A year ago around this time, it looked like the New England Patriots might be able to hold their own against Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills. After holding Allen and Buffalo to 10 points in an early December 2021 matchup, it seemed like the Patriots were ready to stay level with one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks.
Uh, about that.
After the Bills finished a cruising 24-10 win over the Patriots on Thursday night, they cemented what might be an increasingly embarrassing mark for Bill Belichick’s crew. In their last three games against the Bills — that’s 12 quarters of football, including a rousing beatdown of a Wild Card playoff game — Belichick’s bunch has forced just three punts on Buffalo. Three punts!
At the same time, it’s not as if Mac Jones and the New England offense played well. Far from it. A 10-point performance is quite poor, and an offense coached by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge is incredibly broken and inconsistent at the moment. Questions about these two at the helm of an offense that probably has more to do with New England sitting at 6-6 than the defense will grow in the coming days. But Jones and friends, struggles and all, are facing an almost impossible task if said defense can never get off the field, too.
No wonder the Bills have scored 104 points over their three contests against the Patriots. If they seldom kick the ball away after falling short on possessions, points will come in droves. If Jones’ offense never gets the ball rolling, Allen’s offense, in turn, has more time to work with. It’s almost as if the Patriots have an antithesis of ideal complementary football on hand.
This is where I remind you that the Patriots entered Thursday with the fourth-ranked defense in yardage and the No. 2 defense in Football Outsiders’ DVOA. And it didn’t matter as Buffalo had 38 minutes of possession and converted 9-of-15 third downs seemingly effortlessly.
As this AFC East rivalry continues to stray further and further out of the Patriots’ grasp, it’s starting to feel like they might not have a solution. Belichick, especially, may have run into his opposing quarterback kryptonite.
Allen now has as many wins over Belichick in his two-plus decades as the Patriots’ head coach as all other individual quarterbacks combined:
Bills wins vs the Patriots since Bill Belichick took over as head coach in 2000 (including playoffs)
Josh Allen 5
All other QBs 5#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/3WydRLx6kN— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 2, 2022
One of the faces of the league in Allen — who makes the incredible seem routine — plays for the Bills. He might not be an obstacle Belichick and Co. can overcome soon.
NFL fans started to wonder about the Bills' ongoing dominance over the Patriots
I just wanna play the Bills without getting embarrassed
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) December 2, 2022
The Bills have had a long touchdown called back, an interception overturned, are losing the turnover battle, and are leading by 17 with the ball and 12:10 left.
The gap between these two teams doesn't seem small right now. https://t.co/tESF0bYGuw
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 2, 2022
It feels like the #Bills have possessed the ball the entire game.
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) December 2, 2022
The throwback uniforms seem to be accompanied by some throwback ineptitude.
— Leigh Montville (@LeighMontville) December 2, 2022
It’s easier to understand what the Patriots offense is doing when you realize they have no offensive strategy or identity. They’re throwing spaghetti at the wall and they forgot to cook it.
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) December 2, 2022
Bill Belichick is at worst the second best NFL coach of all time, and probably the best.
He was also the only person on the planet who thought Matt Patricia running an offense was a good idea.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) December 2, 2022
Is Bill Belichick's idea of retirement just going through a season without an offensive coordinator?
— Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson) December 2, 2022
