Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Start Strong, Falter in 2nd Half in Week 16 Loss to Buffalo Bills: Game Recap

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots may have fallen to the Buffalo Bills in week 16, but give them credit. They prove they will not fall without a fight. Stick around. You're about to be locked in to 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 Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England

Starting point is 00:00:35 Patriots coverage. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots. For Patriots country, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on x at mdavatenfl and while you're out there showing some love to lockdown patriots social media style that is please follow our account there as well at lo underscore patriots and pats fans today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at fan duel you can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a $5 bet, and you'll get started with $250 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Visit FanDuel.com to get started. And Patriots fans, thank you for joining me here today on this Monday episode as we wallow in the mire of yet another Patriots loss. But this one feels a little different than it did last week. The Patriots dropping their week 16 matchup 24 to 21 to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Today we have an action packed show for you as we break down the Patriots loss to the Bills. We're going to kick things off in just a moment here by talking about the surprise gumption, that surprise fight that the New England Patriots showed in the early stages of this game. What did that performance tell us here in Patriots Nation about the future of this

Starting point is 00:01:55 team? Well, we're going to discuss that, but as is the case with pretty much everything here in Patriots Nation this season, the Pats suffered a second half downfall, and we're going to discuss that downfall, which eventually cost them the game. And last but certainly not least, we are going to hand out our players of the game, our proverbial locked on Patriots game balls. Which player or players stood out and rose to the challenge? Well, folks, I keep saying we because in just a moment, I'm about to be joined by the man with the wisdom, the counsel, and the reason we all need here in Patriots Nation, especially today. He is my good friend, my Patriots bison, columnist extraordinaire at Patsfans.com, as well as being the co-host of the Patriots 4th and 2 podcast.

Starting point is 00:02:40 Let's welcome him in, my good buddy, Steve Balistrieri. Once again, they had, you know, a way to win a game. And once again, in the second half of this game, all of that good stuff that happened in the first half magnified in the wrong direction uh where you saw the same mistakes the turnovers you know the the penalties the missed assignments and and whatnot and it ended up costing them a game against a team that i thought was going to roll all over them in Buffalo, the Buffalo Bills. And, you know, the Bills have been on such a roll, I was expecting the worst in this one. And then at halftime, we still had some really good hope that this game might still go in the Patriots' favor.

Starting point is 00:03:38 But alas, it was not to be. Yeah, unfortunately, alas, it was not to be. And I think you hit the nail right on the head, my friend. For one half of football, this New England Patriots team looked like a team that had arrived in western New York intent on upsetting the best team in football at the time. And they really played that way for that first half. Yeah, I mean, when I looked at it, right, you know, I'm watching the game. And in the first half, I was like, who are these guys? Because we haven't seen these guys all year, right?

Starting point is 00:04:10 It's true. I mean, they were playing one of the, I think, actually, they are, in my opinion, the best team in the AFC right now. And I'm like, these guys are, you know, looking exactly the opposite of the guys, you know, we were watching all year. Where did these guys come from? And what took so long? Because they were playing so well in that first half. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, did the light finally come on here in Gillette for these guys?

Starting point is 00:04:48 But, you know, then we saw, I mean, the one thing I will give the entire team, there's no quit in these guys. Even though things went aft on them, you know, in the second half. They didn't roll over. They didn't, you know, mail the second half in. They fought until the end. And I wish I could say the same for the coaching staff, and I'm sure we'll get into that. You know, I just thought that the effort level and the compete level was outstanding.

Starting point is 00:05:28 Oh, I thought it was outstanding too. I mean, you know, you look at what a difference a week makes, Steve. And last week when you joined us here on Lockdown Patriots, the one takeaway that I think was universal was that their effort looked very lackluster. This looked like a team that had already mailed it in. They were ready to make their offseason plans rather than actually put the heart and soul they needed to into these final games of the season. Patriots have two more games now left on their schedule, but you definitely can't accuse them of coming into this matchup against the Buffalo Bills and mailing it in.

