{"id":94099,"date":"2021-12-07T02:25:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T07:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=94099"},"modified":"2021-12-10T23:16:23","modified_gmt":"2021-12-11T04:16:23","slug":"lazar-ten-things-we-learned-from-the-patriots-14-10-win-over-the-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/lazar-ten-things-we-learned-from-the-patriots-14-10-win-over-the-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Lazar: Ten Things We Learned From the Patriots 14-10 Win Over the Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORCHARD PARK, NY \u2013 The Patriots held on to the top seed in the AFC by defeating the Buffalo Bills 14-10 in one of the most bizarre NFL games we\u2019ll ever see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New England became the first NFL team since 1974 to win a game with their quarterback, Mac Jones, attempting only three passes in a Belichickian statement on playing to win the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll tell stories about the wind storm in Buffalo on Monday night for years. The Pats are a gritty bunch, Belichick won a weird chess match, and we aren\u2019t trying to take away from any of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pats lined up across from Buffalo\u2019s defense and ran the ball with six offensive linemen on 64% of their snaps right down their throats for 222 yards, even though the Bills knew it was coming.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots can run the ball and control the line of scrimmage against a finesse Bills team who had no choice but to throw the ball to generate offense with their own anemic running game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belichick and New England\u2019s defense executed a plan that forced Bills quarterback Josh Allen to dink-and-dunk down the field, then held Buffalo to one-for-four in the red zone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was fun, it was weird, and the big brother beat up the little brother, but we will never see another game like this one again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Patriots play the Bills up in Foxboro in Week 16, the game script will likely follow a completely different blueprint, and we\u2019ll see if New England wins a more open passing game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are ten things we learned as the Patriots improved to 9-4 on the season:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Pats Lean All the Way Into Playing to Win the Game in Windstorm<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There\u2019s playing to the conditions, and then there\u2019s doing what Bill Belichick did on Monday night. The Pats ran the ball 46 times, played field position, and made sure they had the win in their favor in the fourth quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the game, rookie quarterback Mac Jones told CLNS Media, “we run the plays that are called. We had a game plan, but obviously, that changes a little bit with the conditions. At the end of the day, we had the looks we wanted to run the ball, so we kept doing it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s important to note that Jones said all the right things after the game about the Pats’ strategy and wasn’t bothered by the run-heavy plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones added that the Patriots knew that if they took care of the ball, they’d win the game and did what they needed to do to win.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Pats Steam Roll Bills Defense for 222 Yards on 46 Rush Attempts\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Entering Monday night\u2019s game, the Pats knew they had a distinct advantage in the trenches against Buffalo. The Bills defense is built to stop the pass. Even though they had eight-plus defenders in the box at times, Buffalo was still playing with lighter personnel at edge defender and only two true defensive linemen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels rolled with a heavy personnel package: Mike Onwenu (eligible), Jonnu Smith, Jakob Johnson, N\u2019Keal Harry, and an RB on 64% of New England’s offensive snaps.<\/span><\/p>\n

New England got their run game started by attacking the edges on crack toss schemes.<\/span><\/p>\n