Getty Image / Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
- The New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills on Monday night with QB Mac Jones only attempting three passes in the entire game
- This was a new franchise record for least past attempts and the fewest in any NFL win in 40 years
- Now the Patriots have unintentionally dealt themselves a huge advantage going forward in the season
- Read more articles on BroBible right here
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots put on a master class on Monday Night Football. They set a franchise record for the fewest passes attempted in a game with only 3, and it was the fewest passes in an NFL win from any team in 40 years.
The Patriots came into Monday night’s game in Buffalo as the #1 seed in the AFC and they left the game triumphant, still as the #1 seed in the AFC, and they’re currently projected to play Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl.
A lot of people have suggested that Bill Belichick running the ball for 60 minutes was an indictment on rookie QB Mac Jones (I don’t think that’s the case at all), but one thing’s for certain, the Pats did themselves a HUGE favor by not throwing the ball in 50 MPH winds.
Head coach Bill Belichick appeared on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI where he acknowledged the Patriots unintentionally gave themselves a massive advantage for when they face the Bills again on 12/26…. The Bills now have virtually no idea what the Patriots will do in the air.
Question (via @TheGregHillShow): Due to weather, will you be able to take anything from the game into the Dec. 26 game with Bills?
Bill Belichick (laughs): “We were talking about that last night. We can use our whole passing game. All the pass plays we have, they haven’t seen.”
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 7, 2021
Bill Belichick is always playing chess while other coaches are playing Checkers. And this appears to once again be the case.
Bill is gonna pass the ball 47 times and run it 3 next game lmao
— aaron (@AaronSommerss) December 7, 2021
This is actually genius.
— Emmastia (@emmastia) December 7, 2021
Ya they’ve established the run so play action pass is available all game
— Shy Sullivan (@CheyenneSulli14) December 7, 2021
I mentioned above that a lot of people online (and on TV) have suggested that Bill Belichick only allowing Mac Jones to throw the ball 3 times was an indictment on Bill’s trust in Mac. ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham suggests otherwise, and I think he’s spot-on with this assessment:
People think throwing three times reveals what Bill Belichick thinks about Mac Jones, when maybe it reveals more about what he thinks about Josh Allen and the Bills offensive coaches.
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) December 7, 2021
The New England Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills in Foxboro on December 26th. After that game, the Pats will face the Jaguars and Dolphins so it will likely be New England’s last consequential matchup of the regular season before the playoffs.
Bill Belichick will have his choice of throwing anything and everything he wants at the Bills or holding some back for the playoffs because the Patriots are now in charge of their own destiny. It’s truly an enviable position to be in.