The Bills had their chance late once again.
This time, the cards didn’t fall the right way for Buffalo. In their Week 16 visit to Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots, the Bills kept things interesting as usual this season, but fell in the end, 24-17.
Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ loss to the Patriots:
Patriots’ backs unstoppable
Throughout this one, the story was what came out of the Patriots’ backfield. No matter what it was, the Bills couldn’t stop it.
The lone bright spot for the Bills was an early turnover, but even then, the bad was set. On a dump-off pass from Tom Brady to Rex Burkhead, the back gained a lot of ground. Jordan Poyer helped the Bills escape damage by forcing a fumble which was recovered by Micah Hyde to end the Patriots’ opening drive, but that set the tone.
The oft-bad Sony Michel this season for the Patriots had 21 carries for 96 yards in this one. Burkhead led the patriots with plenty of work in the screen game, catching four ball for a team-high 77 yards receding. James White also had 24 receiving yards on another four catches.
The Bills have been inconsistent in this area through the season and the Patriots exploited it.
.@RBRex34 would not be denied. #BUFvsNE | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/1DYbA2yBzW
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 22, 2019