The Buffalo Bills suffered a narrow defeat to the New England Patriots, losing 23-20 in a tense “Sunday Night Football” matchup, where quarterback Josh Allen didn’t quite perform to his usual standards.
Allen passed for 253 yards and connected on two touchdown throws, although he also threw one interception.
Josh Allen Gets a Low Grade For His Performance
The 29-year-old quarterback appeared far from his usual Superman-like form, and Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report assigned him a ‘C-‘ for his performance.
“Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills experienced a reality check against the Patriots. Allen and Co. are not going to run roughshod over the AFC,” Sobleski wrote Monday. “Instead, the group needs to be better prepared and execute against tougher competition.”
The pressure on Allen is at an all-time high, as he stands out as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Whenever he has a less-than-stellar performance, it catches the attention of everyone in the league, and that’s exactly what happened on Sunday.
The Bills may not have delivered their best against New England, but there is a silver lining: Allen typically experiences very few, if any, bad games throughout the season. It’s possible that he got his one rough outing out of the way early on.
Allen expressed his disappointment with both his own performance and that of the team on Sunday, describing their efforts as rather sloppy.
The Bills Were Sloppy on Sunday
“We just played sloppy,” Allen said Sunday. “Not going to win a football game turning the ball over three times in our red zone. Gave them one in their red zone. That’s just bad football, and we just did not play good tonight.”
As reported by ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, the Bills were penalized eight times in the first half, marking the second-highest number of penalties for the team since 2017, and head coach Sean McDermott wasn’t happy about it.
“We didn’t play our game tonight, and that’s frustrating,” McDermott said. “And this is a pivotal learning opportunity for us right here. So, there were some other moments where I just feel like maybe we were too cute at times. And just overall, we’ve got to look at some things and just be honest with ourselves and learn from it holistically.”
Give New England Credit For Beating Buffalo
The Bills deserve plenty of blame, but at the same time, the Patriots played very well.
Many fans typically view New England as a team that struggles to win four games and shouldn’t stand a chance in high-stakes matchups. However, new head coach Mike Vrabel has established a fresh culture.
While the Patriots may not boast the same level of talent as some of the top teams in the NFL, the impressive performance of their young quarterback, Drake Maye, could set them on the path to becoming one of the league’s best in the coming years.
The Bills will look to get back on track this week when they take on the two-win Atlanta Falcons team on “Monday Night Football”.
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