Bills Biggest Takeaways From Gut-Punch Week 4 Loss to Patriots

The Buffalo Bills let one slip away in the final minutes as they fell to 3-1.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman makes a diving catch during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Buffalo Bills were looking for win No. 4 on the season and hoped to knock the New England Patriots down to 1-3 in the process. That's not what happened, however, as the Patriots went into Highmark Stadium looking like a completely different team than we've seen all season.

Drake Maye had three touchdown passes while adding 55 yards on the ground. Romeo Doubs made life miserable on Maxwell Hairston, scoring two of the Patriots' touchdowns.

Still, Buffalo fought back and took the lead late thanks to a touchdown catch from Keon Coleman. The Patriots answered with Efton Chism II scoring the game-winning touchdown pass while Josh Allen threw a pick on his final play, ending their hopes of a comeback. Let's take a look back at this game and see a few big takeaways from the Bills' first loss of the season.

Despite turnovers, Bills defense has issues

Buffalo Bills WR Josh Palmer and LB Terrel Bernard celebrate after a play against the New England Patriots. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Patriots had just six points in Week 3, but topped that halfway through the first period. Drake Maye hit Romeo Doubs for a 14-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead. That capped off a 12-play, 97-yard drive, which was the first of the game for New England.

Their offense continued to find success, scoring in the second quarter on a one-yard rush from Rhamondre Stevenson. That drive covered 63 yards on just six plays as the New England offense took advantage of holes throughout the Buffalo defense.

As many issues as they've had, the Bills' defense has been very opportunistic. They had two turnovers in the first half. The first was when Ed Oliver and T.J. Sanders were credited with a half-sack each, which led to a fumble by Maye. There was also an unbelievable interception, which was when Dee Alford picked off a pass that was in the hands of Doubs, but he lost it as he was on the ground. Alford was able to haul it in and gave the Bills the ball in field goal range, allowing them to go into the half with a 17-14 lead.

The defense continued to have issues in the second half, including the frustrating fourth-quarter drive from New England that covered 73 yards on eight plays to give them a 29-26 lead with just under two minutes to play. They also couldn't force a punt after Allen's interception, but admittedly, they were put in a tough spot. In the end, this defense is pretty rough when they're not turning the ball over.

Bills need help at CB big time

Buffalo Bills CB Dee Alford celebrates after an interception during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at New Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this game, the Bills had issues in coverage at linebacker and in the secondary, but their depth at cornerback has become a major concern. They were without Christian Benford against the Patriots, and during the game, Dee Alford was injured. That led to Damar Hamlin moving to the nickel, which is less than ideal.

Entering this game, it was already clear that they needed help at cornerback. Seeing Alford go down in this one was just a reminder of what we already knew.

Joe Brady still has some growing to do

Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady looks on during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at New Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We all know Joe Brady can orchestrate an offense. He's had plenty of success doing so, but in Week 4, it was clear that he still has some room to grow.

The Patriots were short-handed with defensive tackle Christian Barmore and cornerback Christian Gonzalez both injured. Despite going against a short-handed New England defense, Brady couldn't get the offense rolling. James Cook had a rough outing, which included three-and-outs on two of their first three possessions.

The second half wasn't much better, with Buffalo managing just 16 yards on their first two possessions and having eight total offensive snaps in the third quarter. Cook got rolling in the fourth quarter, which opened up the offense, but Brady has to learn how to make adjustments more quickly, especially against a team that doesn't have two of their best defenders.

Keon Coleman breakout game

Buffalo Bills WR Keon Coleman makes a catch during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at New Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the second time this season, the Bills had to replace DJ Moore, who was injured during the game. With him out, Keon Coleman was asked to step up, and that's exactly what he did.

Coleman finished with 116 yards and a touchdown on six receptions and was huge on two fourth-quarter scoring drives. First, he caught a third-down pass that was batted in the air to extend a drive that ended in a field goal. On the next drive, he hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass to put Buffalo up 26-21.

It wasn't enough, but Coleman is turning the corner, which could be huge for this offense.

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