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Brent Sobleski@@brentsobleski is an analyst for the NFL.
Adrian Kraus is a reporter.
The New England Pats didn't give a $$$[ about style points when they realized that the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium would be canceled because of the cold weather.
The perfect game plan was created by Bill and Co. to counteract the conditions while simultaneously crushing the soul of their division rival with a heavily adorned ground-and-pound gala.
The Bills should be discouraged by their effort during the game.
New England is the first team in the playoffs to have nine wins. Every other participant in the conference has at least three conference losses, while the Pats have a 7-1 conference record. The division leader has not lost on the road. The type of game that haunted the Bills was called by Josh McDaniels.
The approach when the weather is cold and windy is to run the ball, play for field position and let the defense work.
Mac Jones told reporters after the game that it was a crazy game. We knew if we didn't turn the ball over, we'd be good.
Jones received credit for participation, but that's all. In one of the craziest stat lines in recent memory, the quarterback completed two-of-three passes for 19 yards. Something special was achieved by the patriots. They were the first team to win a game with three or fewer passes since 1974. The two completions are the lowest in the history of the team.
The team doesn't need to throw the ball.
New England ran for 222 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry despite Buffalo placing eight to nine men in the box on nearly every single snap.
Jones said he was just trying to win when asked about his lack of passing. We scored more than the other team.
Adrian Kraus is a reporter.
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Brandon Staley said running the ball remains important in a pass-first league, when asked why running the ball remains important in a pass-first league.
There's a physical aspect to the game. The defense doesn't have to respect the physical element of the game if you're just a passing team. That's the truth. The data will tell you that you don't need a run game to pass. You don't need that.
The running game brings a physical aspect to the football game. The running game forces the defense to play block and to tackle, which is what the passing game doesn't do. You must tackle on a run play. Those things don't need to happen in the passing game. You don't have to play a lot. You may not have to tackle based on incompleteness. The run game is important to a quarterback because it challenges their physical strength. It will allow him to have more space to operate when you throw the football.
Jones didn't need to throw the football in this contest. The weather played a factor. Josh Allen was able to cut the wind and make some great throws.
The physical aspect of the words is important. Football is still a violent game. The idea of imposing one's will onto an opponent is taught to players at every level. "The greatest feeling in football is moving a man from point A to point B against his will," the old adage says.
During New England's latest victory, the team implemented this idea as part of their playcalling. The personnel packages included a sixth offensive lineman.
Nothing the patriots did was new. Their style of play evoked memories of Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, with some of the sweep plays they ran. They called them traps and powers. The running backs were able to create a few chunk plays.
New England was bigger and more physical at the point of attack.
The offensive line did a great job.
The offensive line played well, though the performance didn't fall entirely on them. N'Keal Harry helped set the tone by laying some wicked crack-back blocks. Rhamondre Stevenson ran hard and through a lot of tackles when he took over for an injured Damien Harris.
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The man is GONE. A 64 yard touchdown!
Smaug from The Hobbit is more prone to attack than the Bills' underbelly. Buffalo can't stop the run when it knows it must. Sean McDermott's defense gave up an average of 210.7 rushing yards per game against the Colts, Colts, and the Pats.
The conference is being overrun by mediocre teams, but Buffalo is supposed to be one of the top teams. As the playoffs loom, this puts the Pats in a good position.
The team without Henry is the Titans. Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens has played poorly in his last four appearances with eight turnovers. The Kansas City Chiefs have improved on defense, but Patrick Mahomes is still struggling with defensive looks. The Los Angeles and Cincinnati teams are very different.
All of the tools are being plugged in by the team to continue their winning ways.
Monday's performance is an outlier. New England was prepared for the moment and willed its way to a positive performance. The current squad is more than capable of playing and beating every team in the league with an efficient quarterback behind center, a physical offensive front, weapons at tight end and wide receiver, and a stable of talented backs.
This is not done. We are not even close to being done. "We haven't even hit our ceiling, as the coach would say," Brandon said.
New England doesn't care what anyone thinks about their style of play. The team is continuing to win. Nothing else matters. They've become the best team in the region.
For Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski covers the National Football League. You can follow him on social media.