Starting point is 00:05:59 This team looked to be competitive, and the thing that I actually really liked about what this team did, Steve, is they didn't quit. Like like you said even when things started to unravel in the second half it would have been very easy for this team to simply roll over and say okay here come the bills they've made their run it's 24 to 14 at that point um we really have nowhere to go uh you know now so let's just take our foot off the accelerator we proved our point and that's it no they continue to attack they continue to try to make this a game right up until the last moment and that says a lot about the coaching staff and their motivational level and being able to get this team ready emotionally to play this game um we'll get into fundamentally in just a moment folks because they're still lacking in that area but if you're wondering

Starting point is 00:06:43 about emotional lift that spiritual lift i think the Patriots showed that they got that yesterday. And look, for that first half, they looked great. Drake May's 28-yard touchdown pass to Kayshaun Booty is a prime example of this. You saw the mismatch on Kier Elam. I give credit to Alex Van Pelt. I give credit to Drake May. They saw that. They knew that against this Buffalo Bills team, you need to attack downfield. When you have the opportunity to take a deep shot, you need to take it. Otherwise, you're going to be regretting it for every moment that ticks on that clock from that point on. So what the Patriots did was very smart.

Starting point is 00:07:18 Drake hits the go route, and the Patriots are off to the races, and they put Buffalo on their heels early. You follow that up with a 14-yard touchdown run by Ramondre Stevenson, and all of a sudden, things are looking pretty good in New England. So in light of those two drives, Steve, when you look at this team now and you look at what they're capable of doing on offense, when the play calling is solid, when they're being aggressive, when they're taking advantage of the skill set of their young quarterback,

Starting point is 00:07:48 what does this tell you about the potential future of this team can anything be read into the tea leaves by their performance on sunday that leads you to believe the future could be bright in foxborough sooner than we may think well i mean there's still huge holes to fill you know on the roster and we know that we've been talking about that you know, on the roster. And we know that. We've been talking about that, you know, since September. However, you know, I still go back and I think, you know, offensively this system is fine because even with the, you know, let's face it, limited talent level on the offense, they can still, you know, let's face it, limited talent level on the offense, they can still, you know, catch a sleeping dog, right? I mean, you know, I think Buffalo came in, I think they came in overlooking the Patriots a little bit. You know, they've been on an absolute roll. They've played

Starting point is 00:08:42 some really tough teams lately, and maybe they would do for a little bit of an emotional letdown. But the thing I took away, you know, for one, that pass from Drake May, that was absolutely perfect. I mean, that was a great throw, great catch. You know, it was a well-designed play. And as you said, you know, they knew they had to hit some deep shots. Alex Van Pelt talked about it last week. You know, when they availed themselves to us,

Starting point is 00:09:14 we need to make sure we hit on them. And they certainly did. And after that play and after Stevenson's touchdown, I didn't think it would be possible but you could have heard a pin drop in that Stadium that Stadium got quiet and you know it's rare that you see Buffalo Stadium like that unless it's in the middle of a blizzard you know what I mean? But I didn't expect to see that or hear it, you know, on Sunday. And I just thought, you know, hey, they just, you know, put a big smack on the chin of the fans and the team that they were facing,

Starting point is 00:10:02 you know, and like the old, was it Dylan Thomas? The Patriots were not going to go gentle into that night. Oh, I love it. Absolutely. Channeling his inner Thornton Mellon, folks, is my good friend, Steve Balistrieri. Rage, rage against the dying of the night. Steve, you know, I think in a way, I think you're absolutely right on that look the New England Patriots came into this game with a lot of people questioning their heart as the late great gorilla

Starting point is 00:10:30 monsoon would say their intestinal fortitude I think they proved right now that they're willing to play hard for their coach they're willing to play right up until the final moments of this season and they still have a great amount of pride in that locker room that's something that you can look at this game and have a positive takeaway and say, you know what, for the future, we know this team doesn't have to quit. They're going to fight, and they're going to continue to do so until the final whistle. Up until this week, I think some people were questioning whether or not that fire still burned in that locker room in New England.

