If the Buffalo Bills end up losing to the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, they're going to lament many missed opportunities to take a commanding lead in a first half that the Patriots won by a score of 10-3.
Bacarri Rambo intercepted a Tom Brady pass early in the first quarter on a ball that glanced off of the hands of Rob Gronkowski, but offsetting penalties negated the turnover. In the second quarter, with the Bills trailing 3-0, Tyrod Taylor severely under threw a wide-open Chris Hogan on a scoring opportunity, and the Bills eventually settled for a 52-yard Dan Carpenter field goal.
With under a minute remaining in the first quarter and the game tied at 3-3, LeSean McCoy couldn't quite haul in a well-placed Taylor deep throw for a touchdown, with Devin McCourty making a nice play to force the incompletion. Carpenter then bounced a 48-yard field goal try off the upright, and Brady took the Pats down the field in under a minute on a drive capped off with a 20-yard catch-and-run for running back James White.
Rex Ryan sums it up best:
— Drew Magary (@drewmagary) November 24, 2015
The Patriots lead the Bills, 10-3, despite Buffalo's defense rolling out an excellent game plan, despite a slew of injuries on offense that have them reeling a bit (especially along the offensive line), and despite the fact that Buffalo has had ample opportunity to open up a lead. They also have the ball to start the second half. It's do-or-die time for a Bills team that has already left way too many plays to be made on the field.
Go Bills.