{"id":97297,"date":"2022-01-13T21:08:57","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T02:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=97297"},"modified":"2022-01-13T22:01:47","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T03:01:47","slug":"patriots-game-plan-how-the-pats-correct-mistakes-and-attack-buffalos-week-16-blueprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=97297","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Game Plan: How the Pats Correct Mistakes and Attack Buffalo’s Week 16 Blueprint"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before we start previewing Patriots-Bills III, New England has to look inward to address their current mindset after three losses in their final four regular-season games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it was the Bills, Bengals, or someone else on Saturday night, the Patriots team we\u2019ve seen over the last month isn\u2019t going to win the playoffs; starting slow leading to insurmountable deficits, sloppy penalties and execution, turnovers, and special teams snafus won’t cut it.<\/span><\/p>\n

So here is the question for the 2021 Patriots: have they completely let go of the rope, or were they waiting for the postseason to flip the switch back on? It\u2019s now or never.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news for the struggling Patriots is that they already know what not to do against their Wild Card playoff opponent in the Buffalo Bills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his staff can throw out their Week 16 game plan, set it on fire, and start from scratch on both sides of the ball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another positive for New England is that, along with scrapping their last plan against Buffalo, they have a better idea of how the Bills will scheme them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buffalo\u2019s brain trust laid a blueprint with these key elements that led to a clear victory in Week 16:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Defense: man coverage with inside leverage and smother Mac Jones\u2019s check downs to make Jones beat them by throwing into tight coverage downfield.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Offense: Use QB Josh Allen\u2019s ability to extend plays and draw defenders to defeat zone coverage & run crossing patterns to attack out-leveraged man coverage defenders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Although Buffalo will have a few new wrinkles here and there, why fix it if it ain\u2019t broke?<\/span><\/p>\n

    For the Patriots, this matchup comes down to Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels willingness to morph themselves into an operation better-suited to beat the Bills.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Yes, Belichick is known for being the best game plan coach in NFL history and doing that very thing to craft schemes for a specific opponent.<\/span><\/p>\n

    However, lately, we\u2019ve seen the Pats go down with stubborn approaches (Myles Bryant on Isaiah McKenzie) and be out-scripted early in games while they slowly adapt once the team is in a hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Patriots\u2019 approach should be much easier to figure out now, facing Buffalo for a third time this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Saturday night\u2019s showdown will come down if Belichick and McDaniels make the proper adjustments to put the Pats in winnable situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

    WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

    There\u2019s one element to New England\u2019s plan in Week 16 that can stay, and that\u2019s obviously the running game.<\/p>\n

    The Pats successfully ran the ball in both matchups against the Bills, and the running game should be featured prominently. But it would behoove them to first set up the run with early-down passes.<\/p>\n

    In Week 16, New England went one-for-ten on third down. A big part of that was poor early-down offense leading to an average distance on third down of eight yards for a first down. The Patriots faced eight third downs of seven-plus yards and five third downs of ten-plus yards. It was the difference in the game.<\/p>\n

    Although the Patriots should take advantage of their running game, the easiest way to avoid third down is to skip over it altogether with explosive plays, which is why they need to script those plays to beat the Bills’ early-down coverages on their opening drive. Hopefully, you’ll get a lead, and then you pound the rock.<\/p>\n

    To better understand how the Patriots can solve Buffalo\u2019s pass defense, which has given them problems even in the Brady era, we must first dissect how the Bills shut them down in Week 16.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Bills head coach Sean McDermott and DC Leslie Frazier knew the Pats\u2019 staple concepts were levels, double digs or drive concepts, and crossing routes between the numbers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The strategy for Buffalo was to play man coverage with inside leverage to cut off in-breaking routes and force Jones to beat tight coverage downfield.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n