Starting point is 00:11:01 Sunday's game definitely put that to rest. But, Steve, again, it's a tale of two halves. And as good as New England was in the first half, they turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions of the second half. You allow Josh Allen to get going. You allow James Cook to eat up, who I thought had a phenomenal game. I think he was Buffalo's best offensive weapon on Sunday. And the Bills riding 17 second-half points to the 24-21 victory. And once again, folks, we're giving New England a lot of credit in this one. They did not quit, but fundamental mistakes continue to haunt this team. Steve and I are going to talk about that second-half swoon and the Patriots unraveling

Starting point is 00:11:40 and what that may tell us about what still needs to be done in Foxborough. When this episode of the lockdown Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners. Today's episode is sponsored by prize picks. If you love watching the game, well,

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Starting point is 00:12:32 prize picks makes it easy to cash out. You can get your money in as fast as 15 minutes. This week, I'm looking at Drake May to throw more than 250 yards, and I'll put my intuition to the test with prize picks it's quick simple and so much fun to challenge myself and my friends download the prize picks app today and use the code locked on nfl to get 50 instantly after your first five dollar lineup that's right 50 instantly when you play just five5. Prize picks run your game. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. And joining me to help break down the Patriots 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills is my good

Starting point is 00:13:19 friend Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com and the Patriots 4th and 2 podcast. And Steve, in the previous segment, we talked about things that went right forcom and the Patriots fourth and two podcast and Steve in the previous segment we talked about things that went right for the New England Patriots the aggressive style of play calling using a little bit of aggression playing to the strengths of your young quarterback showing that never say die attitude and fighting right until the end these are things that the Patriots were heavily criticized for heading into this game and it looked like they heard the noise, so to speak, and they came in with an intent to try to prove their doubters wrong in those areas. However, this team is still lacking the fundamentals and I think the adequate personnel to be able to do what they really want to do on the football field.

Starting point is 00:14:00 When you start off the second half, especially after playing a brilliant first half in which you really put the defending AFC East champion, and as you said earlier, potentially the best team in the AFC right now on their heels, you allow this team to get back into the game by turning the ball over on three straight possessions. When you look at what went wrong for this team in the second half uh what stands out to you and what um i don't want to say surprised you the most because we've pretty much seen it all and done it all with this team this year but what um upset you the most in terms of some of the problems we continue to see week after week well i think we saw a glimpse of that in the first half was, you know, they're still, you know, getting gashed in the running game.

Starting point is 00:14:52 Cook, now I don't take anything away from him because I think he's fantastic. And as you said, he had a great game, you know, on Sunday. But, you know, the Patriots, you know, they, they weren't able to stop cook from running. Okay. So we saw that was a 48 or 46 yard touchdown run in the first half, you know, and that continued the bills first drive. They came in, they came out of halftime like good teams do, and they knew they had to get back on their A game.

Starting point is 00:15:27 And they put together a really nice drive, and they tied up the score. But that's okay because you're in the second half, and you're still tied with the Bills. So even though they came back and scored 14 straight and tied the game up, you know, your offense has been moving the football and and then all the troubles fumble you know um uh you know remondre stevenson who's leading the league and fumbling yeah he fumbled again bills take it over the defense holds them. They only go about 10 yards, I think it was, and then they kicked a field goal, and now you're behind, and then Drake May leads them on a really nice drive.

Starting point is 00:16:14 They move in the ball, and then, you know, as much as I love this rookie quarterback, that was a horrible throw and decision in the corner of the end zone on and it was on first down i mean if it happens on third down you know maybe you can live with that a little bit but on first down there was no excuse for that uh you either eat the ball or you throw it away and you live for another dime i I just, you know, and then the backwards pass, you know, I didn't agree with at that point, especially where they were in the field. To me, it didn't make sense, you know, because they got conservative. You know, they were so aggressive in that first half.

