Ups & Downs: Offense Struggles, But Pats Stay Relatively Healthy In Loss To Bills
BOSTON (CBS) -- The finale wasn't pretty, but the regular season is over for the New England Patriots.
Now they can finally focus on the postseason, though it will be another week until they know who will be coming to Gillette Stadium for the divisional round.
But before we look ahead, we look back on the Patriots' 17-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. Many of the Patriots starters didn't play, with Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Dont'a Hightower all inactive for the game, and many others found their way to the bench at some point in the second half, so it's hard to really take away much from the loss.
As with any game, there were some ups and some downs. The bad outweighed the good, but the Bills are going home for the offseason and the Patriots are staying home, resting up for their playoff game in two weeks.
Here are the takeaways from Week 17:
Ups
Stars Stay Healthy
There are a few injuries to worry about, but all of New England's stars look to be in good health heading into their postseason bye week. Tom Brady felt the pressure on Sunday, but was able to walk away unscathed (although likely very upset about his offense's performance), and his two favorite targets, Gronk and Edelman, were given an extra week of rest.
Many of New England's key defensive players played most of the game, including Darrelle Revis and Vince Wilfork, and also escaped without any injuries.
Bill Belichick did not do his normal postgame press conference, instead making his way to the trainer's room after the game, but it doesn't appear to be anything serious. The head coach, who is always so open to the media, held a conference call shortly after the game.
Collins' Strip Sack
A lot has been said about the athleticism of Chandler Jones, but we can't forget about Jamie Collins.
His athleticism was on full display in the first half, when he missed a sack on Bills quarterback Kyle Orton. Instead of giving up, Collins kept fighting and stripped sacked Orton on his second effort. To put the cherry on top, he never quit on getting the ball either and came up with the recovery.
Collins finished the regular season with four sacks and four fumble recoveries.
Casillas, Ayers Continue To Contribute
New England's two midseason acquisitions came up big in Sunday's game, as they have done since joining the Patriots.
Jonathan Casillas finished with a team-high nine tackles, including four solo tackles, and had a nose for the ball all day. He was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty late in the game as the defense was trying to get the ball back for their offense, so he'll have to make sure he's a little more careful when going after the other team's passer (it was a borderline call by the refs).
Ayers recorded just one tackled, but also came up with his fourth sack of the season.
Both have been big for New England's depth chart since coming aboard, and both had a solid game with some of the star players getting the day off.
Jimmy Has Some Fun
We all love Tom Brady, but given that there was nothing to play for on Sunday, everyone wanted to see some James Garoppolo.
The second round pick played the entire second half, going 10-for-17 for 90 yards, also rushing four times for 16 yards. He showed off his dancing ability in the pocket, buying some extra time when the Buffalo secondary shut down his targets, but that also got him sacked three times.
Garoppolo looked like a rookie, holding on to the ball a little too long on numerous occasions and paying for it. But he got some invaluable experience, running the two-minute drill in a one-possession game at the end, in an otherwise meaningless game on Sunday.
Downs
LaFell, Solder Limp Off
Brandon LaFell hauled in four catches for 70 yards in the loss, and got a $100,000 bonus in the process, but limped off after his last reception of the day. He's been a big part of the offense this season, giving Brady a very solid third target after Gronk and Edelman, so hopefully he is good to go in two weeks.
Nate Solder was flagged for a hold just before halftime, and though he saved Brady from taking a big hit on the play (it might be the one Solder penalty that Patriots fans actually celebrated), the tackled ended up limping off the field after.
While Solder has struggled throughout the season, losing him would put more stress on that offensive line depth.
The Offense
Whether it was Brady or Garoppolo under center, the offense never got into a good rhythm. They picked up just 260 yards of offense and were kept out of the end zone, going 5-for-15 on third downs.
But at least Brady will have two weeks to think about this one, and can take it out on his teammates in practice. Talk about motivation.
Offensive Line Struggles
Brady was sacked once and Garoppolo three times, but both felt the pressure all day.
With Dan Connolly and Sebastian Vollmer inactive, the Patriots once again played musical chairs on the offensive line. Whenever that has happened this season, the results have not been good.
Nothing From Tight Ends
No Gronk means no production from the tight end position for the Patriots. Steve Maneri and Michael Hoomanawanui both had one pass thrown their way, and both let it slip through their hands.
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