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Entering the 2013 regular season, the Buffalo Bills were almost a mystery. With a new front office, new coaching staff and a roster loaded with new players, it was hard to get a handle on what to expect when the team opened the season at home against division rival New England on Sunday. The result of the game, a 23-21 Patriot win,  was typical of Bills-Patriots recent matchups – a competitive contest that goes down to the wire, and in the end New England makes the plays they need to win, and the Bills don’t. As far as the play of the home team, there were pluses and minuses, and, considering the “new” Bills were thrown into the fire against one of the league’s best teams, the result, though disappointing, is also somewhat encouraging, if coach Doug Marrone can build off the effort. Here are some of the minuses:

* Mistakes, penalties and turnovers. The Bills stayed in the game down to the wire despite the fact that they handed Tom Brady field position for 2 easy TDs with fumbles, and killed drives with costly penalties. The penalty situation was a constant throughout the preseason, but the thinking then was that the flags were against players who wouldn’t make the final roster anyway. After 13 penalties in the opener, it’s now clearly a pattern that the coaches haven’t been able to clean up.

* the disappointing performance by C.J. Spiller, who fumbled on the team’s first drive and was ineffective all day.

* the underwhelming play of their big-money free agent, Mario Williams. Williams didn’t do much, and the Pats seemed to be targeting his side with the run when they needed crucial yards on the ground.

* the inability of the defense to get stops on third down, especially when the game was on the line. Granted, Brady and the Pats have been one of the best, if not THE best, team in the NFL recently in converting on third down, but the Bills’ defense has been horrible in what seems like forever in getting off the field on third downs, through numerous coaching staffs and players.

Here are the positives to take from the game:

* the exceptional play of rookie QB E.J. Manuel. He was composed in the pocket and showed good decision-making skills, a quick release and a nice touch on his passes. Despite being held back by a conservative game plan designed to help him “manage the game”, Manuel was effective even though the Bills rarely threw on first down and seemed to wind up putting him in third-and-long situations all day due to an ineffective running game. He showed enough in this game for the coaches to hopefully unleash him a little more in next week’s game against Carolina.

* the play of the secondary. They faltered at the end of the game by allowing Brady to complete passes for first downs on the winning drive, but played well most of the day considering 2 of their best players, Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd, were missing. Byrd’s replacement, Da’Norris Searcy, was a revelation, with a sack and a fumble recovery return for a touchdown. The Bills are a young team looking for some of their new players to step up and make plays, and Searcy certainly answered the call.

* the play of Fred Jackson. Jackson was playing at an MVP level in 2011 before getting hurt, then had a down season in 2012 that included some ineffective games and numerous costly fumbles. He looks ready to be a positive contributor and a much-needed veteran leader on offense this season.

* rookie receiver Robert Woods. A high draft pick, he was penciled in to the starting lineup early in training camp, and saw very limited action in preseason. Woods made a couple of nice catches (one negated by one of those costly penalties) and looks like the real deal.

Overall, despite the loss, the Bills, considering the quality of their opponent, gave a decent showing, and if they clean up the penalties and turnovers and stop beating themselves, have a chance for a winning season.