Starting point is 00:17:02 In the second half, they started getting conservative, and that's when they started making all these mistakes. And the backwards pass, it wasn't a great throw. It wasn't a great catch attempt by Stevenson. And then all things go wrong. It bounces into the end zone. Buffalo recovers, and now you're down by 10. the same mistakes right it's like the the penalties the the turnovers the botched plays

Starting point is 00:17:34 they all came home to roost and you know i i go back and you know uh even martin mapu makes a great play on an interception. And then if he takes a knee, they get the ball at the 20. But instead, he tries to run it out and gets tackled at the one. And these are just things that should be ingrained in people's heads by this. This isn't training camp anymore. This is not the preseason you know we're in late december we're going into christmas and they're still making these same mistakes

Starting point is 00:18:13 maddening to watch at times and you know because it's like when are they going to learn to quit shooting themselves in the foot and you can't give a team like Buffalo that many alibis because they'll bury you. But I will say this. The defense, especially the secondary, I thought played extremely well. Very well. You know, Josh Allen only threw for 154 yards, which if you had told me that on Thursday or Friday last week that the Patriots were going to hold Josh Allen to 154 yards passing,

Starting point is 00:18:53 I would have thought you were smoking something really, really good, and I would have asked you for something. It's true. Either that or you just would have called him an outright liar because there's no way that heading into this game, especially with the problems that the Patriots had had in past defense, save for Christian Gonzalez, that they would be able to shut down Josh Allen. You figured Josh is just going to keep the ball away from Christian

Starting point is 00:19:16 and he's going to go to everybody else. They are the Patriots to make plays. And the Patriots came in with a solid game plan against Josh Allen. I'm glad that you mentioned that because we are going to get into the cornerback play in just a little while here, folks. Stay tuned. You're not going to want to miss that. But I think you started off with something that continues to bother me, something that

Starting point is 00:19:36 continues to worry me heading into 2025 and beyond is this run defense right now continues to be the Patriots' Achilles heel. Buffalo ran for 172 yards on 28 attempts yesterday. James Cook continues to show that a versatile back with a multifaceted skill set can be the kryptonite for this team. And you will continue to have problems shutting down your opposing offense unless you shore up that run defense. I understand Juwan Bentley's absence is playing a major role in this. I see that circulating an awful lot on social media. I'm the first to acknowledge it, but Buffalo had a 52%

Starting point is 00:20:18 rushing success rate on Sunday, and it's not necessarily just against the bill, Steve. I mean, you look at what the Patriots are doing lately. They're still having difficulty. They're struggling to get off their blocks. They can't compress the space they need to be able to make the plays. They're opening up these cutback lanes for carriers like James Cook to be able to torch them. And you're seeing this consistently week after week. On the offensive side of the ball, I'm glad you mentioned Stevenson. I love Romandre as much as the next guy. I think he has done everything he possibly can to find lanes that simply aren't there because of a faulty offensive line. But he's fumbled the ball now seven times.

Starting point is 00:20:58 That leads the league. If he's going to remain the lead back, he has to clean those up. You have Gerard Mayo his head coach coming out on Monday and saying yeah everything's on the table it's a possibility that Antonio Gibson may get the start over Ramondre it's happened before this year you'd hate to see it happen again to the kid but that security has to improve you mentioned the backwards pass I know he played a part in that problem but I'm not going to put that one on him i think that's on drake for making the play i think a lot of that has to be put on trey jacobs as well who missed the block um that set up the problem offensive line steve again glaring problems um how much of how much

Starting point is 00:21:37 of the blame pie do they deserve for this loss because i think that slice is a pretty hefty one at this holiday table this week oh yeah I mean their turnstiles I mean you know the pass protection is awful all right usually the best plays you see Drake may make is when everything breaks down. Like we used to say about Josh Allen, you know, not comparing the two. I know Josh Allen's the MVP probably this year. And, you know, I'm not comparing, but just as an example, you know, we used to say, well, Josh Allen's best plays are when everything breaks down and they go to like schoolyard stuff. And, you know, that's the same with Drake May because it seems like far too often he's

Starting point is 00:22:34 breaking down and have to, having to improvise on the go, you know, whether it be a scramble for a run or scramble for a throw, you know, or having to go way outside the pocket to get anything. I mean, it's happening far too often. The offensive line, I mean, especially when they get in the red zone, you know, it has all those problems when everything gets condensed, just manifest themselves even more and even that uh second touchdown they scored uh late in the game or the third touchdown excuse me the third touchdown they

Starting point is 00:23:15 scored late in the game i mean how many tries did it take from you know inside the 20, I think they had three pass interference penalties in that whole sequence on the bills. And, you know, a lot of that had to do with Drake not having time. You know, I mean, the offensive line is awful. And yeah, that that contributes in a huge way to everything because everything stems off that i mean i i was watching some of the games this weekend and i'm watching quarterbacks sitting back there all kinds of time to throw consistently and i was like i wish drake may had this kind of time to throw because we'd probably see a lot different results happening. And it shows they haven't scored 30 points once this year.

