He’s so bad that the Patriots converted their safeties Tavon Wilson and Chung to nickel corners to keep Melvin off of the field. The Bills would form a wall of defenders about 8 yards off the ball, content to give Amendola a 4-yard pass underneath but then swarm to the ball. Pick up three yards, and the Patriots could have followed with three kneel downs. The Patriots won that battle 27-24, improving to 12-0.
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SERIES HISTORY: 44th regular-season meeting. With the exception of the aforementioned four games, New England bowled over the competition. Watkins was also shaken up on the play, but returned. And starting right guard John Miller has already been ruled out because of an ankle injury. But the realities of life in the National Football League are beginning to settle in with the Patriots. Tyrod Taylor, as good as he’s been, still struggles with his passes sometimes and his improvement in gaining more rapport with Watkins can only help boost the second year receiver’s numbers.
[Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]The Patriots suffered another key injury in Monday night’s 20-13 victory against the Buffalo Bills.
Danny Amendola, who did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough due to a knee injury, returned to the practice field Thursday as a limited participant.
Stephon Gilmore pass break up – What an athletic play by Gilmore to knock away a handsome deep ball from Tom Brady. “It’s just like chess out here with us, once one guy goes down, you have to move to another spot, and this guy goes over here, and things like that”. I am sure that Denver will have plenty of clever blitzes ready to be employed and those could be the downfall of this undefeated team.
“I think we really showcased what we can do, as far as the defense, and how we can play”, Manny Lawson said. “But I think we have the right guys to accept that challenge and we’re looking forward to the matchup this weekend”.
In the end, several field goal kicks and a trio of touchdowns marked the only big scoring plays. Dobson, who was added to the injury report on Monday morning, played in the game but didn’t last, limping off midway through the second quarter.
The Bills may be the more physically gifted team, but they also took a physical pounding during Monday night’s loss at New England.
The Patriots offensive line had a hard day against the Bills. Since Brady was under constant pressure, he did not have the time to wait for the big tight end to beat his coverage and this led to forced throws that fell short of their mark. New England’s Jonathan Freeny picked it and rumbled 5 yards before he lost the ball and it bounced out of bounds.
The Bills flustered and hurried Brady on nearly every drop-back, but he was still able to come up with as many pinpoint throws as the Patriots needed to win the game. With Dobson being on injured reserve for the second year in a row, it’s time to wonder just how much time he has left in New England.
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The Pats can wrap up yet another division title this weekend if they win in Denver and the Jets lose to Miami.
