The attitude stood out and other leftover Patriots thoughts

BOSTON -- It went down in the books like this: M.Jones scrambles up the middle to NE 39 for 5 yards. In the grand scheme of things, it was not a remarkable play.

Yet when faced with a busted RPO, Mac Jones tucked the ball and took off running, moving the chains and ensuring that the opening possession against the favored Bills wouldn't go three-and-out.

And after hitting the turf, Jones immediately popped up and implored everyone inside of Gillette Stadium to amp up their engagement with the football game.

That came just after Demario Douglas made cornerback Taron Johnson look foolish on the opening play of the game:

Two plays after Jones' scramble, Rhamondre Stevenson made a quick cut in the backfield to avoid one tackle, ran straight through Jordan Poyer's tackle attempt at the second level, and scurried upfield for a 14-yard gain.

The attitude off the bat from a team that wasn't supposed to win was immediately noticeable. 

After Stevenson's run, the Patriots took advantage of the Bills not recognizing Pharaoh Brown as a pass-catcher, and the third tight end turned a reception in the right flat into a 25-yard gain.

Bill Belichick eventually had to decide to kick a field goal instead of risking going for it on a fourth-and-2 at the Buffalo 12-yard line, which couldn't have been the easiest decision after such a positive opening drive. Yet he must have seen enough from his players to believe -- unlike most games this season -- that they showed up on this day ready to play.

Sure enough, just after taking the three-point lead, Jabrill Peppers showed that the defense was ready to play, too.

On the drive that followed, Douglas made a diving catch for a 16-yard gain to convert a third-and-1, despite Johnson again losing control of the shifty receiver and committing pass interference.

And at that point, Ezekiel Elliott simply decided he was going to score a touchdown, rushing up the gut on consecutive plays -- first for eight yards, then for a two-yard score -- to make it a 10-0 lead for the home team. The touchdown run was a classic case of two-against-one, where the one wanted it more than the two.

Once again, the attitude of a team that showed up looking to win was evident. 

When a game ends the way Sunday's did, the end-of-game sequence often gets the most attention. But those opening drives from the Patriots were an impressive display from a team that could have sleepwalked through a game they weren't supposed to win.

Does it change much in the big picture? No -- unless you're obsessed with draft position. But it did deliver a much-needed boost of positive energy in a locker room full of professionals, and we are now free to believe the Patriots have a chance to win games when they take the field each week. After the Dallas-New Orleans one-two punch, it wasn't clear when we'd get back to that point.

Now let's hit some leftover thoughts from the Patriots' dramatic 29-25 win over the Bills.

--Mike Onwenu should never step away from right tackle. Not this year anyway. The position has been an absolute catastrophe all year, and that might be putting it politely. Riley Reiff, who was brought in on a $5 million contract, lost the job in training camp. Calvin Anderson held his own to some degree in Week 1 vs. the Eagles but was helpless in Week 2 vs. Miami. After letting Andrew van Ginkel look like Lawrence Taylor, Anderson hasn't taken a single offensive snap since. So began the Vederian Lowe experiment. He ... did not turn out to be a diamond in the rough find for Bill Belichick.

As a result, the entire offense has been wrecked. Injuries at the guard spots -- including Onwenu himself -- haven't helped. But now that Cole Strange is back at left guard, Onwenu needs to stay at right tackle. It's much easier for the Patriots to fill the right guard spot -- they did it with Sidy Sow on Sunday -- than it is to fill the right tackle spot.

Onwenu is a very good tackle. It cannot be overstated how significantly different the entire offense functions when it has two NFL-caliber tackles on the field at the same time. I understand Conor McDermott is back in the fold, but he can be the backup tackle -- especially with Trent Brown fighting injuries on a regular basis lately.

Mike Onwenu. Right tackle. Here, now, and going forward. End of rant. Thank you.

--Man oh man ... the difference between winning and losing can often come down to inches.

If Mac Jones does the same exact thing he did on that play, only with A.J. Epenesa being a tick faster, we're talking about a game-ending fumble, another Patriots loss, a 1-6 start, more misery, yada, yada, yada. Instead, we're looking at a picture-perfect strike delivered to convert a third-and-8 on a game-winning drive.

It's just funny, the narrative-building we do, when so much of what a player does can change if something happens a split-second sooner, or an inch or two closer.

Al Pacino really ought to deliver a cinematic speech about this topic, man. It could be huge.

--Mac Jones finished 25-for-30, which is tremendous. At one point, he was 18-for-21, which is hard to do. He backed up his words of wanting to protect the ball, and though he remained hyper-aware of the pass rush and capitulated on at least one snap without trying to make something happen, he had a very good game.

There was still some luck involved. This ball is probably intercepted if it's not tipped at the line:

Again, imagine the things we're talking about if Jordan Phillips doesn't tip that pass.

--This was Mac Jones' slickest pass of the day.

All Mac Jones needed was an elite pass-catching option like Pharaoh Brown to unlock his potential.

(Kidding aside, Brown has five catches for 137 yards, averaging 27.4 yards per reception. He also lost a 22-yard reception on Sunday to a very marginal penalty call for ineligible man downfield. Wild times)

--That game doesn't go down in the pantheon of great Josh Allen games, but I nevertheless was in awe of his arm strength on this one:

Here in the land of leftovers, we label that one a "Good Golly, Miss Molly."

The utter disregard for the middle linebacker was impressive. But it also might explain why he's thrown seven picks this year.

--The game was sneakily decided by a pass interference penalty drawn by Demario Douglas. It got a little overshadowed, because he caught the pass, and things happened quickly. But if Christian Benford doesn't grab Douglas' hip and ever-so-slightly spin him around ...

... then Douglas is down without going out of bounds with 18 seconds left in the game and the clock running. The Patriots most likely rush to the line, spike the ball, and kick the field goal to force overtime. Maybe they'd take a shot at the end zone but it would be a risky play. And if the game goes to overtime, who knows what happens?

Was that a good call? Ehhhhhh. But perhaps it was a makeup for the missed call last week in Buffalo.

Either way, the talent level of the Patriots dictates that their margin of error is minuscule, and they'll need a break or two to beat a better opponent. But Sunday at the very least proved that when they catch that break, they can capitalize.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.