Starting point is 00:24:11 Yeah, exactly. And you have a feeling that that trend is about to reverse if the Patriots can get some adequate help in the offseason to help fix their offensive line woes. But, Steve, last week we talked about the left side, and they deserved a lot of the blame pie but Darian Lowe actually I thought had a better game than he did just a week prior he bounced back a little bit and I'm not saying that it's a stellar performance by any stretch of the

Starting point is 00:24:34 imagination folks but it was nice to see improvement in his game but then you look at the game that Trey Jacobs had and it's kind of like a reversal of roles the left side was the problem here the right side continues to be an issue. Matched up with Von Miller, you figure maybe he might catch a break there because Von has lost the step a little bit defensively. He's not the same fearsome guy that he's been in years past. But Greg Russo completely blew by him on that attempted backwards pass. That was a mismatch right from the time the ball was snapped.

Starting point is 00:25:02 He surrenders five pressures in 16 matchups against Von Miller. So that right there shows you that he's continuing to have problems, whether it's against a young pass rusher or a veteran. And then you also look at his whistle for two false starts. This is an issue where the New England Patriots need to find their right tackle of the future. I normally would say give Caden Wallace all the time he needs to get back in the lineup, make sure he's healthy and he's able to go. I do believe that if he's in any way hampered, they shouldn't put him out there.

Starting point is 00:25:36 But if he's got a clean bill of health this week, Steve, I think you have to put the kid in there. You've got to see what you're going to be able to be, what you're going to be working with heading into 2025. So assuming he's healthy enough to do it, I think Trey Jacobs' performance on Sunday almost mandates that Caden Wallace gets out there if he's a hundred percent. Yeah, I agree with that. I mean, you know, Mayo keeps saying they want to see what the young guys can do. So I'm all for getting Caden Wallace wallace in there once cole strange is healthy i want to see him get a start at left guard right uh you know i i think it's it's important because you

Starting point is 00:26:17 have to know if the kid has any glimmer that's in there that you can work with. I'm not saying he has to show he's all pro capable, you know, as a rookie. But you have to be able to see him hold his own. You know, otherwise you need two tackles. I mean, because you definitely need a left one. And, you know, Jacobs isn't the answer at right tackle uh we don't know about wallace yet so yeah and um i mean again the penalties that keep setting them back you know it's it's tough for an offense even i mean granted the Patriots have limited star power there, right, on the offense. But, you know, for anybody, and especially, you know, with the limited, you know, talent level you have,

Starting point is 00:27:18 if you're always behind the sticks, it's very, very difficult, you know, to score points. You know, you have to be ahead of the sticks and far too often this year, they're not, they're behind them. Oh, absolutely. I could not agree more. And look, you mentioned penalties and you mentioned self-inflicted wounds. And unfortunately the Patriots continue to be plagued by that. You look at the statistics after the game and chatting with fans by a social media DM, one of the first things that was pointed out to me, because I mentioned penalties being a problem for this team, and they're like, oh, the Patriots, five penalties, 34 yards. Look at Buffalo. They had 13 penalties for 78 yards. There's a huge difference in talent on this team, folks. Buffalo can commit that

Starting point is 00:28:05 amount of penalties and they can sustain it. New England can't right now. They cannot afford self-inflicted wounds, which is why these penalties are so egregious for this team, Steve, because they need to learn. They need to be fundamentally sound in order to then start playing up to their skill level. If you don't have your fundamentals down, that skill is never going to come out, and it's never going to be where it should be. So that's the reason why a team like Buffalo can take those types of hits and still be able to rebound.

