoming weeks

The Bills will travel to Tennessee next week for a battle against the Titans. After next Sunday, the team will be at home until November 3rd. They will have a bye week after they face the Titans then they will host the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. All three teams have struggled down the stretch so far. The Bills set themselves up to get up to potentially six or seven wins. Stay tuned.

 

-Brandon Ray is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the Buffalo Bills. Make sure to follow Brandon on Twitter at @brandon_ray79.