Patriots Mailbag: What was learned in the Bills game

Sunday's New England Patriots game against the Buffalo Bills was hyped going in as one of the biggest games for the franchise in years. After a 35-31 loss that included a 21-0 Patriots blow lead, it's getting the big-game treatment in the aftermath. It's getting a throughout dissection, fitting of the stakes that were on the line.

That's reflected in this week's Patriots Mailbag. While we normally get bigger-picture questions, most of this week's responses are about what went wrong for the Patriots in that game. Let's get started...

This is something we discussed on the Patriots Hub Podcast with David Andrews this week. It's tough to really break down the Patriots' play calling given they only ran 18 plays in the second half (to Buffalo's 46), many as they were trying to chase a game that was getting away from them. It's a tough sample size.

Specifically to the point about play action though - they may have been more hesitant to use that given the Bills started playing more man in the second half. In man coverage the coverage players are more focused on the receivers as opposed to having their eyes in the backfield, which makes it less effective.

The answer to this one is similar to the question above. With so few plays run in the second half, it's hard to make much of any 'trends,' while the bigger issue is the lack of sustained offense overall.

That being said, it did look like Drake Maye had a chance to hit Kayshon Boutte over the middle on a key third down late in the game, but fired an inaccurate deep shot instead. Without knowing exactly what Maye's reads and progression was supposed to be, that is a spot where he's hit Boutte somewhat regularly this season.

Two games is probably too small of a sample size to make a sweeping judgement, but it is a pattern now. Maye has had two of this worst games this year following extended rest. It will be something to keep an eye on next season.

As for the playoff bye? When it comes to postseason positioning, the fewer games you need to play the better. In the NFL there's such a small margin for error and each game takes such a physical toll, that extra week can make a huge difference. Plus, a championship-caliber team can find ways to work around whatever trends might work against them having the week off.

Over the past few weeks the Patriots improved running in between the tackles, and while they're still not great in that regard they have started to make progress. When they did/do have issues, to me it looks like two major things - the line as a whole has struggled to get a push at times (especially in short-yardage situations), and early in the year the backs (TreVeyon Henderson in particular) didn't always hit the holes that were there with conviction. Henderson's vision has been much better the last month and a half or so, as the rookie gets more comfortable with the speed of the NFL game.

The Patriots' run defense starting slipping a little bit before Milton Williams went out, but has been in a freefall without him. But, its not just Williams. Khyiris Tonga, Jahlani Tavai, and Robert Spillane - all plus run players - missed time during this window as well. In particular, Spillane's physical tackling at the second level was missed against Buffalo. Getting Williams and the rest of the unit healthy will be a huge boost if and when it happens.

To me, the biggest positive was how the Patriots ran the ball in the first half. Blocking-wise, it was probably their best performance of the year, and both Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson were able to pick up extra yardage off of that. Running the football will be important down the stretch and into the playoffs, and those plays are something the team can build off of.