There were a lot of great plays to pick from this week, a nice problem I’m not used to having this season, so I just went ahead and picked five because I make the rules here on the Prop.
Players stepped up despite major injuries and made plays at the critical moments to get the Pats the victory. Despite the final score this was a closely-fought football game with the game on the line well into the fourth quarter. The Pats showed a ton of grit and their trademark cold-bloodedness that we’ve come to expect.
Here are the five plays that stood out the most to me…
After going back-and-forth for much of the first half, each scoring touchdowns, this play really got the Pats kick started for the rest of the game. Chandler Jones continued his great season and showed remarkable athleticism to corral the ball. The Pats would get six points just before the half and set them up for the opening drive of the third quarter.
What a play this long touchdown pass was to Brian Tyms for a bunch of reasons. First, it came on the opening drive of the third quarter, a spot the Pats often struggle on the road, and for all the talk that Tom Brady had no more deep accuracy, this one play showed there just might be some hope. This play should serve as a message to any teams who want to load the box and short zones.
The Bills had just put together a touchdown-scoring drive and closed to within six points but the Pats came right back out firing with this play immediately moving them across midfield. Not only is this just one of many examples that I could’ve chosen to illustrate that Gronk is back, but it also shows the kind of steely resolve the Pats had as the Bills continued to stick around.
With a nine-point lead this was the play that effectively put the game away, and the fact that it came on third-and-12 and Brady found Brandon LaFell is just the icing on the cake. This game also proves that the Patriots are a lot more than just the Edelman and Gronk show. The offense didn’t show this kind of development last year until much later. LaFell is developing into the big receiving threat the Pats have lacked for what seems like an eternity.
Still the Bills kept fighting but this was the final dagger, converting a third-and-long and not giving them the ball back with plenty of time and just an eight-point lead. Brady stands strong in a tight pocket and delivers a strike to Gronk.
If the Pats can maintain this kind of execution, they will be very hard to stop.
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