FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England is using balance to break out of its offensive slump.
A statement win over Cincinnati on Sunday night helped even though the stats show the Patriots have had a mediocre offense so far this year. New England is 10th in the AFC in total offense; ninth in rushing and tied for eighth in passing.
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WHO: New England Patriots (3-2) at Buffalo Bills (3-2)
WHEN: 1 p.m., Sunday
TELEVISION: FOX
Not numbers the Pats are used to, yet better than they were before beating the previously undefeated Bengals 43-17.
“Balance is important, obviously, to maintain as you’re playing in this league,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told reporters Tuesday. “You never see many teams have tremendous success when they become one-dimensional.”
New England succeeded against Cincinnati by mixing up its attack.
The Patriots had 505 yards of offense. Brady completed 23 passes and main runners Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen combined for 36 carries and 203 yards. There were 11 first downs rushing, 17 passing.
Brady threw for two touchdowns and Ridley rushed for a TD.
“It would be our goal each week to try and maintain that as best we could, unless the defense obviously did something to make that almost impossible,” said McDaniels. “That was good to see – that we could move the ball in both areas.”
The Patriots hit Cincinnati with an up-tempo offensive approach from the start.
“Any time you do that, you’re hoping that you can get yourself into a little bit of a rhythm and just force the defense to play faster, communicate faster, try to get lined up faster,” McDaniels said. “And as a result, sometimes you get some looks that are a little bit more ideal than others.”
RAIDERS: Oakland claimed Ray-Ray Armstrong off waivers from the St. Louis Rams to upgrade its depleted linebacker position.
The Raiders placed linebacker Kaluka Maiava on season-ending injured reserve with a hamstring injury to make room for Armstrong.
Bengals: Linebacker Sean Porter was placed on the injured reserve list, two days after he tore a ligament in his right knee during a loss at New England.
MEETINGS: NFL owners will meet Wednesday to discuss the league’s personal conduct policy, vote on the sale of the Buffalo Bills and look at further international play.
These are critical meetings for the owners, with Commissioner Roger Goodell under fire for his handling of the Ray Rice case, and with several high-profile player arrests involving domestic abuse. Although the owners have supported Goodell remaining in the job, they’ve also been embarrassed by loud criticism of the league’s recent missteps.
Their discussions of social responsibility and the personal conduct policy initiatives will overshadow approval of the purchase of the Bills by Buffalo Sabres owner Terry and Kim Pegula. That transaction is considered certain, with three-quarters of the teams needing to vote in favor of the Pegulas.
Owners will be updated on the Los Angeles stadium situation; TV ratings, attendance and fan interest.
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