New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady didn't get too much help from his offensive line in the 20-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Brady was battered on every chance and it could have led the quarterback to sulk on the sideline.
It didn't. Brady was on point as ever and his ridiculous number of throwaways affected the bottom line.
He had ten throwaways and a batted pass
Yes, 11 of Brady's 19 incompletions were either intentional or disrupted at the line. That's absolutely insane, but it puts his final accuracy of 20/39 into better context. The Patriots wanted to throw the ball against this defense, but the offensive line couldn't give the play enough time to develop. Brady was willing to chuck the ball into the dirt instead of risk the sack or interception (except for on that Harper throw).
He improved his accuracy rating on all aimed passes under 20 yards
If we look at the 28 aimed passes, Brady actually exceeded his season marks in the 10-20, 0-10, and behind the Line of Scrimmage zones. He saw a decrease in accuracy on passes 20+ yards down the field because he was unable to step into his throws and because the wind was funky and knocked down passes (it affected Tyrod Taylor, too).
Brady had his first misfire to the deep left
Surprising, right? Brady's throw to Rob Gronkowski overshot the big tight end, who was covered by defensive end Jerry Hughes. That was Brady's first inaccurate pass on a throw 20+ down the left side of the field in 11 attempts. Brandon LaFell lives on the left side, so expect a few of these throws against the Broncos.
Amendola or Someone has to step into the middle of the field
The Patriots have been so productive in the middle of the field and the low crosser to Brandon LaFell and the quick angles to Amendola in front of the linebackers help move the chains. Brady has a 96% accuracy rating on passes from 0-10 yards down in the middle of the field. If Amendola is out, someone has to step into that role because it's integral to the Patriots offense.
Brady needs to get his running backs involved
It doesn't matter that LeGarrette Blount or James White aren't Dion Lewis. In the same way that passing deep forces linebackers to drop back and open up lanes underneath, dump offs to running backs will force linebackers up and open up seams to the tight ends up the middle of the field. Brady has 17 bullseyes on 19 passes to Blount and White, with only 1 pass outside of the strike zone. Get them involved!
Brady's Current Accuracy Stats
Bullseyes: 70.4%
Strike zone: 18.3%
Inaccurate: 11.3%