Patriots' 10 Game Win Streak Snapped, as Nightmare Second Half Leads to Bills Comeback Victory

Sometimes, you have to learn some lessons the hard way in the NFL. You can't win games in only 30 minutes, but you can certainly lose one by bad execution in 30 minutes. In this case, what can only be described as a horrific second half in which the Patriots allowed touchdowns by the Buffalo Bills on five consecutive drives, and saw a 24-7 halftime lead turn into a 35-31 loss, with their lone second-half points coming on a backyard play by TreVeyon Henderson.

Was the officiating super great? I wouldn't say so, but the bottom line is the Patriots had plenty of real chances to bury the Bills and couldn't get the job done. Some of it was play-calling, some was the Patriots not keeping up with adjustments, and some was simply not being good enough in the return game. Much like the other two losses this year, it's hard to say the Patriots didn't deserve to lose in this one.

Ultimately, that isn't the worst thing in the world, since some adversity at this time of year could be something to rally around, but that's up to the players, and judging by some of the postgame reaction, it would appear they're saying the right things. Regardless, a lot went into this loss, and here are just some of the reasons why.

Making Josh McDaniels Flinch

After getting gashed in the run game repeatedly in the first half, this is what the Bills showed defensively against the Patriots when the lined up in their six-OL set of 13 personnel for a TreVeyon Henderson run.

If this doesn't scream, "we're not going to let TreVeyon Henderson beat us", I don't know what does. The problem is, the Patriots, more speciffically Josh McDaniels, saw this, and all but surrendered the run game for the rest of the game, in which they led by as many as 21. In total, the Patriots ' half runs were what you see above: Henderson's 65-yard score and then another five-yard carry in the fourth quarter. That's it.

There are two huge problems with this. First, you completely surrendered the idea of playing this game on your terms in this exact situation. The second is that McDaniels made as few attempts to mix in some play-action passing as humanly possible. Just three total PA passes for Maye, against a Bills defense that was statistically one of the worst vs. play action passing. I'll be very interested to hear what McDaniels has to say about this one, and speciffically on this topic in the coming days, because outside of those first few drives, this was as bad a game he's called all year.

Receivers Not Getting Open

Not that Drake Maye was a world beater as a passer this week (not as horrific as some numbers would tell you, but definitely not good enough), but all over the second half film, you saw a consistent inability, nearly across the board, of his targets failing to get open.

Going back to McDaniels again, it didn't feel like there was enough effort to push things downfield, and unfortunately, the Bills' defenders caught on and ended up getting very comfortable and in a groove underneath. As much as I can lament McDaniels not trying to push the passing game, it also falls on the pass-catching core. You're simply not going to win games in the NFL if your leading receiver is getting 43 yards in a game.

Even Hunter Henry, who was getting extra attention in the form of over-the-top brackets in the second half, wasn't exactly getting open with great regularity otherwise. His fourth quarter drop was obviously a killer, but especially on a day where Buffalo was down both Christian Benford and Terrell Bernard, you simply have to find ways to get open, manufactured or otherwise, and the bottom line is they failed, miserably so in the second half.

Special Teams Lapses Came Back to Haunt

More than anything, I'm of the belief that things really all fell apart thanks to the Patriots allowing Ray Davis to set the Bills up in good field position. He had 164 return yards on just four returns, two of which got Buffalo set up inside the New England 45-yard line on back-to-back drives, and would ultimately kickstart those five consecutive touchdown drives. There hasn't really been a ton to complain about on the special teams front on a week-to-week basis this year, but this was brutal and more costly than anyone would probably want to admit. Even a Marte Mapu hold on what would've been a massive return for Kyle Williams proved costly on the drive that ended in a Drake Maye arm punt.

Really disappointing total team loss here, but as good as this year was, finishing 15-2 never felt realistic, and you're gonna lose to some good teams every now and then. Now, it's about getting things right and getting ready for another primetime affair against a Ravens team needing a win to stay alive in the AFC North race.

Final Score: Buffalo Bills 35, New England Patriots 31

Gaffney's Three Stars from Patriots-Bills II:

1st Star: TreVeyon Henderson (14 Rushes for 148 Yards and 2 TDs, 2 Receptions for 13 Yards)

2nd Star: Christian Gonzalez (0 Receptions Allowed on 3 Targets, -3.2 Coverage EPA)

3rd Star: Garrett Bradbury

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