Starting point is 00:28:33 They've got a lot more talent, a lot more depth on their roster that can withstand that hit than the New England Patriots have right now. So, Steve, we've talked about some positives. We've talked about some negatives. But in the interest of keeping with tradition here on Locked On Patriots, because it is the holiday week and we like to keep holiday traditions here, we're going to end on a high note, Steve. Steve Balistrieri and I are going to hand out our awards for Locked On Player of the Game.

Starting point is 00:28:58 Which New England Patriots rose above the rest to deserve the proverbial game ball? We're going to reveal our picks in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, the NFL playoffs are almost here, but it's not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now, new customers can finish the season strong

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Starting point is 00:30:11 patriots fans thank you once again for joining us here today on locked on patriots and joining me is my patriots by zon my good buddy steve balistrieri columnist extraordinaire of patsfans.com. Check out all of his written work there, folks. You will not regret it. Every time the man puts pen to paper, it's must-read, one of the most informative reads you'll find anywhere. And, of course, don't miss his great work alongside the great Derek Havens

Starting point is 00:30:38 on Patriots 4th & 2 podcast, which you can find anywhere you get your podcasts. Steve, there were players that stood out above the rest, and in the interest of ending today's show on a high note, I thought it would be a good idea for us to award our players of the game. Steve, when you look at this matchup, offense, defense, special teams, who deserves, in your estimation, the lion's share of the credit for keeping this one close in Buffalo in week 16. Well, you know, the guy that didn't show up on the stat sheet was Christian Gonzalez

Starting point is 00:31:14 because, you know, he basically shut down Amari Cooper, which I believe Cooper is still a very, very good wide receiver. So, you know, first thoughts were to him. But I'll tell you what, and I have to give this guy a lot of credit this week. I think Keyshawn Butte deserves the player of the game. I mean, he kind of talked smack about his offensive coordinator, you know, and then, you know, he was running his mouth when he didn't produce last week in Arizona. And I was really down on him for that.

Starting point is 00:31:55 But you know what? He put his nose to the grindstone. He came back. He caught that beautiful touchdown. But it wasn't just one play. He caught eight passes for 95 yards, including that touchdown. And you know what? That's redeeming yourself in your own and your coach's eyes.

Starting point is 00:32:14 And, you know, I think, you know, he kind of realized he stepped out of bounds last week. And, you know, hopefully this is a harbinger of better things to come from him for these last two games. But yeah, I could say Drake May as well, because I think he's the best player on the offense by far. But this week, I'm going with Boutte. I just think he had a really, really solid game and, you know, he helped us team up. I think it's a great choice. And look, for all the praise that I heaped upon Alex Van Pelt in the play calling and Drake May for making that 28-yard pass, that pass does not get completed without Keyshawn Booty's route running, without his catch, without his ability and his balance to stay in bounds he needs a little

Starting point is 00:33:05 work with his consistency if he can harness that there is no question this kid has the talent to be a very effective receiver here in New England I'm going to flip I'm going to go the opposite side of the ball um even though the defense had their issues uh you mentioned the cornerbacks I'm going to go with the cornerbacks as a whole because I think Christian Gonzalez, once again, not allowing a catch to Amari Cooper, who is still a very tough receiver to cover. But I want to give a lot of love to Jonathan Jones because I've been critical of Jonathan this year. It's pained me because I really, really love Jonathan as a person. One of the best guys you'll meet in this locker room. Always forthcoming.

Starting point is 00:33:45 Always one of the guys with the biggest hearts that you'll meet. And you know that he's out there giving it his all every single game. And a lot of people have talked about maybe him missing a step, his age starting to catch up with him. I thought he did a great job against Khalil Shakir. This is Buffalo's best receiver right now. Jonathan switched back down into the slot. That's where he's most comfortable. He held them to two catches on five targets, broke up a pass in the end zone, kept Shakir from being a factor in this game. And when you can shut down one of Josh Allen's top weapons, you know you're having a good game. So definite kudos to Jonathan Jones. But this secondary stepped it up. I thought they did a nice job of trying to defend Josh Allen.

