Once the Patriots defense had Allen holding the ball, the reigning MVP began to get antsy in the pocket. Above, the Pats drop into a cover-three zone coverage with a four-man rush. Rather than sitting in the clean pocket and hitting the deep crosser that uncovers across the face of the post-safety, Allen leaves the pocket, and the Pats pin him to the sideline nicely to force a throw. Eventually, CB Christian Gonzalez “plasters” to Shakir over the middle in the scramble drill, breaking up a third-down pass that forced Buffalo to settle for a game-tying field goal.
When the Patriots built this defense, the vision was for Davis and Gonzalez to shut down their respective matchups/sides of the field. In turn, that would allow the Pats to deploy resources to stop the run when needed and pressure opposing quarterbacks. On Sunday night, we saw that offseason plan come to fruition with Gonzalez now healthy.
Quick-Hit Film Notes From Pats-Bills After Further Review
– Although this is a bit nitpicky, QB Drake Maye had six minus plays in my charting. Mostly, he left some clean pockets, which caused his own pressure, accounting for two of Buffalo’s four sacks. Maye was a bit sped up at times, but so was Josh Allen, so maybe it was that kind of night for the two quarterbacks. Maye was under pressure on 41.7% of his drop-backs, with the Bills increasing the blitz rate in the second half, which suggests there were reasons behind him getting out of dodge. Still, receivers were uncovering downfield if he had stayed in the pocket on a few occasions.
– WR Stefon Diggs was outstanding in and out of the offense’s structure. Diggs caught in-structure throws on his 30-yard hook route (+YAC), an 11-yard slant on third down, a 15-yard out off a boot-action, and a 16-yard corner/stop in a flood concept. He then created off-script with Maye on his 32-yard bomb, a 10-yard sideline catch, and the 12-yarder off a broken counter bash play. McDaniels is starting to find a groove with moving Diggs around the formation to get him favorable matchups. Over the last two weeks, Diggs has looked like a No. 1 wide receiver.
– LT Will Campbell was outstanding outside of two reps in pass protection, where he gave up ground to a bull rush and was caught with his eyes outside on a blitz. Besides that, Campbell controlled his matchups against A.J. Epenesa and Joey Bosa. In the run game, he had a standout zone combination block (8-yard run) and a terrific block to save a five-yard run that made the game-winning field goal a more manageable 52 yards. Campbell’s foot speed, ability to sink and generate power from his lower half, and hand strength continue to shine. I have never once thought about his arm length while watching his film.
– LG Jared Wilson plays with great effort, and there are some really good flashes for him on film. However, he was inconsistent this week, allowing three pressures and 2.5 run stuffs. Wilson allowed a QB hit on a T/E stunt on Maye’s hole shot to Boutte on the game-winning drive, and had issues falling off blocks due to overextension. Wilson tries to bring the fight to the defender, which can be good, but it also leads to swim moves and double-team splits when defenders anticipate it coming. Wilson is a third-round rookie. Hopefully, he’ll continue to improve.
– C Garrett Bradbury allowed two pressures on some tricky schemes by the Bills, including a coffee house stunt where the rusher fakes like he’s dropping, then blitzes once the blocker looks for work elsewhere. On the whole, Bradbury was solid outside of the schemed rushes.
– RG Mike Onwenu had a really nice reach block on a positive toss play and a backside climb to the second level on a zone scheme. However, he allowed a pressure on a stunt and an additional hurry in one-on-one pass protection, to go along with 1.5 run stuffs.
– RT Morgan Moses has a few run blocks every game that jump off the film. This week, it was a down block on a five-yard run and a great double-team with Hooper on a seven-yard run. Moses allowed one pressure on an inside spin move in a nice, quiet performance.
– WR Kayshon Boutte made the most of his targets with three high-leverage catches: an 8-yard comebacker to move the chains on third down, a 16-yard comebacker, and the 19-yard hole shot was the big play on the game-winning drive. Boutte was called for two penalties in this one, but he had a gritty, clutch performance overall.
– TE Hunter Henry had some ups and downs as a blocker, but his two chunk plays were huge. Henry made a great adjustment on his 22-yard catch before halftime and was a big target in the middle of a cover-two zone on his 24-yard catch. He also had some plus-perimeter blocks.
– TE Austin Hooper had a great down block on Rhamondre Stevenson’s first TD run, was the other half of that double-team block with Moses and drew a hold as a receiver—another reliable game for Hooper, who is a very good in-line blocker for this offense.
