The Patriots opened their 2013-2014 season Sunday afternoon with a match up against their division rival Buffalo Bills.
Led by veteran, and future hall of fame QB Tom Brady, most thought that it would be an easy victory for the Patriots and as well as a coming out party for the young receiving core as they faced a less than stellar Bills defense that ranked 22nd in the league last season. Much to the surprise of Patriots fans, and probably to a lot of Buffalo fans as well, the Bills proved to be quite the thorn in the Patriots side, and gave New England a run for their money.
After the 1st quarter was in the books the Patriots looked poised to dominate the Bills after getting out to a 10-0 lead with a TD pass from Brady to 5th year wide receiver Julian Edelman and a field goal from 8th year kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The 2nd quarter proved to be another story though as the Bills scored twice to pull within 3 points while Brady connected again with Edelman for the pair's second touchdowns of the game.
Poor performance by the Patriots offense allowed the Bills to take the lead in the 3rd quarter when rookie QB EJ Manuel connected with Stevie Johnson for his 1st career touchdown pass to put the Bills on top 21-17. The Bills stayed in control of the game all the way into the 4th quarter until Tom Brady showed why he is one of the best ever and marched the sub-par Patriots down the field to put Stephen Gostkowski in position to hit the game winning 30 yard field goal.
A combination of high and low expectations lead to the Patriots poor performance. After a stellar pre-season for the young reviving core of the Patriots most had high expectations but, after poor performance by the rookies, especially that of Wide Receiver Kembrell Thompkins and Tight End Zach Suffield, it left Patriots fans reevaluating their expectations.
It was the veterans and returners that ended up saving the day for the Patriots. Newly added wide receiver Danny Amendola as well as wide receiver Julian Edleman shined for Brady as Amendola racked up 10 catches for 104 yards, as well as adding a few clutch outstanding catches, and Edleman added a pair of TD catches.
It was not thousand yard rusher and starting running back Steven Ridley that shined in the backfield, but rather it was the man that the Patriots took the round before him in the 2010 NFL draft, Shane Vareen, that did the bulk of the work. After fumbling the football in the 2nd quarter Coach Belichik subsequently benched Ridley and inserted Vareen in the lineup and was not disappointed as Vareen turned in his first career 100 yard game by rushing for 101 yards on 14 carries.
A combination of high and low expectations lead to the Patriots poor performance. After a stellar pre-season for the young reviving core of the Patriots most had high expectations but, after poor performance by the rookies, especially that of Wide Receiver Kembrell Thompkins and Tight End Zach Suffield, it left Patriots fans reevaluating their expectations.
It was the veterans and returners that ended up saving the day for the Patriots. Newly added wide receiver Danny Amendola as well as wide receiver Julian Edleman shined for Brady as Amendola racked up 10 catches for 104 yards, as well as adding a few clutch outstanding catches, and Edleman added a pair of TD catches.
It was not thousand yard rusher and starting running back Steven Ridley that shined in the backfield, but rather it was the man that the Patriots took the round before him in the 2010 NFL draft, Shane Vareen, that did the bulk of the work. After fumbling the football in the 2nd quarter Coach Belichik subsequently benched Ridley and inserted Vareen in the lineup and was not disappointed as Vareen turned in his first career 100 yard game by rushing for 101 yards on 14 carries.
While yes, a win is a win it was not a pretty one. And while Patriots fans should be happy with the victory, the cause for concern for the rest of the season is definitely there.
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