Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Defeat Buffalo Bills in Week 7: Mac Jones, Demario Douglas: SPECIAL EDITION POSTCAST

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots channeled their inner Rocky Balboa in their Week 7 29-25 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Stick around, you're about to be locked in to this special edition postcast episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

Starting point is 00:00:51 Hopefully your first listen each and every day. Remember, download, subscribe to follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated, so reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter, on the Bird app, at

Starting point is 00:01:11 M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L, and while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well, at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, that's right, do not adjust your listening device. YourO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, that's right. Do not adjust your listening device. Your New England Patriots are 2-5 after a 29-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Starting point is 00:01:35 I know all of you everydayers out there, when you heard me mention Rocky Balboa, you all know I love my movie quotes. Your New England Patriots chose to be defined on Sunday by how hard they could get it and keep moving forward. All you need to do, go to the final series, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Patriots down 25-22, a minute 58 left to play. They're at the Buffalo 25-yard line, and Mac Jones, proving that he still belongs on a pro football field, leads the team on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. And he caps the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gusecki. How much better can you get than that?

Starting point is 00:02:16 Tight end day, Mike Gusecki getting the game-winning touchdown, 12 seconds to play, and it gives New England the win. Mac was great on this drive. 7 of 8 for 70 yards and not only did the Patriots snap a four-game losing streak to Buffalo but they also ended their current three-game skid. That was their longest losing streak since 2020. So the Patriots fought their way back from football extinction and what was most impressive about this victory to me folks folks, they absorbed the Bills' best comeback effort, and then they gave them back one of their own. And it's not like

Starting point is 00:02:50 they didn't make costly mistakes in this one. The Patriots still continue to hurt themselves with penalties. They had eight penalties for 59 yards in this game. And I know a lot of you out there remember Kendrick Bourne's fumble. Potentially, that could have been a game-losing fumble. 454 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Pats, again, like Rocky, took the hits. They kept moving forward. And now they live to fight at least for one more week. And that's not going to be an easy task with the Miami Dolphins and a matchup down in South Beach.

Starting point is 00:03:19 And we're going to get to Miami later in the week here. But let's enjoy this win for what it is, folks. And it wasn't a flawless performance but the Patriots had plenty of positives to take from their second win of the season and let's start with the obvious and that is quarterback Mac Jones folks deserves a lot of credit for the way he played in this game Mac has been much maligned over the course of the last couple of weeks and a lot of it has been deserved. Some of it undeserved.

Starting point is 00:03:55 But when you look at how he played in this game, he took that uncertain, uncomfortable aura that he's been exuding for the last few weeks, and he turned it around. He turned it, I believe, what's his best performance of 2023. And the reason why he did it is he got back to basics. Ultimately, the stat line that he finished with is 25 of 30, 272 yards, two touchdowns, and a completion percentage of 83.3%. That's his third career game with a completion percentage of at least 80%. So Mack was picking his targets efficiently, and he was hitting them, and that's when he's at his best. You really saw this come to life on the final series. Mack was making quicker decisions. He was more precise in where he was placing his passes, and a lot of that was really due to solid protection from his offensive line,

Starting point is 00:04:33 and I'm going to give the old line a little love in just a moment, but in order for Mack to neutralize Buffalo's linebackers in their secondary from getting after him, Bill O'Brien did a very smart thing. He devised a game plan that allowed Mack to lean on the running game early, facilitate play action, and even though Bill typically has a fondness for two tight end sets, and we did see some of those on Sunday, folks, he mixed in some 11 personnel.

Starting point is 00:04:59 And this brought a smile to my face because I actually wrote about this for Sports Illustrated prior to the game, stating that in order for Mack to be able to neutralize what Buffalo does well, line up an 11 personnel and do it early. And the Patriots didn't waste any time. They used that 11 personnel, the one running back, the one tight end, the three receivers. They opened their first series in 11 personnel. And what it does is it lets Mac utilize that intermediate area of the field they can advance the ball that way hit to Mario Douglas Taekwon Thornton short yardage catches in the

Starting point is 00:05:31 first series that set up a 14 yard run by Ramondre Stevenson and all of a sudden you're advancing the ball down the field those incremental gains may not be much on their own well I shouldn't say that a 14 yard run from Ramondre Stevenson is pretty impressive, but it sets up the big-ticket play, and the Patriots actually connected on one on this drive. A 25-yard catch and run by Farrow-Brown, who was again phenomenal in this game, and the drive only ended in a field goal, but it really put the Buffalo Bills on notice. The Patriots are going to be aggressive. They're going to move the ball down the field. They're not going to take unnecessary deep shots and they're not going to be intimidated. While Mack deserves a lot of credit for a lot of what

