1st & 10: Patriots vs. Bills

First Down

1. On Sunday, the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 29-25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. New England improves to 2-5, while the Bills fall to 4-3. New England's record in the division now stands at 2-1, the best in the division. However, because of their overall record, the Patriots remain bottom of the AFC East.

Next up, the Patriots will have the 5-2 Miami Dolphins on Sunday at 1:00pm in a road divisional matchup. Miami defeated New England 24-17 on Sunday Night Football in Week 2 at Gillette. Miami is coming off a 31-17 loss to the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles last night on Sunday Night Football.

Gritty Griddy Win

2. Mac Jones’ 1-yard pass to TE Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds left put the Patriots ahead 29-25 in a dramatic win. Gesicki’s touchdown pass capped off a combined 22 point barrage in the last 5:32 that included two lead changes. Down 25-22, The Patriots engineered an 8 play, 75 yard drive, sparked by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 34 yard catch-and-run on the first play of the drive. The Patriots were able to convert a crucial 3rd & 8 from the Buffalo 39 with 47 seconds left on a 14-yard catch by TE Hunter Henry.

300 (2023 Remake)

3. With Sunday’s win, Bill Belichick becomes only the third coach in NFL history to reach 300 career regular-season wins. Only Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318) rank ahead of Belichick on the all-time list. Including post-season wins, Belichick trails only Don Shula (347 wins).

Halfway Home

4. The Patriots led the Bills 13-3 at halftime. By securing the win in the final seconds, the Patriots improved to a staggering 109-3 record at Gillette Stadium when leading at halftime.

Keeping Up With the Jones

5. Mac Jones completed 25 of 30 passes for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the last two weeks, Jones’ completion percentage is an impressive 77.8%. Jones’ 126.7 passer rating was the third best across the entire league in Week 7 (behind only Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson). The 126.7 passer rating is also the third best in Jones’ career, and his personal best since a 50-10 thrashing of Jacksonville in Week 17 of his rookie season.

Six Ways to Sunday

6. The Patriots’ draft slot at 6th overall remains unchanged after the league’s Week 7 results, as the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and New York Giants all picked up wins. Those three teams also sit at 2-5 but are slotted ahead of the Patriots due to tiebreakers. The Patriots play both the Broncos (Dec. 24th) and the Giants (Nov. 26) away this season.

Adding Some Pop

7. Rookie Demario “Pop” Douglas racked up 99 total yards. The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Liberty caught 4 passes for 54 yards and added a 25 yard punt return in the 2nd quarter that gave the Patriots prime starting field position at the Buffalo 46 (drive was capped off by Chad Ryland’s 24 yard field goal to extend the Patriots lead to 13-3). Lastly, Douglas’ 20-yard run in the third quarter was the Patriots first run play of over 20 yards this season.

Oh Snap

8. DeVante Parker has seen his snaps dwindle. In his five previous games this season (Parker was inactive for Week 1 against the Eagles with a knee injury), Parker played 100% of the offensive snaps in Week 2, 76% in Week 3, 82% in Week 4, 98% in Week 5, and 75% in Week 6. Yesterday, Parker only saw the field for 58% of the offensive snaps, recording 1 reception for 8 yards on only 1 target.

Parker’s cutback in snaps comes a week after dropping a deep pass along the left sideline in a crucial spot in the Patriots' loss to Las Vegas. Had Parker secured the catch, the Patriots would have had possession around midfield with 1:52 remaining, needing only a field goal to take the lead. On the Patriots’ next play from scrimmage, Mac Jones was sacked in the endzone to preserve a Raiders win. After the game, Parker had a tense exchange with media members when asked about the incompletion. It is fair to conclude that Parkers’ decrease in snaps can simply be attributed to the Patriots gameplan that appeared to feature more speed (i.e. use of Demario Douglas and Jalen Reagor) and play action use of TE Pharaoh Brown (2 catches, 51 yards), but the timing is interesting.

Slim Pick-ins

9. Jabrill Peppers intercepted Josh Allen on Buffalo’s first offensive play from scrimmage. The interception was the second-straight week with a first quarter interception for the Patriots defense, who are tied for last in the NFL in takeaways (and second-to-last in turnover differential at -7). The Patriots technically secured a second takeaway of the game when Brendan Schooler recovered Josh Allen’s errant lateral as time expired. Without Schooler’s fumble recovery, the Patriots would have sole possession of last place in takeaways. As mentioned in last week’s 1st & 10, the Patriots have finished top 10 in the league in takeaways 14 times with Belichick as head coach.

New One-Liner?

10. Buffalo entered the game as the league-leader in sacks with 24 and seemed poised for open season against New England’s much-maligned offensive line. The Patriots significantly shuffled their line for Sunday’s matchup, moving Mike Onwenu from his usual right guard position to right tackle. 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange returned from a three-game absence to start at left guard, sandwiched between left tackle Trent Brown and veteran center David Andrews. Rookie Sidy Sow filled out the offensive line unit at right guard.

The personnel decisions on the offensive line clearly paid dividends, as Mac Jones was only sacked once and was strikingly complimentary of the unit after the game: “Really just the offensive line’s play today is what really stood out to me. They made everything work — run game, passing game…The offensive line just gave me the time I needed today. And when I have time, I can read the offense how we’re supposed to, and I really appreciate those guys.”