After the Pats took a 14-point lead, the Bills answered right back with a 46-yard touchdown from Cook. It was a simple Buffalo wide zone lead scheme from a two-defender formation. The Bills blockers outscored Pats linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Sione Takitaki, a common occurrence this season, and safety Marte Mapu outscored the game as a deep safety. Cook saw the huge cutback lane, and with Mapu out of position, there’s no one there to make a play.

The Patriots’ two-gapping system is all about building a wall with great gap discipline and physicality at the point of attack. This season, the Pats’ second-level linebackers are blocked too easily, and their entire defense doesn’t have the ability to take advantage of big angles on the ball. As a result, open-field tackling was inconsistent at the second and third levels.

New England needs to address run defense this offseason with personnel improvements in the front seven. Although they have a need on offense, they are too soft in the middle of defense. It’s one of the team’s biggest weaknesses.

5. A look at the Patriots matchups this season with Man Coverage Plan

With the Patriots playing in man coverage for over 64 percent of the game, this was a matchup game for some on New England’s defense. In particular, the experienced Jonathan Jones had the difficult task of accompanying Bills leading receiver Khalil Shakir. On 16 tackles on Shakir, Jones was outstanding, allowing two catches for 22 yards on five targets with a pass breakup.

Aside from Jones vs. Shakir, the other matchups were mostly team-driven, with CB Christian Gonzalez largely lining up opposite freshman Keon Coleman (11 routes). Gonzo covered Bills wideout Amari Cooper on six routes and allowed one catch for 10 yards. Based on my live broadcast, this was an outstanding game for the Patriots cornerbacks against the Bills receivers.

6. The Patriots remain with the same five on offense in Week 16

Even though former first-rounder Cole Strange was active for the first time, the Patriots opted for continuity along the offensive line. The group that played the entire game consisted of LT Vederian Lowe, LG Layden Robinson, C Ben Brown, RG Mike Onwenu and RT Trey Jacobs.

At first glance, this was a down game for RT Trey Jacobs, who had 16 reps against future Hall of Fame pass rusher Von Miller. Jacobs allowed a team-high five pressures, had two false starts and missed the cut block against Rousseau, leading to the fumble six. The other pressure point was on the left side, where rookie Layden Robinson allowed three pressures. Overall, Maye was under pressure on 37.2% of his dropbacks. But part of that was because the Bills stalled several plays in the low red zone late in the fourth quarter, which Maye took responsibility for after the game.

As always, we’ll be watching film to properly evaluate the offensive line, but the pressure was a little high this week, especially when the Patriots had to throw the ball in the fourth quarter.

7. RB Rhamondre Stevenson in the middle of two turnovers as the Pats lose the battle

After the game, head coach Jerod Mayo pointed out that his team’s three turnovers compared to Buffalo’s only loss was a key to the game going in the Bills’ favor. The Pats’ lead back was in the game for two of those three turnovers. It’s hard to blame Stevenson for the reverse pass, as it was largely Maye who threw it and Jacobs for missing his block. However, Rhamondre achieved an NFL highlight for the seventh time on Sunday by setting up a Bills field goal. Stevenson now has as many fumbles this season as he did in his first few years combined. He’s handled difficult yards with bodies flying all year, but Stevenson needs to get his fumble issues under control as we look to the future. Stevenson signed a four-year extension with the Patriots last offseason, so his ball security needs to improve.

8. The Patriots execute a fake punt and open the game with a 42-yard return

Despite down stud punt returner Marcus Jones, the Patriots had a strong performance on special teams. Pats running back Antonio Gibson opened the game with a 42-yard kickoff return that got the offense going with great field position. New England then extended their drive by converting a fake punt on a 4th-and-1, an example of their aggressiveness.

On the fake punt, the Patriots hit the ball directly to personal protector Dell Pettus. Buffalo actually played the fake punt well, but the Pats got a good push inside to get the line to win. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t take advantage of the successful fake punt, but it was a good moment for special teams coordinator Jermey Springer’s unit. Finally, recently signed WR Alex Erickson replaced Jones (punts) and Hasty (kickoffs) as the primary returner.