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First off, what a way to kick off Monday Night Football! Going into this game I’m sure everyone had the Patriots winning by a score of something like 45-3. The Bills hung in there though, and could’ve won it if not for a costly fumble at the end of the game. Let’s breakdown the game and what it means for the Jets next week (I know we play the Bills twice, but I like to focus on next week’s team in this segment.)

Patriots Offense vs. Bills Defense

Tom Brady didn’t want to talk to Suzy Kolber after the game, presumably because he was a little disappointed about their offensive production, but give the Bills credit, as they pretty much held the Patriots in check the entire game. Truthfully, I though the Bills would breakdown after the half, but they gave it 110% against a statistically and actually better offense. What is there to say? Randy Moss has hands made of glue, Wes Welker is as tough as nails, and Ben Watson was the hero of the night with 2 TD catches, the second of which gave New England the go-ahead score. Let’s not forget about Tom Brady who threw 39 for 53 for 378 yards and a crucial two touchdowns (he completed more passes than Mark Sanchez threw in his opener!). Brady looked a tad sluggish in the first half, but in clutch time when it counts, the veteran showed why he’s one of the best in the league, and why a 53 week absence ain’t nothin’ but a thang and chicken wang.

The Bills defense actually played very well. The Bills defensive player of the game is easily DE Aaron Schobel who was tenacious off the line, hurrying Brady his fair share of times and picked him off once, almost twice in the match. Terence McGee kept Moss at bay for the first half, but his play started to break down in the middle of the second half. The Bills managed to stuff the run and despite giving up 441 yards, managed to force the Patriots into a 3-and-out situation almost every time. Obviously this isn’t the result they wanted, but the Bills defense has a lot to be proud of. If the Bills defense can hold their own against an offense of this caliber, they always have a chance to win games. The Bills were forced to change strategies after Brady easily picked apart the blitz packages. We saw a little more man and zone which seemed to work until the last 2 minutes of the game. There is little a team could do when a QB can thread the needle like that.

Patriots Defense vs. Bills Offense

If there is something to be encouraged about as a Jets fan, the New England defense was not impressive at all. However, it’s likely the defense won’t play so badly next week, so let’s not get too happy just yet. Still, you can tell the loss of 5 defensive players slowed the team down considerably. The Bills offense on the other hand was sluggish but able to make a couple of good drives to put them in position to win the game. The question every analyst, reporter, blogger, and TV personality will ask is “where the hack was T.O.? It’s not like he was covered so well passing to him was impossible. The big lesson to be learned in this game is you have to get the ball to the playmakers. Owens had yards after the catch the two or so times he had the ball. That’s an important weapon that went completely unused. Who did see lot of time however, was Fred Jackson. He played a great game and showed a lot of tenacity, fighting for extra yards with every carry. Trent Edwards played a smart game and didn’t make many mistakes (except not passing the ball to Owens!). It may be too early to say, but I wasn’t a fan of the no-huddle. Sometime you need to collect yourself, slow the game down, plan, and give each other pep talks. Surprisingly, the 3/5ths rookie defensive line did a great job protecting Edwards and keeping up their energy despite the no-huddle (though their abysmal time of possession – or lack thereof may also have contributed). Last, second year player Leodis McKelvin made the crucial mistake that cost the Bills the game by fumbling what could have been the final kickoff of the game which gave the Patriots great field position and subsequently, the win. The ball was kicked deep which cased him to backup into the endzone where he should’ve stayed. Instead, he immaturely takes the ball of the game and worse, fails to protect the ball as he was hit. He’ll wish he could have that one back for a long time.

What we learned

The Patriots aren’t the invincible team they once were. I don’t mean this to say Buffalo is so bad that if they can play a close game anyone can. Although offensive production isn’t going to be much of a problem for them, the New England defense looked much weaker. Thus if a team can shut down the New England offense, they stand a pretty good chance to win. That’s a pretty big if however…