Starting point is 00:06:14 he did on the field on Sunday, I think the thing he deserves most credit for is taking what the defense gave him and using it to his advantage. We haven't seen Mack do that in quite some time. And when he does, he's a much different quarterback and a much better quarterback than we've seen recently. So a tip of the cap, a nod to the gods to Mac Jones, who I thought had a very good game. And if he's proud of that performance, well, folks, he should be. But if we're being honest, I still believe the standout performer of the day and judging by the social media posts,

Starting point is 00:06:46 I think most of you out there will agree with me, is Demario Pop Douglas. Folks, this kid defines the word playmaker. He just truly is one of the more special talents on this team. And I believe this entire offensive performance that the Patriots put out on Sunday wouldn't have been possible without Demario in the lineup. Caught four passes for 54 yards. His most impressive was a 19-yard strike on the team in the fourth quarter, helping to set up New England's eventual comeback effort. But he wasn't only productive as a pass catcher. He also returned a punt for 25 yards, and he looked pretty good

Starting point is 00:07:21 doing it. And he added a rushing carry for 20 yards as well so this kid is proving to be a versatile weapon in all aspects of the offense for new england and even on special teams but where he's most effective is out of the slot in short yardage because this kid can make things happen with the ball in his hands he doesn't have the greatest height in the world we all know that but that height differential he uses to his advantage. And he did this a lot on Sunday. He has a knack for being able to anticipate his defenders' techniques for attacking him, especially when they play him in soft coverage.

Starting point is 00:07:55 That's a huge mistake to play DeMario Douglas in soft coverage. That's a strategy that served him well way back to his days over at Liberty. Now, he's got the necessary speed and the skill to be able to beat his tacklers when he's got the ball in his hands in open space. We saw that a few times on Sunday as well, and he'll use everything he has to his advantage. That's why I believe DeMario Douglas was essential in helping Mac Jones and the Patriots offense keep the Bills on their heels early.

Starting point is 00:08:22 We need to see a lot more of this kid, and I also want to give a tip of the cap to Kendrick Bourne as well, who, save for that fumble, I think also had a very good game. These two are your top receivers. Keep the ball in their hands. Keep the running game going. And I think the Patriots may be on to something here offensively. So good day all around right now for the offense.

Starting point is 00:08:41 But what about the defense, folks? And what about that preventive unit keeping Mac Jones clean? In just a moment, I'm going to give some well-deserved love to the Patriots defensive line and the offensive line when this special edition podcast episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners snap into action this NFL season with FanDuel, America's number

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Starting point is 00:09:59 Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots, a special brief postcast edition of Locked On Patriots, giving you my initial thoughts of the Patriots' 29-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills, moving them to 2-5 on the season. Pats fans, fear not, because the Green Man is joining me on Monday morning, and we're going to have a recap episode chock full of Murph's analysis, Mike's analysis, and we're even going to dip into the Locked On Patriots mailbag. So if you can't get enough of the Patriots Week 7 win, stay locked into Locked On Patriots because you are not going to be disappointed by what Murph and I have in store for you.

Starting point is 00:10:39 But I just wanted to take a few moments on this Sunday evening to give you some of my initial thoughts from this game. And I've talked about how I believe Mac Jones was much better in this effort, that he looked much more comfortable, much more confident, and that he was playing behind a game plan orchestrated by Bill O'Brien that really catered to his strengths. Even heard Mac talk about this after the game. He was aligning in some packages and play styles that were very similar to what he did at Alabama, and that made Mack play a lot more comfortable. And folks, it wouldn't surprise me to see that continue, so keep a sharp eye out for that. But one of the things that I think was so impressive about this game for New England is the fact that they made the opposing quarterback

Starting point is 00:11:20 look mortal. And we all know the prowess of Josh Allen one of the best quarterbacks in the league whether you like him don't like him I know he's a buffalo bill folks got to give credit where credit is due Josh Allen is good at football and he's good at all aspects of it Matthew Judon already on injured reserve New England's pass rush getting another two additional crushing setbacks earlier this week when Josh Bucci with a foot injury and Keon White with a concussion ruled out for Sunday's game. It looked like the Patriots were facing an overwhelming mismatch in trying to keep Josh Allen off balance. But credit to the Patriots defensive coaching staff and credit to the players, they stepped up in a big way. They overcame those deficiencies with strong performances from key

Starting point is 00:12:06 members of their front seven. New England used big nickel packages all day long, and that featured a lot of Anthony Jennings, who I thought was great in this game at outside linebacker. Contributed six tackles, one of which went for a loss. And the other side of that, Christian Barmore, another fellow Crimson Tide alum three tackles one for loss a pass breakup and combined for a sack which dropped Josh Allen back seven yards and another tip of the cap here Barmore shared that sack with second year lineman Sam Roberts who gets the first credited sack of his career congratulations Sam if you just happen to be listening to this but in the final analysis New England generated pressures on nearly half of Allen's dropbacks,

