Guregian: Patriots have a lot of work to do to compete with the Bills

With no postseason ahead, the Patriots should be on a fact-finding mission with the remaining games — especially with decisions needed to be made about the future.

They should be letting Jarrett Stidham start, and use a majority of their younger players.

Bill Belichick, however, wasn’t about looking ahead Monday night. He was firmly in the present, and not in the mood to let the Bills sweep him for the first time in two decades, and do a victory lap around Gillette Stadium.

The trouble?

The Bills are just so much better than the third-place Patriots. To their credit, the Patriots tried like crazy, especially in the first half. But the gap is so huge, no amount of effort was going to take down the Bills.

The bottom line: Belichick has his work cut out for him during the off-season to close that gap.

If this was about fact-finding, this game should have clobbered Belichick over the head with that reality. It was so bad, QB Matt Barkley came on for mop-up duty, as the Bills humiliated the Patriots, 38-9, in Foxboro.

If anyone thinks the Patriots are on a par with the division winners, or even close, this left no doubt.

The Bills stomped on the Patriots grave. After two decades of futility, they embarrassed the six-time Super Bowl winners. It wasn’t close, and there was never a chance for it to be. If this was a boxing match, the fight would have been called in the third quarter.

The Patriots were outplayed in every phase: offense, defense, and special teams.

Offensively, the gap at the quarterback position was especially telling. Ditto wide receiver and tight end.

In Belichick’s mind, Cam Newton gave the Patriots the best chance to win.

Newton certainly gave it his all for three quarters before being replaced, but his inability to pass the football was just too much to overcome, especially with the opposing quarterback throwing lasers on the other side.

Josh Allen didn’t throw much in the Week 8 meeting between the two teams, but ripped the Patriots defense apart with his arm. He finished 27 for 36, for 320 yards and four touchdown passes. He also out-rushed Newton on the ground, with 35 yards on 4 carries.

The Patriots, meanwhile, once again had no passing game when Newton was on the field, although Stidham didn’t do much better.

Trying to move the ball into position for a score before the half, on 3rd-and-9, Newton avoided the rush, and then bounced the pass to a wide open N’Keal Harry.

There’s no way to overcome having a quarterback who can’t hit that pass. It was one of the few times the Pats had a free shot at a receiver, and Newton missed by a mile.

And then, the one time he was on target, on a razzle-dazzle play where he took a return toss from Sony Michel during the opening series, Newton hit Damiere Byrd downfield, only he dropped the football.

That brings us to the receivers. The Patriots have none that are worthy of being called a No. 1, even a No. 2.

The Bills?

Stephon Diggs torched them for a 50-yard score in the first half. He added an 18-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, and an eight-yarder in the fourth quarter. He finished with 9 catches for 145 yards with three touchdowns.

Think the Patriots might want to finally get a top receiver, after watching Diggs destroy them?

The difference in tight ends was also on display.

Rookie Devin Asiasi was targeted twice, but didn’t come up with a catch.

On the Bills side, Dawson Knox may have dropped a pass in the end zone, but he caught 3 passes for 51 yards.

Basically, the Bills can move the ball every which way. The Patriots? It’s on the ground, or bust.

Sony Michel was terrific. But once the Patriots got behind and needed to throw the football, it was over.

Defensively, meanwhile, the Patriots couldn’t just stop the Bills express.

They dominated, scoring on every possession in the first half, save for a kneel-down before the half.

It didn’t get better in the second half.

Sure, the Patriots were missing key players in Lawrence Guy, Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Stephon Gilmore. And they lost Devin McCourty in the second half.

But again, it was a mismatch.

The Patriots had no pass rush, and that left them vulnerable in the secondary. J.C. Jackson could not keep Diggs in check.

The good news?

The Bills basically rebuilt their sad program in a couple years. They ate a ton of dead cap space in 2018, like the Patriots are doing now, and then started the rebuild with getting a quarterback.

That was the ticket. They drafted Allen in the first round, 7th overall, and he’s developed into a star in his third year.

For so many years, the Patriots had the advantage over everyone else because they had Tom Brady. He was the best quarterback in the division, and best quarterback in the league. That powered the Patriots to greatness.

It has to start there before cleaning up the rest of the mess. Because they’re not going to beat the Bills in the foreseeable future without a quarterback.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2KBOtbI