Knee Jerk Reactions to Week 5: Patriots vs Bills

Things to consider while realizing this game is the "Taylor Swift Album Release" for people I can relate to:

--After three seasons of struggling to find new and ever more creative ways to express how this post-Dynasty era was a hideous, nonstop Danza Macabre. A vampiric blood orgy that was sucking the life force out of my soul with each dreary, depressing loss, we finally get this. Not some mere moral victory. Not the much more fun immoral kind. Not just a slightly surprising win like Week 1 against Cincinnati last year. But a true statement win. One that counts for a lot in those things we'd forgotten all about over two 4-13 seasons, the actual standings. (Wins on the road against a divisional opponent used to count for a lot before we started measuring success by how high our draft pick would be.) But this one counts for so much more for a team trying to establish what Mike Vrabel talked about in the locker room: its identity:

That identity just became clearer. This is a team that can not only compete with the best in the game, they can go on the road to a place that has been a Scooby-Doo haunted amusement park for them, outplay a quality opponent in its own building, on a night when they're doing a goofy promotion to sell more NFL Shop merch, and come away with a win that could have major playoff implications. And the fact they did it in prime time in front of a nation that has gotten accustomed to ignoring this franchise's existence makes it all the more significant. This was a giant leap forward in reestablishing the Patriots as a force to be reckoned with. Starting with the quarterback. This was his 17th career start. So in essence, the end of his rookie season. And it was his finest hour. 

--In his book Return of the God Hypothesis, Stephen Meyer cites a study done by structural biologist Peter Tompa and biophysicist George Rose that says there are 10 to the 79,000,000,000th power different ways of combining the proteins in a "simple" unicellular yeast. That inconceivable number grows exponentially larger when they calculate how to assemble proteins into more complex molecular components, such as DNA. (The number of elementary particles in the universe is 10 to the 80th power. And all the events since the Big Bang is 10 to the 139th power.) Now take that data and calculate the chances that some genetic material would assemble itself into Drake Maye and put him under center for the Patriots so soon after Tom Brady. So consider yourself divinely fortunate to be living at this exact moment in this remote corner of God's creation.

--If I can mix metaphors for a second (and I can; my Dojo, my rules) quarterbacks are not measured by the back of their baseball card, but by moments. Like last night. Tie game, 2:17 left. The crowd of rowdy drunks sensing another come-from-behind win about to happen. And on the very first snap, it looks they're about to get the blood they're thirsty for. But Maye had other plans, and the freakish athleticism to execute those plans. If last night is remembered for any "moment," let it be this one:

But it was one of many. He followed that escape and completion by finding Kayshon Boutte in the hole behind the flat/curl defender and the Cover-2 safety and fit it in there. From a dirty pocket no less, as Gregory Rousseau came up the A-Gap on a delayed TEX (tackle-end cross) stunt and drilled Maye as he released the throw:

--And yet we can have a healthy, robust debate about what his best plays of the night were, because he gave us the Olive Garden Unlimited Bread Sticks of such moments. For instance, when he had time to set his feet and go through his progressions, he delivered this play action, laser-guided smart bomb right on target to Hunter Henry, who had enough bodies around him to look like he had a Secret Service detail assigned to him:

That pass set up a score to end the half, which is starting to emerge as a pattern with this offense. And beats the bag out of their 2023-24 habit of turning the ball over on their last possession and setting up an opponent's score. 

--But I think to most of us, the one we'll remember was the 32 yarder to Stefon Diggs. Buffalo had shown blitz. Maye re-Miked the linebacker. Both Henry and Austin Hooper stayed home to block, and TreVeyon Henderson picked up an interior blitzer, leaving only Diggs and Kyle Williams running routes. Maye rolled out to escape backside pressure from Christian Benford on the corner blitz, and unleashed this: 

In a full sprint. With all 6-foot-6 of Landon Jackson giving him the Jazz Hands in his face. And he hits Diggs in stride, leading him away from the post safety where only he can get it. Put this in a nice, ornate frame and find room for it on the wall of the MFA. It has to be better than whatever water lilies or abstract squiggles they have on display now. This is art.  