Starting point is 00:12:48 and that includes blitzing him on approximately 43% of those dropbacks. And they did it in a way that Devon Godchild described after the game as the only way you're going to, quote, get to that guy. They challenged Josh Allen through the middle, forced him to move up in the pocket, and instead of rolling out to his right or to his left where he's at his the middle, forced him to move up in the pocket, and instead of rolling out to his right or to his left where he's at his best, you force him to try to beat you in the middle, and the Patriots won this battle

Starting point is 00:13:11 on Sunday. They won it repeatedly. They only sacked Allen once, but they hurried him 18 times, and that was just enough to keep him off balance and to keep the Buffalo Bills offense from gaining a rhythm early. Yes, Josh and the Bills had a lot of success in the fourth quarter, getting those points and getting a late lead, a lead that they almost looked like they were going to carry through the rest of the

Starting point is 00:13:33 game into a victory, but it was the pressure and confusion that the Patriots put on Josh Allen early and often that kept them out of the end zone and kept them off the scoreboard for much of the day. So even though there were a couple of breakdowns late in the game, and of course the aid of a few calls, and you know Murph and I are going to be talking about the officiating on Monday, but bottom line, the defense did a good job of containing Josh Allen, and trust us folks, that is not an easy task. But if there is a game ball to be handed out, I still firmly believe it needs to go to the offensive line. And look, I've been critical of the offensive line. Murph's been critical of the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:14:11 And he loves those big round men up front. All of you have been critical about the offensive line. This unit has been riddled by injury, inconsistent play, undisciplined play. Well, the Patriots really buckled down. And I think they gave their best performance this week. And unquestionably, the best and most effective adjustment they made all day long was moving Michael Wainu to right tackle. Now, I know, folks, I've said it several times. I was against it. I didn't believe the Patriots should do it. I admit I was wrong. Michael Wainu looked great at right tackle today, and the Patriotsots offensive line looked cohesive for the first time

Starting point is 00:14:45 maybe all season long and it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise he's played there before he played over 600 snaps at right tackle during his rookie season in 2020 even though he started 2021 as the starting left guard he played 276 snaps at right tackle there as well so a lot of pedigree a lot of experience and he did look solid in the position and it turned out to be effective in keeping Buffalo's pass rush away from Mack Jones. Mack was only sacked once for a four-yard loss in this game that's a huge win considering the type of prowess that Buffalo brings to that pass rush and a lot of that was because of Michael Wayne who's massive wingspan and his

Starting point is 00:15:25 comfort level in playing on the edge but I think a little love also has to be thrown to Cole Strange who came back from a knee injury solid at left guard in this game and I want to give a little love to the rookie right guard City Sow as well Antonio Mafia has been getting a lot of snaps with the starters but Sow is someone who's coming in that's showing that versatility toughness and his ability to anchor his feet gives him the opportunity to be more effective i love mafia he's going to be a very good offensive lineman in this league but there's still some questions about foot placement and hand placement i think he's got to work on those a little bit city's a little more fundamentally sound and advanced right now i'd stick with him at right guard and of course most of us would love to see Michael Wainu remain at right tackle,

Starting point is 00:16:09 especially in light of Riley Reeves' return to injured reserve due to another knee injury. Well, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about that after the game. And unsurprisingly, he was pretty coy about what Michael Wainu's future is going to look like on a football field. And he said, we'll see. I'll talk to Mike about it we'll see how it goes coach if you happen to be listening to this I cast my vote for keeping Mike Awainu at right tackle and I say that from someone who was against it at first but the results are on the field and it's pretty hard to argue none of us are infallible folks and that's really the beauty of watching this game today. Most of us, myself included, believe that the Patriots were setting themselves up for a loss.

Starting point is 00:16:50 What we wanted was just a competitive game, and on Sunday, we got some of the best football the Patriots have played all season long. But here's the good news, folks. I still don't believe this team has put it all together yet. I still don't believe you've seen the best of what this team has put it all together yet. I still don't believe you've seen the best of what this team can do. I know a lot of you out there are thinking tank. A lot of you out there are thinking two and five, no possibility of playoffs. Maybe there isn't a possibility of playoffs, but if this team could start to string together some wins or at least competitive games, it gives you hope for the future that maybe there are a few more building blocks here than we gave this team credit for just a couple of days ago. And of course, the possibility exists that this was just a bad day for Buffalo and that

Starting point is 00:17:32 the Patriots were just able to take advantage of it. We'll know a lot more in the coming days and weeks, but one thing we're going to continue to do here on Locked On Patriots is enjoy this victory. And that means a visit from the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy. He's going to join me here on Monday. So keep a sharp eye out. Download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:17:53 wherever you get your podcasts to make sure that you get that episode as soon as it's available. Pats fans, I thank you for joining me on this brief postcast episode of Locked On Patriots. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, reminding you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you back here again on Monday on Locked On Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Defeat Buffalo Bills in Week 7: Mac Jones, Demario Douglas: SPECIAL EDITION POSTCAST

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