– RB TreVeyon Henderson broke into space on his 13-yard run, where he gained nearly 15 yards after contact, which was good to see. The inside runs didn’t have much room there, but there’s still an extra level of deciveness at times you’d like to see from Henderson. One of Maye’s few missed throws came on a swing route to Henderson, who had some space. They’re just waiting for Henderson to break one. You can feel it coming.
– My take on RB Rhamondre Stevenson’s fumbling issues is that the second or third defender often punches the ball out. Bills LB Matt Milano was wrapping up Stevenson when Shaq Thompson came over to punch at the ball, with Thompson forcing the fumble. That seems to be a common theme with most of Stevenson’s fumbles over the last two seasons.
– WR Mack Hollins had two standout blocks on Stevenson’s touchdown runs, cracking the safety downfield to give Stevenson a crease and burying his man into the ground on Stevenson’s second touchdown. Hollins isn’t a perfect run blocker, but he has some flashy wins.
– WR Kyle Williams was winning downfield on a condensed fade route that could’ve been a big play. He also threw a good perimeter block on a seven-yard screen to Pop Douglas, who returned the favor to Diggs on his 30-yard catch. Douglas was also open on an in-cut, but the blitz flushed Maye out of the pocket. Kudos to Douglas for playing hard and throwing his weight around as a blocker.
– The Patriots reportedly got bad news on RB Antonio Gibson on Monday as tests confirmed that Gibson tore his ACL on Sunday night and will miss the rest of the season. That’s a tough break for a sneaky productive player for the Pats who has been a good influence in the running back room. One would expect New England to be in the running back market this week, while Gibson’s role as a kickoff returner will need to be filled.
– Pressures: Wilson (3), Onwenu (2), Campbell (2), Bradbury (2), Moses (1), Henderson (1).
– Kudos to defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr, who has done a nice job over the last few weeks. The Pats defense hasn’t been in very many bad calls lately, with a good mix of man and zone coverage, well-timed blitzes, and various coverage structures and defensive fronts. Kuhr had a great third-down pressure call on the Williams/Hawkins sack, called a well-timed CB blitz for Davis late, and hid New England’s man coverages well enough that Bills OC Joe Brady couldn’t always anticipate when to call man beaters. Kuhr and Vrabel have this unit playing fast.
– DT Christian Barmore was unblockable in this game as his two-game heater continued. Barmore logged five total pressures, drew a hold and made a run tackle. His bull rush is becoming a foundational move that sets up his inside rip and swim move counters, while he also could’ve drawn a hold when he used a hump move to power through Bills C Connor McGovern. McGovern took him down while the Bills center fell to the ground after tripping over his left guard’s feet, but the hold went uncalled.
– DT Milton Williams had a half sack, three hurries and split a double-team that led to a Robert Spillane run stuff. Despite playing through an ankle injury, Williams’ snaps didn’t decrease with a 60.7% snap rate (37 total snaps), and he was active and disruptive on film. Williams’ first-step quickness to get on the interior edges off the snap is a constant problem for opposing offensive lines, making him a menace on line stunts and inside rush moves. The Pats DT duo is wrecking games every week.
– LB Robert Spillane was terrific in the run game. He had six run tackles and pressed lead-blockers to compress the space available to the ball carrier all night. He also had a few good low-hole help/spy reps to pin Allen to the sideline, and forced a fumble that led directly to three points. There will be a play or two where Spillane gets beaten in coverage, but he’s making plays more routinely after a slow start to the year.
– NT Khyiris Tonga continues to give the Pats great run-defense snaps, mostly playing in the A-Gap as a shaded nose tackle. Tonga had two run stuffs, showing off his range to run down the line of scrimmage on an outside zone play. He also fires into blockers to reset the line of scrimmage consistently, forcing the backs to look for clean entry points elsewhere. Tonga plays with noticeable power off the snap and is quickly becoming a “diamond in the rough” signing.
– CB Christian Gonzalez only allowed one catch on four targets, saving his best for last by “plastering” to Khalil Shakir on a scramble drill to break up a potential conversion on third down. Gonzo also had a perfectly covered go route and matched WR Keon Coleman on another extended play to force an incompletion in the end zone. The lone reception Gonzalez gave up was a 23-yard crosser to Josh Palmer in man-free (man coverage with single-high safety), where Palmer ran away. Overall, Gonzalez played his role in allowing the Patriots to play a 41 percent man coverage rate.
