PlayAction column: Bills need to take advantage of matchup with Patriots' offensive line

For many years, the greatness of Tom Brady helped the New England Patriots thrive without overspending on the offensive line.

The Patriots average salary cap spending on the offensive line over the last six seasons of Bradys New England career, from 2014 to 2019, was 20th in the NFL.

If you count actual cash spending, they were 21st, according to Spotrac.com.

And it wasnt because the Patriots were investing big in the draft on the offensive line.

From 2012 through 2019, the Pats used only five draft picks in the first three rounds on the offensive line, and only one was a first-rounder.

Bradys ability to direct protections and avoid sacks, along with great coaching by Dante Scarnecchia, saved the Pats a lot of money.

Five years out from the end of the Brady era, however, the Patriots have a mess on their hands on the offensive line.

New Englands offense ranks 31st in scoring.

The Patriots are 28th in sacks allowed.

They rank 30th in pass block win rate and 31st in run block win rate, according to ESPN.

They need at least three new starters on the offensive line, and maybe four, including two new offensive tackles.

The Bills defensive line needs to take advantage of the apparent mismatch on Sunday.

At left tackle for the Patriots is Vederian Lowe, a former sixth-round pick who has been a liability.

At right tackle is Demontrey Jacobs, a second-year undrafted guy picked up off waivers in August.

At center is Ben Brown, signed off the Raiders practice squad and on his fifth team in three years.

Hes playing for team captain David Andrews, out with a shoulder injury.

But Andrews will enter the last year of his contract in 2025 and be 33.

The Pats have one reliable starter in guard Michael Onwenu.

But guard Cole Strange, a first-round pick in 2022, has yet to establish himself and has missed the first 14 games due to major knee surgery.

The Pats have three O-line draftees from 2023 (Sidy Sow, Jake Andrews, Atonio Mafi) but all have disappointed.

They have two uncertainties from the 2024 draft (guards Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson).

Mayo on Allen Patriots coach Jerod Mayo was asked this week about how Josh Allen made a breakthrough against the New England defense in the 2021 season.

Allen torched the Pats for 314 passing yards in a 33-21 division-clinching win in December that season, then led the Bills to the 47-17 blowout of the Pats in the wild-card playoff.

It was more about him just taking the profit, Mayo said.

Early in his career, because he does have a big arm, he does have athletic ability to run around, he was always trying to make the big play.

I thought the evolution of Josh Allen was when he took the profit.

Maxx outlook Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has a Sirius XM radio show and had this to say this week about the Bills: Theyre playing the best football theyve played since hes been there, Crosby said of Allen.

Its a big testament to what theyre doing over there.

I know they got a great culture as well.

I know a lot of guys in that building, Von Miller, a real good friend of mine.

They got a squad and theyre confident.

So seeing what theyve done and the teams theyve beaten, theyre gonna be a scary team.

And I think the hottest team right now in football is probably Buffalo.

Third and short Watch to see how effective or ineffective the Patriots are on third-and-short situations on Sunday.

One sign of their weak receiving corps is the Pats are converting just 34% on third downs, 29th in the NFL.

Even on third and 2-to-5 yards, the Pats convert just 38% when they pass the ball.

(The Bills convert 53%).

Meanwhile, the Patriots are just 5 of 11 running on third-and-1 situations (45%).

The Bills are converting 79% on third-and-1 run plays.

Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has been under pressure a lot, as on this play against the Texans Myles Bryant in October.

The 30,000-foot view The good news for New England is No.

3 overall pick Drake Maye has shown plenty of good flashes while going 2-7 as starting QB.

Hes completing 68.5% of his passes and averaging 236 pass yards per game over the past four games.

He has big-time arm talent and the escapability to make spectacular plays outside the pocket.

He needs more experience and a better cast to develop into a top pocket passer.

Around him, however, the Pats have more holes than they can fill in one offseason.

Besides needing at least three starting offensive linemen, New England needs three starting receivers, a No.

1 edge rusher, a No.

3 edge rusher, a starting defensive tackle and a starting linebacker.

AVP grooms Maye Former Bills backup quarterback Alex Van Pelt has done a good job working with Maye as New England offensive coordinator this season.

Van Pelt is in his 19th season as an NFL assistant.

It was apparent way back when Van Pelt was a backup to Jim Kelly in 1995 and 1996 that he had the makings of a good coach.

Van Pelt has taken heat of late for some play calls and there has been speculation he could be a scapegoat for the Pats poor season.

That would be a mistake.

With the current cast, the Pats would be a bottom-five offense if Bill Walsh were calling the plays.

Van Pelt said this week he will be reluctant to call designed runs for Maye the last three games because the last thing New England needs is for the QB to suffer a serious injury entering his first NFL offseason.

Im really just focusing on keeping him out of harms way and getting him through these last three games healthy, Van Pelt said.

Its about developing our quarterback.

We all feel really confident in his abilities.

At the same time, Id hate to lose him and not let him finish out the season.

Stats for the road Allen was 14 of 18 for 201 yards with two TDs vs.

man coverage by the Lions last week.

The Bills can become the first team ever to score 30 points in nine straight games within the same season on Sunday.

If you count from the end of one season to another, the record is 14 straight by the 1999-2000 St.

Louis Rams.

...

Given the lack of edge rushing, New England has the sixth highest blitz rate (34%).

Yet the Pats are last in the league in efficiency when they blitz, with 13 TD passes allowed, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter Sent weekly directly to your inbox! Bills/NFL writer {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..

This article has been shared from the original article on buffalonews, here is the link to the original article:

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/buffalo-bills-defensive-line-patriots-weak-offensive-line/article_b8ec10de-be20-11ef-ae4d-a3153f3dac6e.html