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Curran: Patriots ‘finally showed a pulse’ in loss to Bills originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots came up short against the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s Week 16 matchup, but there were positives to take away from the 24-21 defeat.
The Drake Maye-led offense looked sharp as it jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. Buffalo proceeded to score 24 unanswered points, though the Patriots defense limited NFL MVP frontrunner Josh Allen to just 154 yards and one touchdown while notching an interception.
For a team with a 3-12 record, a three-point loss to a Super Bowl favorite is what some might consider a “moral victory.” Although NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Tom E. Curran liked the effort he saw from the team on Sunday, he still came away feeling uneasy with some of the offensive playcalling.
“I say that they should feel frustrated with the result, encouraged that they finally showed a pulse and an identity. That’s how I would feel,” Curran said on Patriots Postgame Live. “And it’s interesting, you look at this team right now and part of the reason they lost, of course, was mistakes by (Rhamondre) Stevenson. The mistake by Maye in throwing to the front side of the end zone, but also the mistake of (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt. Why are you calling for a screen inside your own 10? I mean, there’s so many more things that can go wrong than can go right. …
“So many things were good about the Patriots’ offensive performance. I like the tempo, I like the identity building. I like going for it on fourth down. I still come away from it and go, ‘Oh, I can see why Alex Van Pelt is driving them a little crazy down there.'”
The play Curran referred to ultimately sealed the Patriots’ fate. Down 17-14 on their own 12-yard line with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, they ran a backward screen pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The ball bounced off Stevenson’s helmet and was recovered in the end zone by cornerback…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/curran-patriots-finally-showed-pulse-021113853.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-12-23 02:22:00
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