The New England Patriots fell to 6-6 at the hands of the division rival Buffalo Bills. Not only did the loss hurt their AFC East standing, but it also served as another dagger to their playoff hopes.
It’s already on to the Monday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals at this point for the Patriots. There’s no use of beating themselves up over another blowout loss to the Bills.
You’d have to search long and hard to find much of anything to cheer for in the Week 13 loss, but there were at least three players for the Patriots that offered a glimmer of hope for the team moving forward.
First Star: Josh Uche
Josh Uche tallied six tackles and two sacks against the Bills and has been a promising bright spot for the Patriots in the second half of the season.
Uche possesses insane speed on the edge and has been forming an incredible pass rush tandem opposite of Matthew Judon this season. He was visibly giving Josh Allen trouble on some of his throws, but Allen and the Bills are still Allen and the Bills.
With that said, you can’t fault the effort of a defense that held one of the best offenses in the league to only seven points in the second half.
Second Star: Marcus Jones
Marcus Jones is a cornerback, return man and wide receiver.
He was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft for his versatility and electric playmaking abilities in all facets of the game. This week saw Jones take more of a designed role on defense and offense. He scored a 48-yard touchdown in his first ever NFL snap on offense and showcased his pure speed and talent.
The kid can do it all 🤯@MarcusJonesocho | #ProBowlVote #BUFvsNE on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/1Bu00fgnqE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 2, 2022
Jones is quickly becoming one of the Patriots’ Swiss army knives and looks like someone who will be making plays in New England for quite some time.
Third Star: Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson was the lone offensive bright spot, showcasing 78 total offensive yards with six catches. He is one of the hardest players in the league to bring down and showed the world on Thursday why he’s a star in the making.
It was a no-brainer handing him a star here because the offense relied heavily on him this week. Things definitely could have been much uglier without the second-year running back plowing through defenders and churning out the tough yards to keep the chains moving on some drives.
The scary part is the fact that Stevenson hasn’t even reached his ceiling as a playmaker yet.
