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- Payments’ run sport evolving as groups fight Josh Allen. The Payments got here into Thursday’s sport with their three highest speeding totals coming previously three weeks. And although they may not fairly attain that very same sum towards New England, it was one other profitable night time on the bottom for the Payments as they ran for 132 yards on 37 carries, possessing the ball for a whopping 38 minutes versus a ball-control group. At occasions early this season, the Payments would come out throwing early to arrange the run sport late. In latest outings, it has been much more run-heavy early as defenses go lighter in nickel and dime. The Patriots appeared to gamble that Allen wouldn’t take the simple checkdown yards each time and ultimately would get antsy. It nearly labored when Allen threw one up for grabs, however Kyle Dugger couldn’t snag the freebie. However on an evening when Allen is throwing touchdowns whereas hugging the sideline and throwing lasers within the face of strain (the third-quarter 19-yarder to Stefon Diggs was simply soiled), there actually wasn’t a lot the Patriots might do. If the primary three quarters was their try at dying by a thousand papercuts, then the Payments’ 15-play, 94-yard, 8:55 drive to make it a 24-7 lead was the hammer blow that put the Patriots away.
- Patriots offense as soon as once more hits the skids. The Thanksgiving loss at Minnesota had a brilliant facet — for 3 quarters, anyway — when the Patriots’ offense really acquired the downfield cross sport buzzing a bit and hit the 400-yard mark for less than the second time this season. However Thursday was a step backward, elevating Patriots followers’ Mac Jones angst again to pre-Vikings ranges. Should you solely noticed the field rating, you may need thought Jones (with some late padding) had a stable night time as he accomplished 22 of 36 passes for 195 yard and a landing. However 48 yards got here on a display screen the place the Payments’ protection froze, a number of extra got here with the Patriots down three scores, and Jones acquired away with an interception-worthy throw within the second half. We received’t get right into a scheme versus expertise debate right here aside from to say that Matt Patricia and Jones merely don’t appear like they’re on the identical web page. Every thing appears labored, such because the Patriots’ remaining first-half possession once they gained 29 yards on eight performs, utilizing two (2) timeouts to achieve one (1) yard. It ended on a missed area objective, summing up the night time offensively. It goes with out saying, however Mac is all the things Allen isn’t. Allen can escape a sack, tightrope the sideline and throw a TD. Jones can escape a sack and throw a should-have-been INT by Jordan Poyer. If Jones was throwing to the Payments’ talent gamers, he may need extra of an opportunity. However with the Patriots’ cross catchers, who typically are working curious routes, and Jones’ off-script limitations, there’s nearly no room for error towards good groups just like the Payments.
- James Cook’s coming-out social gathering. When Cook dinner fumbled his first NFL handoff again in Week 1, he was instantly banished to the Payments’ bench. And although he had an 11-carry sport in Week 2, Cook dinner just about had been relegated to RB3 duties for the Payments whereas Devin Singletary has loved maybe his greatest season. Cook dinner additionally regarded like he might be caught there following the commerce for Nyheim Hines, however the Payments have thought in any other case as they’ve ramped up the rookie’s workload offensively. Thursday night time was Cook dinner’s coming-out social gathering, as he set a profession excessive in carries (14) and totaled (105) yards from scrimmage. Singletary had an unusual night time working the ball early and couldn’t corral both of the 2 passes thrown to him; each had been catchable. The 2 of them basically break up the work down the stretch, however Cook dinner had extra touches (20 to 13) and left much less meat on the bone. Might Cook dinner overtake the RB1 position by season’s finish? Our greatest guess is that this one finally ends up with Cook dinner within the 2021 Tony Pollard position, with Singletary getting the massive touches however Cook dinner used because the injection of life.
- Marcus Jones … large receiver? The Patriots have by no means shied away from getting essentially the most out of their gamers and utilizing them in uncommon methods; suppose Troy Brown taking part in cornerback or Mike Vrabel moonlighting as a decent finish. Nevertheless it has been a minute since we noticed a play from them fairly like Jones, a cornerback by commerce, making his offensive debut Thursday night time. On his first NFL snap on offense, Jones caught a fast display screen and turned it right into a 48-yard TD to offer the Patriots an early lead. It was the second-longest cross play of New England’s season, simply behind Jonnu Smith’s 53-yarder towards the Browns, and Jones would really go on to steer the Patriots in receiving yards (51). They want all the assistance they’ll get offensively, particularly within the big-play division (though the place has Tyquan Thornton been?). So it’s not beautiful to see Jones unleashed on this method — particularly after he performed some receiver in school — now that he’s confirmed to be an ace returner who received the second Jets sport along with his last-minute home name. What worth the third-rounder has offered early in his rookie season. He was one of many only a few brilliant spots on a reasonably dismal night time for New England.
- Payments secondary does its job, however late Damar Hamlin penalty was harmful. The Payments have welcomed Tre’Davious White again to the lineup, as he performed 15 snaps final week in a warmup and began and performed extensively Thursday night time. He was rotated in several combos with Xavier Rhodes and Dane Jackson. No matter combo Payments defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier threw on the market labored. The Patriots had the one 48-yard catch and run from Jones, however the Payments corners locked down the Patriots’ wideouts very nicely within the first three quarters earlier than they went right into a gentle shell. It’s a reasonably good signal that Buffalo can have this sort of efficiency with Kaiir Elam because the uncommon first-rounder wholesome scratch. Having extra of a veteran presence within the secondary will repay when the playoffs come rolling in, particularly with the gauntlet of AFC cross catchers they’ll be tasked with stopping.
Subsequent Gen stat of the sport: On Josh Allen’s 8-yard TD cross to Gabe Davis, Allen was 0.3 yards from the sideline when he threw it — the second-closest cross to the sideline on a completion within the NGS period. Since 2016, there have been 4 completions with a launch inside one yard of the sideline; Allen has three of them.
NFL Analysis: Josh Allen now has 4 regular-season video games towards the Patriots with two-plus landing passes and 0 interceptions, which is essentially the most of any QB towards the Patriots in Invoice Belichick’s Patriots tenure (2000-present).
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