FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Some of the main storylines from the New England Patriots' 37-16 win over the Buffalo Bills were the instant replay reversal of Kelvin Benjamin's touchdown, running back Dion Lewis' career-high 129 rushing yards and tight end Rob Gronkowski’s remarkable 17-yard, one-handed touchdown reception.
What about the defense?
Safety Devin McCourty, one of the captains of the unit, said two of the positives were red-zone results (four trips for Buffalo, no touchdowns) and the way the Patriots swarmed elusive quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
But there were other areas that McCourty said need to be tightened up in the season finale against the New York Jets and into the playoffs.
“Everything else wasn’t really that good,” he said. “Third down was bad (Bills were 7-of-11 at the half); it probably got a little better in the second half (Bills were 1-of-6). Second down was bad, again, so we needed to play good in the red area because we were letting them down there a lot.”
Furthermore, Bill Belichick pointed out that the Bills generally had productive results on first down, which was why defensive tackle Malcom Brown's first-down sack in the third quarter was such a critical play.
With a spotlight on the defense, here is this week’s snap-count analysis:
Offense: 71
Defense: 70
LINEBACKER
Marquis Flowers: 55
Elandon Roberts: 41
With Taylor a challenge to keep in check from a scrambling and running standpoint, the Patriots leaned more on Flowers, who is arguably their fastest linebacker. He delivered with a strong performance, as David Harris was active but did not play.
SAFETY
Devin McCourty: 70
Patrick Chung: 70
Duron Harmon: 38
Jordan Richards: 29
Chung’s coverage continues to show up, and his durability can be easy to overlook. He has played 88.1 percent of the defensive snaps this season, and as long as he finishes the year over 85 percent, he will receive a well-deserved $500,000 playing-time incentive. As for Richards, he played in more of a linebacker role in a seven-defensive back package, and his knack for showing blitz and then backing out, seemed to be a critical part of the first sack of the day for Deatrich Wise Jr.
CORNERBACK
Stephon Gilmore: 70
Malcolm Butler: 70
Eric Rowe: 51
The Bills won 1-on-1 matchups against Gilmore and Butler on a more consistent basis. From a personnel usage standpoint, Rowe seems to have decisively taken over the No. 3 role from Jonathan Jones, who only played on special teams. Because Rowe missed extended time with a groin injury, he has only played 22.2 percent of the defensive snaps this year, and that means the Patriots will send a 2018 fourth-round pick -- not a third-rounder -- to Philadelphia to consummate the 2016 trade between the teams.
DEFENSIVE END
Trey Flowers: 62
Eric Lee: 49
Deatrich Wise: 29
Flowers had eight tackles (three for a loss) and one quarterback hit, making for a productive day, although he lost containment on one first-quarter rush that allowed Taylor to escape and convert a third-and-4 with a 6-yard scramble. As for Lee, he was signed off the Bills’ practice squad on Nov. 21 and has since played 248 snaps over five games (24.7 percent of the team’s total on the year). I’m not sure it’s a great comparison, but with Lee, I keep thinking of cornerback Earthwind Moreland and how he came out of nowhere in 2004 to play an important role when injuries struck. It isn’t necessarily ideal, but a resourceful team finds a way.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Malcom Brown: 40
Lawrence Guy: 36
Adam Butler: 34
Butler’s encroachment penalty on a spike play late in the second quarter is a good teaching moment for a young, promising player.
WIDE RECEIVER
Brandin Cooks: 65
Danny Amendola: 40
Phillip Dorsett: 26
Kenny Britt: 9
Cooks was quiet on the stat sheet (2 catches, 19 yards), although his drawn pass interference penalty in the second quarter helped set up a field goal. CBS analyst Tony Romo thought it might have been offensive pass interference. Amendola remains clutch in got-to-have-it situations, while Britt upped his snap total from last week (2) but will probably be the odd man out when Chris Hogan returns from a shoulder injury.
RUNNING BACK
Dion Lewis: 51
Mike Gillislee: 15
Lewis’ previous season high was 33, as this reflects how he took on an expanded role with James White (ankle) and Rex Burkhead (knee) out.
TIGHT END
Rob Gronkowski: 66
Dwayne Allen: 44
Jacob Hollister: 13
Gronkowski is now at 80.2 percent of the offensive snaps on the season, which might be 80.2 percent more than some projected after his back surgery that cut short his 2016 season. He has been on fire. Allen has been durable (41.8 percent) and continues to excel as a run-blocker, while Hollister’s 13 snaps were his second-highest total of the season behind the 16 he played in Week 2 at New Orleans.
FULLBACK
James Develin: 19
The Pro Bowler was on the field in the power package on Gillislee’s 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Those types of plays can build confidence entering the postseason, where one yard can sometimes determine if a team’s season is ending or continuing another week.
OFFENSIVE LINE
RG Shaq Mason: 71
LG Joe Thuney: 71
C David Andrews: 67
RT Cameron Fleming: 71
LT Nate Solder: 67
C Ted Karras: 4
LT LaAdrian Waddle: 4
Mason has turned in a fine season that has caught the attention of rival general managers. He’s played 99.7 percent of the offensive snaps, as the only time he’s come off the field has been at the end of games in which the outcome has been decided.
QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady: 67
Brian Hoyer: 4
Brady was well off the mark on a few first-half throws, but when he needed it in the clutch situations, he was on point. Hoyer came on for the final four snaps.