That’s how it looked on the other side for the past 20 years.
The New England Patriots had nothing to play on Monday night against Buffalo Bills – and they certainly played like him in an embarrassing explosion for Buffalo Bills on national television.
Cam Newton was placed on the bench. Bill Belichick threw a phone. JC Jackson was burned by Stefon Diggs (and was also banned). The defense failed to face, cover or prevent Josh Allen from looking like an MVP candidate while the Bills drove his playoff car up and down the Gillette Stadium field.
After so many years of Bills dominance with Tom Brady in charge, the Patriots’ new look seemed helpless as all eyes turned to 2021 to see how Belichick can rebuild this team – or whether they can defeat the New York Jets last week. .
Here’s what we learned from Monday night’s loss.
1. The 2020 Patriots season, summed up in one play
The 2020 Patriots could have followed a myriad of directions this year. But in the end, it ended up as a mediocre mess with flashes of brightness.
Perhaps no move can sum up the season better than this first double pass from Sony Michel to Newton to Damiere Byrd’s mask on the floor.
As with many points this season, the Patriots were doing well. Then, at the worst possible moment, everything fell apart, leaving the team to collect mediocre results. In this play, it was a fully open Byrd, letting a ball bounce off his mask instead of into his hands, resulting in incompleteness instead of a possible touchdown.
This move had everything: an ambitious plan, a Patriots receiver making a mistake and the blame on the scoreboard going to Newton (incompleteness).
This move, like the whole season, had great potential and expectations. Instead, it was a field goal – and a record failure.
2. Belichick finally pulled Cam Newton to Jarrett Stidham
At the start of Monday night’s game, there was speculation that the Patriots might put Newton on the bench in favor of sophomore quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Much of this resulted from Belichick’s refusal to make a firm statement of “Cam is our defender” this week.
The prevailing thought was that, as the Patriots didn’t have a postseason to play, Belichick could put the boy out there and see what he had in a full game situation. Instead, Belichick stayed with his guy – for a while.
But with the Patriots having their doors blown up on the scoreboard, Belichick finally got Stidham off the bench for Newton.
It didn’t really change things. Stidham started out slow in attack, nailing some low passes (as Newton used to do) and failing to provide a spark for the passing attack.
3. Belichick stopped downloading his anger on tablets and started using phones
Belichick is famous for his contempt for Microsoft Surface tablets on the sideline, culminating in his timeless clip pinning the device to the sides in frustration.
On Monday night, we had a new entry into the Belichick Sideline Reaction Hall of Fame, when the coach was caught hitting a phone in frustration.
The peak of the phone came after the Patriots wasted a challenge flag on a side capture that was easily maintained in the review. Challenge calls typically come from longtime Belichick’s assistant, Ernie Adams, at the booth. Clearly, Belichick was not happy with this connection.
4. JC Jackson vs. Stefon Diggs started out as a big battle – and ended with Jackson on the back lines
With Stephon Gilmore ready for the season, the Patriots turned to third year cornerback JC Jackson as their number one man on the cover to accompany Stefon Diggs throughout the game.
Early on, the Patriots had Jackson following Diggs all over the field and seemed to have the upper hand from the start, getting physical with Bills’ top receiver and singing with him on the field. During the first 19 minutes of the game, Allen was 0-2 when he aimed at Diggs.
Diggs then reversed the script in one play, toasting Jackson on a crossing route before escaping for a 50-yard score.
Soon after, Allen hit Diggs in a curve in the red zone, resulting in Jackson and safety Terrence Brooks hitting the receiver, who ran for the scoreboard.
When the game reached the fourth time, Jackson was sighted standing on the side as a second-year cornerback, Joejuan Williams joined the game.
This was a difficult journey for Jackson as the number one guy.
5. The Patriots will hear about a sloppy approach this week
Going back to the second touchdown for Diggs: this is an example of some seriously irregular tackles.
It has been a recurring theme throughout the season. In a year with a limited training ground and less practice due to COVID-19, the Patriots took a step back in their tackle skills.
The above move is a microcosm of the problems that the Patriots had on the defensive side of the ball. It is not just a matter of talent. It is a fundamental problem for which there is no easy solution.
6. The ESPN broadcast subjected the audience to this nightmare animation “Love, Actually”
It would be difficult to find anything more frightening to witness this year than the Patriots’ passing game. Still, ESPN managed to do it with this holiday-themed animation inspired by the “Love Actually” scene, where Andrew Lincoln professes his love for Kiera Knightley.
In this version, ESPN shows Belichick going to Brady’s door and showing all the negative statistics for New England this season.
This was probably not how New England fans wanted to end the holiday.
7. Cam Newton’s supposed morning schedule is crazy
The ESPN broadcast featured a fascinating little graphic depicting the Patriots quarterback’s typical morning schedule. According to ESPN, Newton goes to bed at 11:30 pm. After that, Newton’s morning is supposed to be the following:
4:20 am – Wake up.
4:30 am – Leave home.
8 am – Take your first sip of coffee.
OK, there are a few things to discuss here. First, the suggestion that Newton get out of his bed and out the door in 10 minutes. The only way this is possible is if he has some kind of automatic awakening contraption like Wallace & Gromit.
Second, Newton only has four hours and 50 minutes of sleep? This is not good for you.
Third, if we’re talking about quarterbacks who don’t drink coffee, Tom Brady spent 20 years without drinking coffee in New England.
8. The Patriots were burned by a fake punt for the second week in a row
Last week, the Patriots were rescued when the Dolphins made a fake punt and called him back because a recipient did not report eligibility.
This time, Bills took advantage of some aggressive Patriots moves to steal a first down. New England stacked the box in this move in an attempt to block the punt. This meant bringing its defenders against the opposing gunners.
Well, Bills turned those scorers into receivers by making a direct snap to the upback Jaquan Johnson, who made an easy first shot for Siran Neal.
9. Devin Asiasi may never get a pass
The choice of the third round of the Patriots had a difficult season to debut. He spent some time at RI and had to leave the team at some point for personal reasons.
In the field, he is still trying to get a real catch.
Asiasi entered the field with two targets over seven games this season, both of which resulted in gaps.
On Monday, he obtained another pair of targets, which resulted in failures.
The first was loud and bounced off Asiasi’s fingertips. The second was punched in a tight window with Asiasi having contact and not being able to hold the ball.
Ryan Izzo was not lighting up the score when he was playing. But since he fell on IR, the tight end position has not been a factor for the Patriots.
10. Injuries remain an important factor
The Patriots ended the game on Monday night with several of their most important players injured. McCourty is the glue in the defense. Andrews is a vital centerpiece for the offensive line. Mason is generally considered the best overall striker on the team.
This is in addition to the approximately 20 players that the Patriots limited in training this week, in addition to players already injured such as Julian Edelman and Stephon Gilmore.
Injuries are no excuse for bad results on Monday night. But they are a great reason for explaining why things got worse so quickly.