The New England Patriots went to Buffalo to chew bubblegum and kick ass.
But they forgot the bubblegum.
And the forward pass.
Much has been said and written by pigskin pundits and bobbleheads about Bill Belichick's ability to zig while the rest of the NFL zags but Monday night might have been Belichick at his ziggiest. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result then Bill Belichick may be the sanest man on the planet, because every week, the Patriots do something different over and over again in order to obtain the desired outcome: Winning football games.
To all those people who seem to think this Monday Night Football game was boring, trash, an insult to the modern game, and that football is Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs serving up 50-burgers, I say nah.
Hell to the nah.
Last night was what football - a sport played outdoors in the winter - is all about. Line 'em up. Get set. No fair dodging. Fullbacks and tight ends and trap blocks - oh my! (Yes, I know that riff is tired but this is a league with Lions and Tigers and Bears, after all. Bengal tigers, but still.) That game was riveting, fascinating, gladiatorial, spectacular; it kicked you right in the balls. It was "Are you sure this isn't the playoffs?" intense.
Even worse for Buffalo - yes, it can always get worse for Buffalo - Bills players clearly needed a hug after the game and their coach served up some tasty billboard material for the rematch that's just 3 weeks away. You don't think Bills HC Sean McDermott isn't going to get about a thousand questions before the game in Foxborough about this:
"Let’s not give more credit than we need to give Bill Belichick in this one."
And the subtext is an even more delicious pregame meal. You see, what McDermott was saying was that the Bills are better than the Patriots. The Patriots didn't beat the Bills; the Bills beat themselves by, um, not playing better than the Patriots I guess.
Coach McDermott, were you saying that Bill Belichick's plan was to wait and hope for the Bills to make a mistake?
Coach McDermott, how did your team lose to a team without a head coach?
Coach McDermott, have you spoken to the competition committee yet about a rule change banning offensive linemen?
Coach McDermott, have you asked ownership to build a domed stadium so your team can play indoors where it's safe and warm?
McDermott may be doing what a good head coach should do; making this be about his own team, reminding them that winning is something they can control if they play better, while also making himself the focal point for the inevitable postgame criticism that comes when you lose the biggest regular season game of the year to a division rival, at home, on Monday Night Football, with the whole pigskin universe watching, while said opponent threw just 3 forward passes all night.
This game was a master class in football, the ultimate team sport, but perhaps McDermott is right to a certain extent. Does it take a genius to think heavy winds will screw with passing and the kicking game? I can confidently answer no to that; I'm not a genius and even I get that.
But…
The weather wasn't just something that both teams had to deal with; it was an opportunity and Belichick took full advantage of it. Listening to the raucous locker room in the background of the postgame press conference, I was struck by the pigskin alchemy that Belichick and his coaches have wrought. I know Belichick gives all credit to the players for how they've come together as a team but this team is no accident. Belief is a powerful thing and from the hoots and the hollering coming from the visitor's locker room, it sure sounds like they believe. In themselves. In each other. In whatever game plan their coaches come up with.
Maybe it isn't true that Bill Belichick is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. After a game like this one it seems more likely Belichick is playing 3-D chess while everyone else is playing tiddly-winks.
Checkmate.
Again.
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