Best and Worst Artists Compared to Bills

It wasn’t a win for the New England Patriots, but the team played one of its best games of the year in a near upset against the double-digit favorite Buffalo Bills.

They walked into Highmark Stadium and most expected to see them get kicked off the field. Yet even with nothing to play for, the team showed rare pride and competed to the end against a possible Super Bowl contender.

Quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t perfect, especially in the second half of the game when he turned the ball over twice. But given the circumstances, he played a much better game than expected in a tough environment on the road. It could be argued that he dominated Bills star quarterback Josh Allen in the game.

That doesn’t mean much on paper since the Patriots lost the game, but it helps build confidence for a team that needs all the morale it can get at this point.

Here are the best and worst players with 15 or more snaps for the Week 16 game, according to Pro Football Focus grades.

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C Ben Brown: 79.8
TE Austin Hooper: 79.3
TE Hunter Henry: 75.1
WR Kayshon Boutte: 70.8
G Mike Onwenu: 61.8

The tight ends continued to be heavily involved in a Patriots offense that was firing on all cylinders early in the game. It’s a shame they couldn’t maintain their momentum. Otherwise, we’d be talking about how they pulled off the biggest upset of the 2024 season. The offense looked more aggressive than it had all year, and they finished their drives with touchdowns.

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T Demontrey Jacobs: 28.0
RB Antonio Gibson: 51.5
G. Layden Robinson: 53.2
QB Drake Maye: 54.0
WR Demario Douglas: 54.1

For all the good on the offensive side of the ball, there was also a lot of bad from the Patriots. The biggest problem was too many turnovers in the second half. After playing a clean first half, the offense turned the ball over three times in the final two quarters, which paved the way for the Bills to return to their building.

Drake Maye did more good than bad, but he committed two turnovers with a fumble and an interception against the Bills.

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S Marte Mapu: 83.3
CB Jonathan Jones: 76.1
CB Isaiah Bolden: 76.0
CB Christian González: 66.4
S Jaylinn Hawkins: 65.3

The Patriots’ defensive backfield was a big standout in Sunday’s game, shutting down the Bills’ high-flying offense. Quarterback Josh Allen was held to just 154 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. Their ability to limit his passing opportunities down the field ultimately allowed the Patriots to stay in the game.

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OLB Anfernee Jennings: 28.6
DT Daniel Ekuale: 36.9
CB Alex Austin: 38.7
DT Eric Johnson: 43.3
OF Yannick Ngakoué: 49.6

This was another game where the Patriots struggled to stop the run. Josh Allen wasn’t able to put up a high passing yardage total, but he ultimately didn’t need to with the running game working as well as it did. The Bills had 172 rushing yards and a touchdown in the game. New England has struggled to stop the run all season, but it’s even more vulnerable now with star defensive tackle Christian Barmore sidelined.