What We Learned from Sunday's Week 16 Contests
New England Patriots 24, Buffalo Bills 12
1. Buffalo's defense did a bang-up job for two and a half quarters (relatively speaking), but the
Bills' season was embodied by one play: A
Julian Edelman catch and apparent tackle. Instead of the play being over, though, Edelman landed on the defender without hitting the ground, then got up and raced into the end zone for six. A
Patriots offense that was struggling to take advantage of opportunities got a gift of one, and that's what ultimately sank the
Bills, who couldn't cobble together many points offensively. A bright spot, though:
Zay Jones caught five passes for 67 yards and found the end zone.
2. Fresh off the tough loss to Pittsburgh, the
Patriots rebounded well. New England's defense caused
Josh Allen all sorts of problems, resulting in two interceptions and a 52.6 passer rating. The
Patriotsbottled up Buffalo's rushing attack, too, limiting
LeSean McCoy to nine yards on six carries. It was a weird game, though, with the teams trading turnovers early and New England again not fully separating from Buffalo until time made it a non-factor.
Tom Brady threw an uncharacteristically ugly interception to
Lorenzo Alexander, which followed an Allen interception on a great read made by rookie UDFA
J.C. Jackson.
Rex Burkhead fumbled in unusual fashion, but
Stephen Hauschka doinked a field goal off the post, wasting a
Bills opportunity. In the end, though, the team well-versed in success came out on top and punched its ticket to the postseason.
3. This
Patriots team doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in where they're headed in the postseason, but one cannot argue with their dominance. NeW England clinched the AFC East for the 10th straight time, an unprecedented and previously unimaginable run of excellence. The
Patriots reached double-digit wins, yet again. They soothed concerns for at least a week, and took care of business in a game that could've gone off the rails. That's enough for a happy Sunday in New England as Christmas approaches. Stop wringing your hands about football and go ice skating, folks.
-- Nick Shook