Week 7 Recap: Patriots Drop Heartbreaker to Bills 24-21
This is not a position that I’m used to seeing the New England Patriots in at this point in the season. The Patriots lost a heartbreaker at Buffalo to the Bills, 24-21. This game was actually a pretty good one for the most part. Unfortunately, it saw the Patriots falling just short once again. This is the third game this season that has been lost on the last drive. It’s also the third game that the Patriots have lost by six points or less. Before we move onto the Jets next Monday night, let’s look at a few things from this game.
The Damien Harris/Jakobi Meyers Game
.@DHx34 goes 22 yards for the TD!
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/D2GUQEbcZO
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 1, 2020
These two young Patriots had quite the games for themselves today. Jakobi Meyers was Cam Newton’s main target today as he finished with six receptions for 58 yards. The young receiver is showing that he’s getting better and becoming more reliable every week. But the big story of today was running back Damien Harris. Harris was all over the field today and proved that he can be an extremely good running back in the NFL. Harris finished the day with 16 carries for 102 yards. Oh, and he also had a 22 yard rushing touchdown to set up a Meyers two-point conversion to tie the game up late in the third quarter. In a game where the run was going to be key, this showed that Damien Harris is the Patriots running back of the future. These two kept the Patriots offense going and gave them a chance to win.
Why the Onside Kick?
Onside kick call comes back to hurt Patriots, giving the Bills the short field … and then a puzzling defensive call at the goal line to have LB Ja'Whaun Bentley move to the edge and vacate the middle for QB Josh Allen's easy TD scramble.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 1, 2020
This is something I think most of Patriots nation didn’t understand. You just tied the game up at 14. This is the first time in weeks you gained any offensive momentum. Then, you did this is the time to be tricky and steal a possession? What’s the deal here Bill? Why not just trust your defense to try to hold the Bills to 3 or even get a stop? You did it at the end of the game to give yourself a chance to win. This was also without Lawrence Guy and Ja’Whaun Bentley who left the game due to injury. It’s one of those head-scratchers that you just don’t quite understand.
Cam in Crunchtime
Cam Newton's fumble ices the game for the Bills 😯
(via @nflbrasil) pic.twitter.com/6TEUnGmAUV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 1, 2020
Cam Newton had the chance to be a hero and essentially save the season. Instead, he fumbled and essentially lost the game for the Patriots. It’s not entirely on Cam. Credit to Buffalo for making a defensive play when they needed it most. But Cam has to be better in crunch time. He didn’t get a good read on the final play in Seattle. He missed the pass to N’Keal Harry to keep the final drive going against Denver. Now today, he fumbles with a chance to win the game in Buffalo. It needs to stop happening, period.
Time to Tank?
At 2-5, it’s highly unlikely the Patriots make the playoffs. They’d essentially need to go 8-1 just to have a chance at a Wild Card spot. This team isn’t doing that. So it opens up the question: is it time to tank and get a high draft pick? I mean, why not at this point? You can get a high draft pick for the first time in years. Hightower and Chung will be back next season. The defense is getting younger/faster and will have playing experience under their belt. You can go out and get some talent on offense. It might not be the worst idea to just pack it in for 2020 and get ready for 2021.
In Conclusion
This is just becoming the same old story. We as Patriots fans now know what it’s like to root for a team that loses a lot. The Patriots have the Jets next Monday night. You’d think they SHOULD win this game. But at this point, are they better off just losing? I honestly don’t know. It would be nice to see a win again. It’s been so long since Patriots fans could enjoy a win. Now we have to wait another eight days to see if the losing streak will finally end!
–Al Nahigian (@BigAl2793)
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Feat. Image courtesy of patspulpit.com/