{"id":20307,"date":"2024-12-23T04:20:19","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T04:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307"},"modified":"2024-12-23T04:20:19","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T04:20:19","slug":"news-two-studs-three-duds-from-patriots-tough-loss-to-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307","title":{"rendered":"NEWS: Two Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Tough Loss To Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"
After taking a shocking 14-0 lead over the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots dropped their fifth straight game, falling to 3-12 in the season.<\/p>\n

The Patriots called plays\u00a0aggressively in the first half, including a fake punt on fourth-and-2, but the Bills scored 24 unanswered points to\u00a0defeat the Patriots 24-21\u00a0at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\n

This roster certainly has some bright spots, as well as some challenges. Let\u2019s take a look at the studs and duds from the Patriots\u2019 loss to the Bills.<\/p>\n

STUDS<\/strong>
\nDrake Maye<\/strong>
\nMaye made his typical mistake, throwing an interception in the end zone. But he was otherwise solid under center.<\/p>\n

The Patriots rookie threw for 260 yards on 23-of-36 passing with a touchdown to Kayshon Boutte on New England\u2019s opening drive for a quick 7-0 lead. Maye also rushed for 31 yards on six carries, including a 10-yard scramble for a first down in the first quarter. He added a second passing touchdown in the fourth quarter to get the Patriots within three, 24-21.<\/p>\n

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First Half Play Calling<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots have been criticized all season long for their lack of creative play-calling. In the first half, New England did the exact opposite, utilizing Maye\u2019s skills and even shocking Buffalo with a fake punt.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

While it\u2019s unknown if head coach Jerod Mayo or offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt deserves credit for the Patriots\u2019 outstanding first half,\u00a0the question\u00a0remains: why did the coaching staff wait until Week 16 to show aggressiveness and creativity?<\/p>\n

DUDS<\/strong>
\nMarte Mapu<\/strong>
\nMapu could have made the play of the game when he intercepted Bills quarterback Josh Allen\u2019s pass in the end zone in the second quarter.<\/p>\n

But instead of taking a knee for the touchback, Mapu attempted to run the ball out of the end zone and was tackled at the Patriots\u2019 1-yard line. The gaff by the New England safety left the broadcasters, as well as the fans, scratching their heads on the play.<\/p>\n

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Patriots Rushing Game<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots just couldn\u2019t seem to get anything going on the ground against the Bills\u2019 defense. Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson rushed for a combined 88 yards on 22 carries with only Stevenson finding the end zone. New England\u2019s offense managed just 127 total rushing yards with Maye second on the team behind Stevenson with 31 yards from the signal-caller.<\/p>\n

Patriots Turnovers<\/strong>
\nNew England\u2019s three turnovers stunted its offense in the second half and resulted in 10 Buffalo points.<\/p>\n

Tied 14-14 in the third quarter, Greg Rousseau forced and recovered a Stevenson fumble that led to the Bills\u2019 Tyler Bass knocking down a 50-yard field goal to give Buffalo its first lead of the game.<\/p>\n

The second fumble was recovered by Bills cornerback Taron Johnson for a touchdown to give Buffalo a 24-12 lead.<\/p>\n

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Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

New England will close out the 2024 season with a two-game homestand against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 and a rematch against the Bills in Week 18.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Patriots lose their fifth straight game after falling 24-21 to the Bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nNEWS: Two Studs, Three Duds From Patriots' Tough Loss To Bills - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEWS: Two Studs, Three Duds From Patriots' Tough Loss To Bills - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Patriots lose their fifth straight game after falling 24-21 to the Bills.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-23T04:20:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SaveVid.Net_471377871_1106479557523719_2481122103413948448_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=20307\",\"name\":\"NEWS: Two Studs, Three Duds From Patriots' Tough Loss To Bills - 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