Buffalo Bills collapse in third quarter versus Patriots: 5 Takeaways

3. Bills collapse in the third quarter

For the first half of Sunday’s game, the Bills found themselves in a low-scoring dog fight against the Patriots.

The Bills’ defense made sure Brady and the Patriots’ offense were out of rhythm and kept themselves in the game with strong pass coverage, combined with strong pressure from the front seven.

Then as the third quarter of the game got underway, the Patriots began to flex their muscles against Buffalo on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, the Patriots controlled the ball with almost 10 minutes of possession in the third quarter alone. The result of which was two rushing touchdowns by running back Rex Burkhead, to give the Patriots the 23-3 lead.

Defensively, the Buffalo Bills were held scoreless for the rest of the game by a Patriots defense led by a familiar face.

Defensive end Eric Lee was a member of the Bills’ practice squad at the beginning of the season until Nov. 21, when he signed with the Patriots.

Lee wreaked havoc on his former team on Sunday, recording four tackles, 1.5 sacks, two pass deflections, an interception and three quarterback hits.

Mistakes proved costly for the Bills on Sunday and if they want to have any chance of making the playoffs, they will have to play near perfect football for the remaining four games.