No one in New England would consider this to be the best of times, football-wise, but most fans would definitely agree that it has been the worst that we’ve all seen in a very long time. Foolishness, darkness, incredulity, and despair – we’ve had all of these in greater measure over the past couple of seasons than many of us can ever remember experiencing before. On Sunday, however, something shifted, and we were given a brief respite from the great chasm of nothing spread out before us. Somehow, on this cool autumn afternoon, the Patriots managed to slam the brakes on a season that had been, like an increasingly indolent pre-revolutionary France, “rolling with exceeding smoothness downhill.”
Football stories often begin and end with the quarterback and, in this particular tale, our quarterback inextricably begins and ends with his offensive line. Up until this game, Jones’s o-line had been miserably unhealthy, and the various makeshift configurations that the Patriots had tried shifting in and out simply weren’t working. This time, though, Cole Strange was finally healthy, Michael Onwenu was inserted at right tackle, and Vaderian Lowe was pulled altogether. With Strange, David Andrews, and Onwenu all in the lineup at the same time, plus Trent Brown at left tackle, Jones finally had some room to breathe and time to operate. These seemingly small changes paid off huge.
Jones was as super efficient as we’ve ever seen him. He went 25-of-30 for 272 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Not only did he play accurate, mistake-free football for the first time all year, but he also orchestrated a truly impressive 8-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a go-ahead touchdown to Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds left on the clock that sealed the game. He played like a completely different quarterback than the discombobulated, mistake-prone guy we’ve grown accustomed to seeing under center. It was like night and day compared to the rest of the season. Watching Jones’s stellar performance against the Bills we realized that, like the soon-to-be-deposed French aristocracy, the Patriots offense would live and die this season based on how well their leader was protected.
The Patriots o-line delivered like it has not done all season. Jones was pressured on just under 22% of his dropbacks – an impressive feat against one of the league’s best pass rushes. They also did an excellent job of opening up the run game, for an average of 4 yards per carry. The interior pass rush pestered Josh Allen, who was unable to score a touchdown for the entire first half. He was under pressure for nearly 45% of his snaps, and appeared frustrated and out of sorts for the majority of the game. It was also nice to see Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, and Pharaoh Brown getting an increasing number of snaps. They were mostly successful, and hopefully that’s an indication that their roles on the team are growing. Belichick has traditionally resisted giving rookies and newcomers snaps right away, with debatable results – but that’s a different tale for a different day.
Jones showed a great deal of poise as a rookie – it was one of his most memorable and praiseworthy traits, but this was the first time that we have seen him look that poised against a truly great team. He executed the game plan flawlessly while remaining cooler under pressure than he’s been all season. His noted accuracy and excellent decision making were on full display. There’s really not much else to say about his stellar performance. The Patriots offense looked legitimately great for the first time since Josh McDaniels left. Patriots fans have to hope that this game will serve as a turning point for Jones, the moment that he is finally able to put last season’s tribulations behind him. Only time will tell.
We can only hope that this game was truly a step in the right direction, and not just a final gasp of baroque magnificence before the guillotine comes rolling into Gillette.