Linebacker Matt Judon on Monday praised the New England Patriots offense, while taking a playful swipe at rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
“Hats off to the offense — really everybody probably, besides Mac,” Judon said, breaking into a smile. “He didn’t really do nothing besides hand the ball off.”
No offense taken. With 65kph wind gusts placing an emphasis on running the ball, Jones was more than content in being relegated to handoff duty in New England’s 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Photo: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY
Jones completed just two of three pass attempts for 19 yards while essentially standing back and watching the Patriots backfield literally run away with their seventh consecutive win and shore up New England’s familiar place atop the American Football Conference (AFC).
“Just a crazy game to be a part of,” Jones said.
“We knew it was going to be windy. You can’t control it. There is no on-and-off switch,” he added. “You just have to go out there and do your job.”
Damien Harris scored on a 64-yard run on an outing where the Patriots out-gained Buffalo 222 to 99 in yards rushing.
Nick Folk hit field-goal attempts from 34 and 41 yards with the wind at his back, while the Patriots defense limited the Bills to a season-low 230 yards on offense.
Defensive back Miles Bryant sealed the victory by batting down Josh Allen’s pass at the goal line, with Buffalo facing fourth-and-14 at New England’s 18-yard line with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining.
It came a series after Buffalo’s Tyler Bass missed a 34-yard attempt wide right into the wind in a game where the Bills managed 10 points on four drives inside the New England’s 20-yard line.
“What a memorable game that will be for me in my career,” center David Andrews said. “One, it’s a win. Two, I don’t know if I’ve ever played in a game where we’ve thrown the ball three times — and I’ve been playing football since I was six years old, so that’s 23 years.”
New England (9-4) improved to 6-0 on the road this season and has a two-win edge over the Bills (7-5) in the AFC East standings.
The Bills continued their inconsistencies by losing four of their past seven games, and have not won consecutive games since capping a 4-0 run spanning Sept. 19 to Oct. 10.
Although the two teams meet once more in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Dec. 26, Buffalo’s path to repeat as division champions, never mind earn a third straight post-season berth, is suddenly muddied.
Buffalo continue resembling the shell of a team that swept the season-series against New England last year for the first time since 1999, on the way to their first 13-win season in 29 years.
“No excuse for it,” middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “They came in and they beat us. We’ve just got to get better. We’ve got to finish off the season strong.”
Easier said than done for a team that continue to have difficulty running the ball and stopping the run. Take away Allen’s six carries for 39 yards, and the Bills trio of running backs finished with 60 yards on 19 carries.
Buffalo’s defense have allowed 200-plus yards rushing in two of their past three, after giving up a season-worst 264 yards in a 41-15 loss to Indianapolis two weeks ago.
Harris finished with a season-best 111 yards rushing and opened the scoring on New England’s ninth play from scrimmage. Facing third-and-5, Harris burst through a gaping hole up the middle and was untouched on his way to the end zone.
Rather than attempt the extra point into the wind, coach Bill Belichick succeeded on a two-point conversion, with Brandon Bolden scoring just inside the left pylon.
Each team capitalized on the other’s mistakes in trading touchdowns in the opening quarter.
Harris’ touchdown came three plays after New England’s Lawrence Guy recovered Matt Breida’s fumble at the Patriots 31-yard line.
Buffalo responded on their next possession, which was extended after N’Keal Harry slipped and had Matt Haack’s punt glance off his helmet. Siran Neal recovered the ball at New England’s 14-yard line, while Allen hit Gabriel Davis on a slant route on the next play to cut the lead to 8-7.
Allen finished 15 of 30 for 145 yards.
“You don’t plan on losing games, you know. It’s not part of the gig,” Bills center Mitch Morse said. “We understand that we have a lot of work to do.”
Also on Monday, it was:
‧ Chiefs 22, Broncos 9
‧ Seahawks 30, 49ers 23
‧ Steelers 20, Ravens 19
‧ Raiders 15, Washington 17
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