The New England Patriots came up short against the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's Week 16 matchup, but there were positives to take away from the 24-21 defeat.
The Drake Maye-led offense looked sharp as it jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. Buffalo proceeded to score 24 unanswered points, though the Patriots defense limited NFL MVP frontrunner Josh Allen to just 154 yards and one touchdown while notching an interception.
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For a team with a 3-12 record, a three-point loss to a Super Bowl favorite is what some might consider a "moral victory." Although NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran liked the effort he saw from the team on Sunday, he still came away feeling uneasy with some of the offensive playcalling.
"I say that they should feel frustrated with the result, encouraged that they finally showed a pulse and an identity. That's how I would feel," Curran said on Patriots Postgame Live. "And it's interesting, you look at this team right now and part of the reason they lost, of course, was mistakes by (Rhamondre) Stevenson. The mistake by Maye in throwing to the front side of the end zone, but also the mistake of (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt. Why are you calling for a screen inside your own 10? I mean, there's so many more things that can go wrong than can go right. ...
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"So many things were good about the Patriots' offensive performance. I like the tempo, I like the identity building. I like going for it on fourth down. I still come away from it and go, 'Oh, I can see why Alex Van Pelt is driving them a little crazy down there.'"
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The play Curran referred to ultimately sealed the Patriots' fate. Down 17-14 on their own 12-yard line with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, they ran a backward screen pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The ball bounced off Stevenson's helmet and was recovered in the end zone by cornerback Taron Johnson for a Buffalo TD.
TD for Taron!
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 22, 2024
📺: @paramountplus & @NFLonCBS@Taronj11 | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/JTekLmBcuS
Former Pats quarterback Brian Hoyer -- feeling more frustrated than encouraged after New England's loss -- places the blame for that botched play squarely on Maye, not Van Pelt.
"I have the right to be frustrated. I'm gonna disagree with you on that play call," Hoyer said. "Because all you've got to do at quarterback is see that the defensive end is there waiting for your running back. Just throw it at his feet and move on to the next play. He's played enough football. ...
"I'd be more frustrated with that -- I know they scored at the end, but we were just sitting there watching them not have an answer for Blitz 0 there at the end of the game and getting bailed out by these pass interference calls. I'd be more frustrated about that. This play call to me is, it's, it's an easy 'get the guy going' type play. ... This is not the play-caller."
That play wasn't Maye's only mistake. The rookie signal-caller struggled for much of the second half and tossed an interception for the seventh consecutive game.
Still, it was a decent bounce-back effort for New England after a woeful performance in its Week 15 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Second-year wideout Kayshon Boutte was among the Patriots' standouts with five receptions for 95 yards and a TD.
As a result of Sunday's loss, the Patriots have the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with two games left on the schedule. They will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
