The New England Patriots earned their best win of the Mac Jones era Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
It looked like the Patriots were headed toward their fourth consecutive deflating defeat when Kendrick Bourne's fourth-quarter fumble led to a Bills go-ahead touchdown with two minutes to go. Jones had never previously won a game when his opponent scored at least 25 points (1-14), and his only other fourth-quarter comeback in his career came during his rookie season vs. the Houston Texans.
This time, however, Jones stepped up. The third-year signal-caller led a stellar touchdown drive that propelled the Patriots to an impressive 29-25 victory over their division rival.
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Our Tom E. Curran shared his instant reaction to the win on Patriots Postgame Live.
"We've talked a million times about microcosm occurrences that are bigger-picture indicators for this team," Curran said. "This second drive after the Kendrick Bourne fumble, after the touchdown, can that be something that becomes a microcosm of what the Patriots can become? Can they become a resilient team? Can they become a team that can actually cobble things together? This is now the 38th game of Mac's career (and the) first time against a good team that they have come back and won."
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The Patriots still have a long way to go to make up for their abysmal start to the campaign. But at the very least, Sunday's gutsy performance gives them much-needed confidence and momentum heading into a difficult Week 8 matchup vs. the Miami Dolphins.
"I don't know if this crew -- Mac Jones for instance -- has ever seen Gillette Stadium react like that," Curran said. "I don't think he's ever seen what the potency of playing here in New England can really mean to a player. These guys are going to walk on air for days, and then they're going to go down to Miami and look at a team that the Bills beat by 28. So they're going to feel OK about themselves."
Longtime head coach Bill Belichick's job security has been in question amid the team's nightmare start to the season, but earlier on Sunday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Belichick agreed to a "lucrative multi-year contract" during the offseason. The specifics of the contract are unknown.
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Curran believes if the Patriots can string a few more wins like this one together, those questions about Belichick's future in New England will dissipate.
"Look, if Bill Belichick this morning decided it was a great idea to try and assuage people's concerns about next year by letting folks know, 'I'm on a multi-year contract,' that doesn't do anything compared to what his team delivered for him today," he said. "Maybe the two are linked, I don't know, but Bill isn't going to have to worry about his contract and talking to folks if his team performs this way. Even if they end up with an 8-9 record. If this team can come from this point and continue to build, he'll be around."
The Patriots will look to earn another upset victory over an AFC East rival next Sunday when they visit the Dolphins, whom they lost to 24-17 in Week 2.