Patriots-Bills Ups & Downs: Breaking down a defensive breakdown

Author Matt Dolloff

January 16th, 2022 1:36 AM

The New England Patriots’ 2021 season is over, and at the hands of a savage beatdown by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

There are four “Ups” and four “Downs” for Saturday night’s game, and you may be wondering how we even came up with four good things to pull from a 47-17 loss. But the Pats did have some isolated bright spots, mainly on offense and in the kicking game.

All four “downs” are dedicated to the defense, which failed to force a punt for the second straight game against the Bills. Buffalo had seven possessions, all of them touchdowns, and netted 482 total yards of offense.

Allen accounted for 374 scrimmage yards – 308 throwing, 66 running – and threw five TD passes. The fifth went to offensive lineman Tommy Doyle.

So there’s plenty of blame to go around on the defensive side of the ball, and Bill Belichick deserves all the scrutiny he gets for his defense’s utter futility on Saturday night.

• UP: WR Kendrick Bourne

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  The Patriots’ only consistent playmaker on either side of the ball. Bourne emerged as a big-play threat for the Pats as the season went along, and gave them all he could in this one. He got decent separation and made plays with his legs after the catch. Bourne finished with seven receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns, and added one carry for 14 yards. Though all of New England wishes the Patriots' season ended better, they can at least feel good about Bourne going forward.

• DOWN: LB Matt Judon

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  Judon set a bad tone on the Bills’ opening drive of the game, when he took a bad angle in pursuit of Josh Allen en route to the quarterback picking up 26 yards on a scramble. Judon’s production dropped off sharply over the second half of the season, and the Patriots defense seemed to get dragged down with him. The unit didn’t look the same when they stopped getting pressure, and much of that hinges on Judon’s baffling disappearance.

• UP: RB Rhamondre Stevenson

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  Stevenson did well enough with his touches. Twelve total for 60 yards, and one of the Patriots' only players on the field who looked remotely hard to play against. Stevenson is for sure one of the big positives for the Patriots to take away from the 2021 season, despite the way it ended.
• DOWN: CB J.C. Jackson

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  Allen went after Jackson in coverage surprisingly often, to positive results. Jackson gave up a 45-yard catch to Stefon Diggs and a 38-yarder to Dawson Knox in the fourth quarter. He’ll still earn himself a lot of money in the offseason, but Jackson is not, was not, and won’t be a true shutdown cornerback at the NFL level, or he would've proven it by now. If this is his final game as a Patriot, it will go down sour.

• UP: DE Deatrich Wise Jr.

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  Wise drew a (blatant) holding penalty, which of course wasn’t called, and blocked an extra point attempt. So at least he made a couple plays out there. More than most of the Patriots defense and special teams can say.

• DOWN: LB Dont’a Hightower

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  The Patriots looked slow at linebacker from top to bottom down the stretch of the season, and Hightower was at the center of that slowdown. It’s possible that Hightower simply isn’t the same player anymore. His struggles, along with the rest of the front-seven, made Devin Singletary look like Barry Sanders on the ground. This game exposed the Patriots’ need to get faster and more athletic, and Hightower was emblematic of those speed issues.
• UP: K Nick Folk

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  The conditions weren’t easy for the kicking game, as evidenced by the struggles of the Bills’ Tyler Bass. But Folk was as steady in this game as he was all season for the Patriots, converting all of his kick attempts. It made no impact on the game whatsoever, but this was a tough game as far as finding bright spots. Folk was one of them.

• DOWN: DT Daniel Ekuale

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  You could put all Patriots defensive linemen in here, but Ekuale gets the “honors” because he committed a 15-yard facemask penalty that extended a Bills drive. Ekuale performed solidly when called upon this season after signing with the practice squad in September. But when you’re depending on him to make plays or have a key role in a strong defensive game, in the playoffs, you’re in trouble. It bit them in the ass tonight.

That’s it for Patriots Ups & Downs in the 2021 season. We’ll be back for 2022.

Click here for complete New England Patriots coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at [email protected].

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Author Matt Dolloff

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