--You have to appreciate what Diggs did last night. What he's been doing since he signed here on 3-28 Day. Both for him, and for the greater good of the franchise. First of all, his recovery from knee surgery has been nothing less than a medical marvel. He's been a leader, a team player, and an example to a young WR room. And by his own admission, last night was personal. And he rose to the occasion, with 10 catches on 12 targets for 146. Every single catch felt huge. A 1st down or one that set up a manageable down and distance when the offense was sputtering. None showed his skills like the first play of what would be an 11-play, 90 yard, 5:43 touchdown drive that made it a 20-10 game:

That's a veteran play right there. One that we've spent years watching other team's receivers pull off, while during the Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe era, it felt like three times a month the Pats were losing because somebody couldn't get their second set of toes in bounds or survive contact with the ground. Even more to the point, it just feels good to have one of ours return to the stadium where he used to play and bully his former teammates and fans, instead of us being on the sweaty end of the teabagging all the time. 

--I just mentioned how on the 32-yarder air strike to Diggs, Maye only had two targets to throw to. That was a recurring theme all night. Josh McDaniels went with Jumbo packages almost exclusively. When it wasn't two-tight end sets, it was power runs from the I behind Jack Westover. And often times, both. If you told me the McOffense only lined up with three wide receivers a half dozen times, I wouldn't argue with you. (I'm tired of us fighting. Why can't it be like when we first started seeing each other?) It was a modified version of that total ground war the Pats fought in Buffalo in 2021 when the game was played in one of those wind tunnels where they test jet engines. Which is why Rhamondre Stevenson wasn't sent into exile across the frozen surface of the Gotham River after coming down with another case of the 'Mondres:

--McDaniels was committed to the bit. After Antonio Gibson got knocked out on that kick return, it was either send Stephenson back in or improvise a whole new gameplan. He chose the former. With excellent results. On Stevenson's first touchdown, they went Tank, with three tight ends, Hooper at the point of attack and Mack Hollins once again throwing a great lead block on (I think) Taylor Rapp coming up to plug the hole:

--Stevenson's second was probably a result of the play call of the first. After loading up and pounding the ball with a gap run on that goal-to-goal, the next time they lined up in an I, showing another inside power. Buffalo bit on the fullback, but the pitch came outside. He got a good kickout block from Henry on (I think) Ja'Marcus Ingram. And poor Garrett Bradbury, who had pulled, was looking to dance but couldn't find a partner anywhere:

--So it would appear Stevenson is going to stay on the job. There is literally no one else on the roster who can do what he does. They didn't build any redundancies into the system. All we can do is hope he cures his moderate to severe fumblitis. Until he can, it's going to be really awkward when Cardi B brings the baby around and Uncle Rhamondre asks if he can hold it. 

--Defensively, Vrabel went big as well. In addition to the usual starters on the interior line, Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, we got a heavy (no pun intended but it works) rotation of Khyiris Tonga, Cory Durden and Joshua Farmer, who recovered Josh Allen's fumble, sniffing it out while he was flat on the ground like a (all due respect) truffle pig. On the second level, we saw a rotation alongside Robert Spillane (forced a fumble)  that included Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens and Jahlani Tavai who took his first snaps of the season. Typically these bigger, run-heavy fronts have resulted in teams exploiting the underneath zones with slants and curls. Tavai in particular was getting targeted in pass coverage all of last season. But the Pats made it work. Yes, Allen ran wild because that's what he does. But for the most part he was hurting them on the perimeter when the ends were crashing in too much. When he tried to run up the gut, they tended to bring him down on first contact, the way Elliss wrapped him up in the open field on Buffalo's first play from scrimmage. And they held James Cook to just 49 yards on 15 carries. I'll take that any time.

--I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm not sure which Bills player was which. That's because of something Mike Tirico pointed out, that should've been blatantly obvious to anyone pushing this alternate uniform dumbassery. The numbers were one of the 50 shades of gray from being rendered totally invisible to the naked eye. Which sort of defeats the whole purpose of putting numbers on things. When you've managed to cheese off Mike Tirico, who's spent years listening to Cris Collinsworth crack himself up, you've really stepped in it, NFL. 