– CB Carlton Davis had an eventful game where he defended a back-shoulder fade well, logged a pressure on a condensed corner blitz and drew a hold setting the edge vs. a jet sweep. However, Davis also gave up a 13-yard jump ball to Coleman on third down and a red-zone touchdown, where he doubled the flat route rather than covering Coleman on the corner. Davis nearly recovered on the touchdown, but Allen saw it just in time.
– CB Marcus Jones allowed two catches for 30 yards to Shakir in man coverage, but had several standout plays. His interception was a terrific undercut with safety help over the top, freeing Jones to sit on an in-breaking route. Despite giving up six inches to Coleman, Jones also broke up a slot fade to the Bills wideout. Shakir got him on shallow routes in single-high man structures a few times, but Jones was mostly great in this game. His two plays on the ball were big-time.
– LB Jahlani Tavai played a hybrid role with nine snaps at off-ball linebacker and five snaps on the edge. Tavai helped plug holes in the run game, logging two stuffs with some sound processing within the Pats run-stuffing schemes. He did give up on edge on a five-yard run, but this was solid tape for Tavai in his first game in a new system.
– EDGE Harold Landry logged two total pressures and a run tackle for loss. He also played the Bills counter-bash scheme beautifully on Allen’s flip to Shakir, forcing a negative play, and covered a wheel route by Cook dropping off the line of scrimmage. However, Landry lost the edge on a six-yard run and missed a tackle on a would-be run stuff. The Pats continue to allow Landry to use his quick first step, with a two-way go in the pass rush and freedom to fly upfield in the run game.
– LB Christian Elliss was much more decisive in this game, logging a great screen tackle and a run stuff, and having a few good reps as a low-hole/spy defender chasing down Allen. There was nothing else Jack Gibbens could’ve done on the 20-yard flea flicker explosive, with the Pats LB roboting underneath the crosser. Allen just made a terrific throw. Gibbens’ 19-yard DPI was a little ticky-tack, but that will probably get called most weeks in the NFL.
– Reserve DTs Joshua Farmer and Cory Durden had one mental lapse apiece with personal fouls on the Bills fourth-quarter touchdown drive that gifted Buffalo 30 of its 76 yards on the drive. Farmer did recover a fumble, and the Pats seem to like the sturdiness these two defenders bring in the run game, but the penalties were costly. DB Brenden Schooler was also called for a personal foul on a late hit on the sideline.
– After edge-rusher Keion White (elbow) went down with an injury, undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder got some run on the edge along with veteran Anfernee Jennings. Ponder seemed to get the reps in pass-rush opportunities, but lost contain on his edge on an 8-yard Allen scramble. Ponder was credited with one hurry in his seven pass-rush snaps.
– The Pats defense had its hands full with Bills TE Dalton Kincaid. In man coverage, safeties Jaylinn Hawkins (two catches, 40 yards) and Craig Woodson (one catch, 15 yards) were beaten by Kincaid on in-breaking routes. One of Kincaid’s 20-yarders vs. Hawkins was on an extended play, where the Pats safety shouldn’t be expected to cover for that long. Still, Kincaid won cleanly on two other in-breakers and got lost three more times for 53 yards vs. zone coverage. Kincaid finished the game with six catches for 108 yards, as the Pats defense continues to be shaky against pass-catching tight ends – they’ll need to be better in this area.
– Hawkins (run stuff, half-sack, fumble recovery) and Woodson (run stuff) did make some plays. Woodson has great play speed and physicality to fly downhill in run support. The rookie is a good athlete who just needs seasoning with his technique and instincts in coverage.
– I’d like to learn more about the Patriots edge mechanics against the run. They seem to want to let their edge rushers slant inside to penetrate the backfield, with the off-ball linebackers looping around to replace the edge outside. It’s different from the old system, which was about setting a sturdy edge in the run game and keeping the quarterback in the pocket. There has been some hit-or-miss to it in recent weeks.
– QB Pressures: Barmore (5), Williams (3.5), Landry (2), Durden (2), Davis (2), one each (Farmer, Ponder, Hawkins, Jennings). Run stuffs: Tonga (2), Tavai (2), Spillane (2), one each (Farmer, Woodson, White, Williams, Jones, Landry).
– Coverage: Spillane (6/5/59 yards), Jones (7/5/48 yards/INT/PBU), Hawkins (4/4/43 yards/TD), Davis (5/4/42 yards/TD), Gonzalez (4/1/23 yards/PBU), Williams (1/1/17 yards), Woodson (1/1/15 yards), Elliss (1/1/6 yards), Gibbens (DPI).
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