Nice article @HipKat! Staying healthy is number one for this game. I can understand Damar playing to get the rust off but most starters should be sitting. Let the young guys get the in game experience. I really think someone like Bishop can continue to get valuable game reps. He is the future at that position as Damar is just keeping the seat warm. Need to see if anyone from the d line shows us something. I like that Solomon kid and I think Bills will need a spark off the end in the playoffs. He may just be that guy.
Bills vs Pats 2.0
- Thread starter Victor7
- Start date
JC-3122
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Dave Thomas, wow..blast from the past
I only watched the 1st half
SpikedLemonade
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Report Card: How the Buffalo Bills' coaches pressed all the right buttons, even in defeat
Jay Skurski grades the Buffalo Bills after their 23-16 loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 23-16 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium …
Bills coach Sean McDermott got as much rest as possible for his starters during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Patriots. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Running game
BIt is not a surprise that the Bills kept it on the ground during a game in which starting quarterback Josh Allen (mostly) sat out. Because of that, it was a positive to see the team still rack up 130 yards on 33 carries, an average of 3.9 yards per attempt. Getting James Cook to 1,000 yards and having him tie the team’s single-season record for rushing touchdowns (16) were feel-good moments. Rookie Ray Davis handled the bulk of the work and gained 64 yards on 15 carries. He finished off a solid regular season. Receiver Keon Coleman’s first career carry went for a 9-yard gain.
Passing game
C-Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky handled almost all of the first three quarters and did well enough, finishing 15 of 21 for 101 yards, one touchdown (to Davis) and a quarterback rating of 97.5. No. 3 quarterback Mike White didn’t have as much luck, going 3 of 11 for 28 yards in a little more than a quarter of action. The Bills were unable to get a touchdown to a 14th receiver, which would have given them solo possession of that NFL record.
“I thought it was important both for Mitch and for Mike to get a little bit of run, as well, and both honestly threw the ball a little bit more than we planned for,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Some of those were because of third downs and a couple two-minute drives at the end here for us on offense with Mike, but it’s good for those two to get out there, and I thought they both did some good things.”
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel had seven catches for 52 yards on eight targets. It has been an underwhelming season for Samuel, but he at least gave the coaching staff something to think about in terms of whether he can have a role of some sort in the postseason. Coleman was targeted nine times, but finished with just two catches for 21 yards. Ideally, Allen will have better chemistry with the rookie in the playoffs.
Run defense
A-The Patriots rushed 30 times for just 76 yards, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt. New England sat No. 1 running back Rhamondre Stevenson, relying instead on Antonio Gibson, who finished with 12 carries for 41 yards. The Bills did allow one rushing touchdown. Rookie linebacker Joe Andreessen led the team with nine tackles in his first career start, followed by Javon Solomon with seven. Given that run defense has been a question mark pretty much all season, the Bills can take some satisfaction from their performance against New England.
Pass defense
DPatriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye threw just one incomplete pass before leaving the game in the first quarter for fellow rookie Joe Milton III. Milton proceeded to go 22 of 29 for 241 yards and one touchdown against a Buffalo secondary that gave some playing time to starting safeties Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp, as well as starting cornerback Rasul Douglas. It’s nothing to panic over, but the secondary did have a breakdown that led to a 48-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from Milton to receiver Kayshon Boutte, who finished with seven catches for 117 yards. Von Miller recorded the Bills’ only sack. DeWayne Carter, Andreessen and Solomon had quarterback hits. The Bills had just two passes defended, one each by Edefuan Ulofoshio and Cole Bishop.
Special teams
C-Tyler Bass missed another extra-point attempt – his fifth miss of the season. Bass also had five field-goal misses on 29 attempts in the regular season. Put simply, he is a concern going into the playoffs. Brandon Codrington returned two kickoffs for 62 yards. He continues to look close to taking one to the house. Sam Martin punted four times for an average of 40.8 yards. Ja’Marcus Ingram made an excellent play to prevent the ball from going into the end zone and allowing it to be downed at the New England 6-yard line. Everything is magnified in the playoffs, so plays like that are what the Bills will need next week and moving forward.
Coaching
AMcDermott wisely put eight starters on the inactive list, then reduced or eliminated the playing time for basically every other starter on the roster. That was the right call. There is no sense risking injury in a meaningless game. McDermott also gave some of his players a chance to earn incentives that were within reach. That is a heck of a way to build a sense of team togetherness. Doing your best to get players their money has to go over well in the locker room. As for the game plan against the Patriots, the Bills got some valuable experience for some of their younger players who could play more meaningful roles in the future. They did so while protecting their best players this season. In addition to those who were inactive, the team dressed but did not play the following: Khalil Shakir, Matt Milano, Connor McGovern, David Edwards, Spencer Brown, Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. New England went just 4 of 12 on third down, which was a good sign for the Buffalo defense. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady called 33 run plays and 32 pass plays, showing good balance from Week 1 all the way through Week 18.
SpikedLemonade
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Victor7
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Hard to grade this game since it was meaningless but lets do it
Goats
Mike White. Useless.
Keon. One grab on 9 targets. I know its not all on him but that was pretty bad
Defense. Joe Milton burned you. Really?
Bass. Another missed XP. On average he misses one every 3 games.
Balls
MVMitch. Baller! lol
Martin. Reached his bonus
Hollins. Reached his bonus
Von Miller. Reached his very nice bonus.
Allen. Hand off perfection!
Goats
Mike White. Useless.
Keon. One grab on 9 targets. I know its not all on him but that was pretty bad
Defense. Joe Milton burned you. Really?
Bass. Another missed XP. On average he misses one every 3 games.
Balls
MVMitch. Baller! lol
Martin. Reached his bonus
Hollins. Reached his bonus
Von Miller. Reached his very nice bonus.
Allen. Hand off perfection!
Von shows up with a payday on the line. Where was he all year?
Bass never should have seen the field this year. He sucked last year, too
Biggest goat, NE for giving up the top 3 picks in a meaningless game. Jets level blunder.