The Buffalo Bills’ 20-13 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football was a golden opportunity lost for the Bills in their quest to break a 15 year playoff drought. Buffalo’s defense played a tremendous game, keeping Tom Brady uncomfortable in the pocket and under pressure all night, and keeping the Pats’ high-powered offense in check. Brady threw more passes into the ground while under duress and threw more balls away to avoid hits than in any game I’ve seen him play. Superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, a Bill-killer in past games, was kept in check. It was a good enough defensive effort to expect to win the game. However, Tyrod Taylor and the Bills’ offense couldn’t rise to the challenge and put up enough points to pull out that win. The Patriots entered the game having lost running back Dion Lewis, receiver Julian Edelman, most of their offensive line and playmaking linebacker Jamie Collins to injury, and had a pretty depleted roster. Then two more receivers, Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson, were hurt in the game limiting Brady’s options even more. Still, the Bills couldn’t find enough offense to win. They played it extremely conservatively on offense, with Taylor either handing off or dumping the ball off to his receivers on short throws. LeSean McCoy was featured prominently in the game plan, and he did grind out 123 yards of total offense and score the team’s lone touchdown. The strategy was probably to try to put together long drives to keep Brady on the sideline, but when the Bills needed to come from behind late in the game and needed big plays, they couldn’t muster them.
If there is a positive to come out the game, it’s that Buffalo may have provided a blueprint to other teams of how to beat New England. They also added to the Pats’ attrition problem going forward in playing a very physical style. The Bills’ playoff hopes, despite the loss, are very much still alive. Their next two games, at Kansas City and home against Houston, are against teams they are in direct competition with for a wild card spot. They also meet the New York Jets again in their season finale, so they control their own destiny as far as the playoffs are concerned.