New England Patriots links 10/23/23 - All 3 phases step up in win over Bills: Hot start, sweet finish

What a game! Our family room spontaneously erupted yesterday afternoon as Mac Jones and the offense completed their game-winning comeback drive. High fives, cheers, hugs... Felt like the first game in ages that all three phases showed up energized, engaged and effective. First game in a long time we celebrated like that.

The”‘shoot yourselves in the foot” guns were nowhere to be found, replaced by the good kind of weapons. The move-the-chains kind. The scoring kind.

The difference in play from the last three weeks to yesterday was profound. Karen Guregian spoke to some players after the game to figure out what exactly had changed. The answers she got touched on a renewed energy and confidence, a different mindset, and some good juju in the locker room. She believes a revamped offense line helped too and that had to factor in to the confidence level — especially with Mac Jones’ ability to play through pressure, find his targets and deliver the ball where he (and all of us) wanted it to go. Receivers caught the ball too! Always a good sign.

Enjoy the links today. Lots of the good kind of breakdowns, analysis and highlights. Plus for extra fun, peruse the Buffalo area news angle from the other side of the victory. We needed this! Let’s keep it going.

TEAM TALK

• Post Game Notes: Bill Belichick becomes third NFL coach with 300 career regular season wins; Patriots break four-game losing streak to Buffalo; Jabrill Peppers has first interception since 2020; More.
• Gamebook: Full Patriots vs. Bills stats.
• Evan Lazar’s Game Observations: Eight takeaways from the Patriots upset win over the Bills. 1. Play of the game: Jabrill Peppers sparks fast start with first-quarter interception.
• Mike Dussault’s 8 Keys from the last-second win over the Bills. 1. Patriots start hot.
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Bills.
• Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick - Mac Jones - Rhamondre Stevenson - Mike Gesicki - Deatrich Wise - Jabrill Peppers - David Andrews.
• Highlights: Week 7 Patriots vs. Bills. (6 min. video)
• Highlights: Dante Scarnecchia and Mike Vrabel honored during halftime ceremony. (8 min. video)
• Patriots Postgame Show: Pats’ thrill with last-second victory over Bills, Mike Gesicki Interview. (1 hr, 47 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss recaps yesterday’s win. ‘The Patriots (2-5) were on the cusp of letting a game they led for large stretches slip away from them before Jones engineered an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive after taking over with 1:58 left on the clock’.
• Taylor Kyles’ takeaways from the Week 7 win vs the Bills. The defense had a solid 1st half where they often bent but rarely broke, highlighted by Jabrill Peppers intercepting Josh Allen’s first pass.
• Matt Dolloff reports on the Patriots pulling off what could go down as their most stunning win of the season, defeating the Buffalo Bills in a thriller at Gillette Stadium.
• Matt Vautour describes how after three rough weeks, the Pats dug down showing heart and character.
• Alex Barth gives us 11 takeaways as the Patriots beat the Bills: New-look offensive line looks new; Explosive players make explosive plays; More!
• Chris Mason shares 9 takeaways from the thrilling Patriots comeback. 1. Mac completes the comeback.
• Matt Dolloff tells us how the Pats pulled off a stunning win over the Bills. 1. Clutch offense.
• Karen Guregian considers what had changed to turn the listless Pats into a winner. ‘This was the best the Patriots have looked in quite some time all across the board. The players were completely engaged from start to finish.’
• Michael Hurley points out Mac Jones had a massive performance against the Bills yesterday.
• Mark Daniels spotlights Kendrick Bourne, very relieved and thankful the Patriots won after his costly mistake.
• Chris Mason highlights the big spark Pop Douglas provided in Sunday’s win and makes the case he deserves a bigger role in the offense.
• Nick O’Malley notes the Patriots got top cover corner Jack Jones back, helping them to finally hold Bills star receiver Stefon Diggs in check. ‘How many yards did he get?’
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate on Mac Jones game-winning drive, Demario Douglas’ performance, Michael Onwenu at right tackle and the Pats pressure on Bills’ QB Josh Allen. (18 min.)
• Pats Procrastination podcast: Clazzy Clare and Chudders talk about Sunday’s win (on National Tight Ends Day!) over the Bills. (39 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Sam Monson (PFF) NFL Week 7 game recap: New England Patriots 29, Buffalo Bills 25. ‘After some of the worst performances of his NFL career, Mac Jones bounced back with a far better game’.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Patriots give up lead, rally back for 29-25 win over Bills.
• Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Rare sighting in New England this season: A clutch outing from Mac Jones and smiles from Bill Belichick. ‘Keep picking up crumbs and eventually you have a loaf of bread’.
• Peter King (ProFootballTalk) FMIA Week 7: Hurts and Philly push forward; Jackson and Ravens look lethal. Awards section: Mac Jones: “...On this day, Michael McCorkle Jones played one of the best games of his young, pressure-packed career, completing 83 percent of his throws with his best passer rating (126.7) in almost two years....”
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) Week 7: What we learned from Sunday’s games. ‘The Patriots reminded everyone they can still beat good teams. Jones certainly needed a confidence-boosting performance, and this was the best we’ve seen from him in a minute’.
• Kaelen Jones (The Messenger) NFL Week 7 Takeaways: When you think you can count out the Patriots; Plus, the Ravens hit their stride, a case for the Giants to start Tyrod Taylor and the refs took center stage in Browns vs. Colts.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) Sorting the Sunday Pile: Ravens offense hitting its stride; More.
• Grant Gordon (NFL.com) Bill Belichick earns 300th regular-season win as Patriots upset Bills.
• Myles Simmons (ProFootballTalk) Mac Jones: At the end of the day, we fought back.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Report: Bill Belichick got a “lucrative” new “multi-year” contract before the 2023 season.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL Week 7 grades: Bills get ‘D+’ after shocking loss to Patriots ‘A’.
• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) NFL Week 7 winners and losers: Bill Belichick strikes back, while Bills, Lions stumble in pivotal matchups.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) NFL Week 7 overreactions and reality checks. Are Ravens best team in AFC?

VIEW FROM BUFFALO

• Matt Byham (Buffalo Rumblings) Buffalo Bills thoroughly outclassed in deflating loss to formerly listless Patriots.
• Nick Sabato (Niagara-Gazette) Bills defense crumbles once again with game on the line, Mac Jones leads first game-winning drive in 2 years.
• Matt Parrino (New York Upstate) Bills can’t complete comeback in inexcusable loss to Patriots.
• Nick Wojton (Bills Wire) Instant analysis, recap of Bills’ disappointing loss to Patriots. ‘From the very get go, the Bills were in their own way against the Patriots in Week 7.’
• Matt Parrino (New York Upstate) Buffalo Bills baffled by slow starts, don’t know how opponents keep stuffing offense early in game.
• Alex Brasky (The Daily News) Chickens come home to roost as Bills stagnant again in loss to rival Patriots.
• Brian Galliford (Buffalo Rumblings) Patriots 29, Bills 25: Five things we learned. 1. Buffalo’s defense is undermanned, and it showed.
• Nick Wojton (Bills Wire) 5 takeaways from the Bills’ 29-25 loss to the Patriots. 1. Slow start again.
• Alec White (buffalobills.com) Top 3 things we learned from Bills at Patriots. 1. Ending the same way it started.
• Sal Maiorana (Democrat and Chronicle) Buffalo is a mess after disastrous loss to Mac Jones and Patriots.
• Nick Wojton (Bills Wire) Josh Allen downplays shoulder injury after Patriots loss.