Last night had the feeling of Sean McDermott beating Bill Belichick at his own game. The Bills' ground attack was actually pretty inefficient (3.6 YPC). Josh Allen's 6.8 yards per pass attempt was a full yard below his season average.
But they mixed it up on offense. When New England cheated in, Allen often found his receivers downfield. When the Pats hung back, he'd dump it off to James Cook. And often when they came too far in, Allen wriggled free and showed off his dual-threat abilities.
The Patriots are a pretty young team, especially on defense. It's amazing they've done this well.
Yet last night reminded us that Buffalo can win any number of ways. After Cook's muted performance on Thanksgiving, I had a blind spot when it came to him breaking through in a tough road matchup. Never saw it coming. But given how the Patriots operated, in hindsight it made total sense that Cook was going to catch-and-run New England into submission.
If you invested in him, congrats on having a likely top-12 RB if Devin Singletary gets hurt down the stretch. And if you started Diggs, congrats on securing an early-week-13 lead. As I mentioned yesterday, before last week, the Pats hadn't surrendered more than six receptions to any receiver since Mark Andrews in Week 3. Diggs made it three receivers in the span of eight days.
I warned against starting Devin Singletary, and though his 11.1 fantasy points probably can be viewed as just "ok" at this stage of the season, the fact is, he scored. He did what only two other RBs have done against New England all season. By contrast, at least one opposing RB scored in each of the Patriots' final five games last season.
And Dawson Knox flopped. Not sure if that bungled catch attempt will count as his first drop of the year. But he appeared to be a blocker most of the game, which also--in hindsight--made sense with Cook serving in a pseudo Knox capacity as a safety valve. Knox also got hurt, so that's something to monitor next week if you're in a deep league.
For New England, Rhamondre Stevenson did what was expected, though his volume on the ground (10 carries) wasn't close my projections. A negative game script didn't help. The good news is that he ran well (54 rushing yards) and earned the most catches and targets on the team. He also ran with power, sometimes dragging defenders five yards or more. He's one of the best in the league at yards after contact. That goes a long way--literally and figuratively.
And Mac Jones looked a little too Mac Jonesish. Even without Von Miller, Buffalo's defense kept up the pressure and shut down passing lanes. Repeatedly on third downs, Jones couldn't find his guys at or beyond the first-down marker. His fault? His receivers' faults? Who knows. Maybe a little of both. He's now been pretty bad in three of his last five outings, sandwiched around two brilliant performances.
At 6-6, the Patriots' final games are against Arizona, Vegas, Cincy, Miami, and Buffalo again. They're still in the playoff hunt. But if you have Patriots on your team, be wary of Week 7. Because if New England is 7-8 by then, we might see some changes if Belichick decides to play it safe and look ahead to 2023.
Finally, the closest-score competition. I predicted 23-16. Did anyone do better? Of course! Several of you did. But only one of you took home the big prize. Kevin Buckley picked the final score on the nose: 24-10 Bills.
And more than that . . . this is Kevin's second win of the season. And more than *that* . . . in his last win, he also guessed the exact final score (Thursday Night Football, Week 2). So this is the first time in recorded final-score-prediction history that someone's picked the final score twice in the same year. If the season ended today, Kevin would be crowned ultimate champion. I think.
Congrats Kevin, and have a great Friday everyone.
But they mixed it up on offense. When New England cheated in, Allen often found his receivers downfield. When the Pats hung back, he'd dump it off to James Cook. And often when they came too far in, Allen wriggled free and showed off his dual-threat abilities.
The Patriots are a pretty young team, especially on defense. It's amazing they've done this well.
Yet last night reminded us that Buffalo can win any number of ways. After Cook's muted performance on Thanksgiving, I had a blind spot when it came to him breaking through in a tough road matchup. Never saw it coming. But given how the Patriots operated, in hindsight it made total sense that Cook was going to catch-and-run New England into submission.
If you invested in him, congrats on having a likely top-12 RB if Devin Singletary gets hurt down the stretch. And if you started Diggs, congrats on securing an early-week-13 lead. As I mentioned yesterday, before last week, the Pats hadn't surrendered more than six receptions to any receiver since Mark Andrews in Week 3. Diggs made it three receivers in the span of eight days.
I warned against starting Devin Singletary, and though his 11.1 fantasy points probably can be viewed as just "ok" at this stage of the season, the fact is, he scored. He did what only two other RBs have done against New England all season. By contrast, at least one opposing RB scored in each of the Patriots' final five games last season.
And Dawson Knox flopped. Not sure if that bungled catch attempt will count as his first drop of the year. But he appeared to be a blocker most of the game, which also--in hindsight--made sense with Cook serving in a pseudo Knox capacity as a safety valve. Knox also got hurt, so that's something to monitor next week if you're in a deep league.
For New England, Rhamondre Stevenson did what was expected, though his volume on the ground (10 carries) wasn't close my projections. A negative game script didn't help. The good news is that he ran well (54 rushing yards) and earned the most catches and targets on the team. He also ran with power, sometimes dragging defenders five yards or more. He's one of the best in the league at yards after contact. That goes a long way--literally and figuratively.
And Mac Jones looked a little too Mac Jonesish. Even without Von Miller, Buffalo's defense kept up the pressure and shut down passing lanes. Repeatedly on third downs, Jones couldn't find his guys at or beyond the first-down marker. His fault? His receivers' faults? Who knows. Maybe a little of both. He's now been pretty bad in three of his last five outings, sandwiched around two brilliant performances.
At 6-6, the Patriots' final games are against Arizona, Vegas, Cincy, Miami, and Buffalo again. They're still in the playoff hunt. But if you have Patriots on your team, be wary of Week 7. Because if New England is 7-8 by then, we might see some changes if Belichick decides to play it safe and look ahead to 2023.
Finally, the closest-score competition. I predicted 23-16. Did anyone do better? Of course! Several of you did. But only one of you took home the big prize. Kevin Buckley picked the final score on the nose: 24-10 Bills.
And more than that . . . this is Kevin's second win of the season. And more than *that* . . . in his last win, he also guessed the exact final score (Thursday Night Football, Week 2). So this is the first time in recorded final-score-prediction history that someone's picked the final score twice in the same year. If the season ended today, Kevin would be crowned ultimate champion. I think.
Congrats Kevin, and have a great Friday everyone.