The Bills were surprisingly able to hang with the Patriots for the majority of Monday Night Football. Then once again, the Buffalo offense failed its defense in a 25-6 loss.
Derek Anderson threw for 290 yards and an interception, the running game averaged just 2.4 yards per carry, and the Bills failed to score a touchdown for the fourth time this season. They have now been kept out of the end zone for eight straight quarters.
Coming into the game, the Bills were already making a legitimate case for being the worst offense of all time. They were averaging just 3.9 yards per play before Week 8 and had scored just 81 points on the season, until two field goals against the Patriots got them to 87 — still last in the league and three points behind Todd Gurley by himself.
On Monday night, there was one drive in particular that encapsulated their offensive struggles.
The Bills had a sliver of hope when they were down 18-6 halfway through the fourth quarter. They were right outside of the Patriots’ red zone with a chance to score before the game quickly spiraled out of control.
The Bills scored a touchdown — until they didn’t
Just a few weeks ago, Derek Anderson wasn’t even in the NFL. The 35-year-old journeyman quarterback was signed as a mentor to rookie Josh Allen. Then after Allen suffered an elbow injury and Nathan Peterman threw two interceptions in a loss to the Texans, Anderson was thrust into the starting lineup.
On second-and-10 at the New England 25-yard line, Anderson was just trying to make something happen. If the Bills kicked a field goal down by 12 points with 6 minutes left, they would still be down two scores kicking the ball back to Tom Brady — essentially guaranteeing a loss. They needed a touchdown.
Anderson took a shot to the end zone to tight end Jason Croom, which was initially ruled a touchdown. Upon further review, it turns out Croom wasn’t even close to getting a score. The ball very clearly hit the ground.
The incompletion brought them to third-and-10. Then the Bills, who have been called for more offensive penalties than every other team in the league, got pushed back a little more. A false start by Charles Clay made it third-and-15.
A terrible throw by Derek Anderson led to a game-clinching pick-six
On that third down, Anderson fired a pass down the seam to what looked like an open Charles Clay. He was not open.
Devin McCourty was lurking in the middle of field and intercepted the ball, taking it back 84 yards to the house.
This was 13th interception — and second pick-six — by the Bills’ three quarterbacks this season. They have combined for just three passing touchdowns.
That interception pushed the Patriots’ lead to what would be an insurmountable 19 points with 5:54 left in the game. The Next Gen Stats version of the play shows a dubious throw by Anderson — McCourty was hiding in plain sight.
Devin McCourty reached a top speed of 22.05 MPH on his 84-yard INT return TD, the fastest speed reached by a ball carrier this season.
McCourty is the first ball carrier this season to reach 22+ MPH.#NEvsBUF #GoPats pic.twitter.com/lwWE5o8U4W
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 30, 2018
There’s not much hope for Buffalo the rest of the season
The Bills couldn’t get anything going for the rest of the fourth quarter. Even worse, Anderson left the game late with an injury. Peterman came in for him and completed both of his passes for 23 yards. The Bills were facing third-and-32 when he entered, so it didn’t matter — but they did improve his passer rating. Life is about the small victories.
Nathan Peterman just raised his career passer rating from 29.9 to 31.4 with those two plays.
— Adam Stites (@AdamStites_) October 30, 2018
Anderson was evaluated after the game, but his injury status is unclear. The loss dropped the Bills to 2-6 and if Anderson misses significant time, they might somehow be in worse shape on offense than they were already in. Allen likely isn’t coming back anytime soon, so their options are limited. They would have to dip into the free agency or the trade market before the Tuesday deadline ... unless they want to roll with Peterman again, which is a dire situation for an offense that can’t get anything right.
On Monday night, one drive against the Patriots was a microcosm of the Bills’ season up to this point — and they showed that there isn’t much hope that it’ll get better.
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