Instant Observations Following Patriots' 24-17 Win over Bills

What we learned from the Patriots' 24-17 win over the Bills in Foxboro.

There is so much to talk about in this game. So much happened, it is almost hard to digest. Regardless, the New England Patriots picked up a big 24-17 win against the division rival Buffalo Bills, which showed a lot of promise heading towards the playoffs. 

Let's go over some observations made during the game.

Offense looks like the old, methodical Patriots of past teams 

Early in the game, the Patriots moved the ball with ease, took loads of time off clock, and Tom Brady started the game 9-for-9 on passes. 

The Patriots got the run game to work early, which worked well with better-than-normal run blocking. McDaniels called play action plays, pistol formations, and two runningback sets. The Bills had trouble stopping the unpredictable New England offense that showed they could beat Buffalo in many ways. 

Later in the game, as both Marcus Cannon and Julian Edelman left the game, the offense started to sputter a little bit. Once Edelman rejoined the team in the fourth quarter, the team started to get back to that chain-moving, long-drive approach. 

This game was a promising display for the offensive line, McDaniels, and the offense as a whole. They can feel better about their offensive squad going forward. 

Penalties kill big plays 

First, in the third quarter, an offensive pass interference penalty by Julian Edelman killed a big Ben Watson touchdown, turning a game-changing play into a third-and-long. The next drive, Watson committed an offensive pass interference penalty of his own. That killed a big pickup by James White and created another third and forever play. 

One can only think how different the game might have been with those pickups standing. 

Plenty of opportunities, red zone offense still a problem

New England did a much better job of moving the ball today. However, like other games this year, the Patriots had to settle for several field goals on drives that looked promising. 

They still have not been able to find that replacement for Rob Gronkowski, who at times was automatic in the red zone. 

However, both Matt LaCosse and Rex Burkhead had touchdowns in the red zone today. Maybe they will be the answer moving forward for those condensed-field situations. 

Defense has up and down game

The game was very up and down for the defense. At times, they stopped Josh Allen and the Bills' offense from getting anything done. Other times, they bent and broke, providing Allen with opportunities to hand the Patriots another crushing loss. It was a game chalk full of miscommunications, breakdowns, big plays, and the final drive featured a defense allowing Allen to go where he wanted. 

Patrick Chung was beat by Dawson Knox throughout the game and got lucky on a few Allen overthrows. Stephon Gilmore allowed his first touchdown in coverage this season. A lineman scored a redzone touchdown against the defense.

However, the positive is the squad made plays when they needed to. JC Jackson had some phenomenal breakups today, including the game-ending one on a fourth down near the goal line. 

Offensive line puts together two very nice back to back performances 

There is no denying the offensive line really helped the run game the last two weeks. Even Marshall Newhouse looked good pulling off the line and Sony Michel had a strong rushing performance. 

Michel finished the game with 96 yards on 21 carries. Burkhead had a key rushing touchdown that would end up winning the game. Even N'Keal Harry joined in on the action with two carries for 18 yards. 

The offensive line are coming on strong while they near the playoffs. Just in time to open up the run game that worked so well last year in the playoffs. 

Patriots clinch division, make statement win, show their offensive identity against real good defense

Everything fans were wishing and hoping for for weeks happened today. The Patriots clinched the division, they made a statement win by finally beating a really good team, and they moved the ball really well against one of the best defenses in the NFL. 

The Patriots went into this game with a playoff mentality and came out with the win. So many encouraging signs in this game here. Be more excited about this team moving forward.