Starting point is 00:34:27 Man coverage on over 60%. And I think that they really did a good job of trying to contain Josh. You have to be so careful when you're trying to scheme against this guy because you can't force him to put the ball in his hands. He's too talented. His supporting cast is too talented. You can't force him on the outside. That's like letting the Grinch loose on Christmas Eve. He's absolutely going to take that every

Starting point is 00:34:50 single time that he can, and he's going to smile while he's doing it. He's that good. It really is so difficult to devise a game plan to be able to stifle him a little bit. Give a lot of credit to the Patriots, who I thought did a very good job of defending Josh on what wasn't his best game. And I know he's had issues with his hand and his injury that factored in folks I'm not going to take that away but like when Steve said to open the show when you can hold Josh to just over 150 yards passing you know you did a good job so secondary in my opinion deserves an awful lot of credit the cornerbacks group especially as a whole. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm glad you mentioned Jonathan Jones as well

Starting point is 00:35:28 because I wrote about him on Sunday because without Marcus there, you know, we know how good Shakir is. I mean, he's now – I think he's the guy. I know that they have quite a few targets, but I think he's the guy that can break open games for them yeah because they you know uh they can hit you a bunch of different ways and then you know alan catches him in space he's gone and i thought uh jonathan jones stepped up extremely well again they helped josh Allen to only 154 yards.

Starting point is 00:36:06 And remember, Buffalo's offense only scored 17 points. Absolutely. And that's, I mean, you have to credit the defense. I know they lost and they gave up a bunch of points there in the second half. But, you know, one of those touchdowns was on the offense i think uh the defense deserves a lot of credit and um you know a couple of breaks here and there and some better you know uh uh some better ball protection skills and, you know, who knows what would have happened.

Starting point is 00:36:47 Steve, I think we've done our work here. I think we've done our job. We've turned the negative into positive. It being December 23rd, it's a Festivus miracle, Steve, that we were able to take this loss and make something positive out of it. But bottom line, it is your wisdom and counsel and your reason that help us to do that each and every week. I want to thank you for pinch hitting here on what is not your normal day in the

Starting point is 00:37:09 rotation, but Steve is always a true pro and we're happy to have him here. Folks, if you're looking for your Murph fix, don't worry. He'll be back here tomorrow. We'll be talking monster keys. We'll still be breaking down the bills. In the meantime, I want to give a major tip of the cap and a thanks to my good buddy, Steve Balistrieri for your wisdom, your counsel, your reason, your appearance today. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and what you got marinating in Steve's

Starting point is 00:37:34 holiday kitchen between now and next week when we welcome you back before the turn of the new year. Well, I'm glad, speaking of Festivus, that we got the airing of Woes out early in the show. The grievances, Steve. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:37:47 Yeah. The grievances, you know, we got those out. So, you know, now we're talking feats of strength coming up. So that's what we're all going to be looking at. But thanks again, Mike, as always. Anytime, buddy. You can find me on Twitter at or x at steve b7 sfg uh i write for patsfans.com derrick and i will be doing a podcast possibly tomorrow we

Starting point is 00:38:16 might have to hold it off until later in the week uh but uh you know we'll be looking at the chargers and maybe throwing a monkey wrench into their playoff uh aspirations absolutely what better way to bring in 2025 than to play spoiler we're going to talk a lot more about the chargers later on this week but once again i want to thank my good friend steve balistrieri for his appearance today. Once again, folks, anytime the man puts pen to paper, voice to microphone, appointment listening, one of the most informative you'll find anywhere. He is one of the best in the business. I don't say that just professionally. I say that personally as well. And folks, thank you all for all of the support that you provide to Locked On Patriots. Don't forget, we still have a Christmas Eve episode coming for you.

Starting point is 00:39:05 We will be off on Christmas Day, but we'll be back at you, crossing the streams between Locked On Patriots and Locked On Chargers on Thursday. So keep a sharp eye out. You're not going to want to miss a single second of the action. In the meantime, I'm Mike DeBate, and on behalf of my good friend Steve Balistrieri, I want to remind all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

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