--Not enough good things can be said about Marcus Jones. In fact, I probably should've said those things sooner than this, but this is stream-of-consciousness rambling, so you get what you get. I've kind of condescendingly called him "The Little Cornerback Who Could." Because while I respect the bejeebers out of his heart and desire and the way he's always in position, that position is still 5-foot-8 and bigger receivers take passes away from him like grandpa pulling a quarter out from behind Junior's ear. But the lack of size didn't prevent him from undercutting a deep dig from Khalil Shakir for an interception that threw the Bills Comeback Train off the tracks:

But then even more impressively, out-muscled all 6-4, 215 pounds of Keon Coleman:

So on a team that at one point had about 15 guys named Jones on the roster, the Last Jones Standing is becoming a folk hero before our eyes. The overachiever who can do multiple things, comes up big in clutch situations, and always seems to be making crucial plays when you need them most. I'm telling you right now, Jones is the one your girlfriend is falling in love with. He's filling that hole in her heart that's been there since James White retired. That undersized guy who's not too small to put an entire locker room on his back. She loves her dog, lattes, sweatshirt weather, RomComs, Marcus Jones, and in all probability, you. How you rank in those standings depends on how quick you get on board Jones' bandwagon.

--If the Pats hadn't pulled this one out, most of the blame would be going to Stevenson, and the deepest parts of the depth chart. With good reason. Buffalo's final touchdown drive was aided by two inexcusable penalties. One, a Roughing the Passer call on Durden that would've been charged as a war crime if he'd hit Patrick Mahomes that way. Followed by Farmer taking two full steps before launching himself at Cook, who couldn't have been any more tackled for a loss by Harold Landry. Then on the subsequent Patriots possession, Vederian Lowe was in as a third tight end and negated a 1st down with a false start. At least Stevenson has the job security that comes from being semi-irreplaceable. Being on the roster bubble is like taking the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm. 

--Credit where it's due to NBC for some of their game presentation. Granted, we could all use about half the Collinsworth and 10% of the Jimmy Fallon they fed us. But going to the break by dusting off that old chestnut, Nenah Cherry's "Buffalo Stance," was inspired. For a few months in the late '80s, she was the only Showgirl whose Life I needed to hear coming from the cassette player in my sweet Dodge Dart Sport. I'm sure Nenah's got a second hit coming for me soon. 

--I found it odd that in a game where they went intentionally big on both sides of the ball, Kyle Dugger got only one snap. While Jaylinn Hawkins never left the field, even as he struggled to stay with Dalton Kincaid on a deep over to start the 3rd quarter and fell for every part of the Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige on this red zone magic trick:

I can only conclude Vrabel has little to no confidence in Dugger's coverage skills.

--This Week's Applicable Movie Quote: 

Adam, Lou, Nick: "The Great White Buffalo." 

Jacob: "The great what?"

Adam, Lou, Nick: "Great White Buffalo."

Jacob: "Why are you guys whispering?"

Adam, Lou, Nick: "Great White Buffalo."

-Hot Tub Time Machine

--Let me warn everyone again about that Springsteen biopic they kept running a promo for. It might be a great movie. Jeremy Allen White is a terrific actor and seems perfect for the role. And I'm a fan of the music. But stay away from the theaters for the first week or so. Because every Boomer in Boston sports media is going to be seeing it at least a half dozen times. That cineplex you go to will be like the theater where Frank Costello would have Colin Sullivan meet him. Trust me, it won't be for polite society in there.

--It shouldn't be lost in all the drama of the finish that perhaps the most high leverage play of the first half was a 3rd & 7 with the Bills starting to find some traction. And Milton Williams killed the drive with a sack as Harold Landry came around him on a twist:

--But no one on defense besides Jones came up bigger than Christian Gonzalez. On back-to-back plays in the 4th, he stuck to Shakir like gum that he'd sat on for like 10 seconds while Allen evaded capture and bought time. When it felt for all the world like the Bills were going to get in the end zone and put the game out of reach, he broke up a 3rd & 10 and forced them to settle for the field goal instead. On 44 passing snaps, he was targeted five times, allowing just two catches for 36 yards. Between him, Maye and now Will Campbell, the tops of the last three drafts have netted better results than the previous 10. 

--Finally, consider this. The Patriots have 12 games left. Eight of those are against teams that currently have one win or no wins. And they've already won two games on the road in their division. All they need to do is be at the league average in penalties and turnovers and they can play with anybody.