The Patriots were back at Gillette Stadium on Monday as they looked to review the Colts film and move past the disappointing loss. With a huge game coming on Sunday and a potential home playoff game very much on the line along with the AFC East division title, it wasn't hard refocusing on the coming contest.
"We just had a bad day," said Jamie Collins of the loss. "We had a bad day and those guys took advantage of us. They came out on top, they were the better team, they won the game and that's the end of that.
"Coming off that performance we just have some things we need to work on as far as just getting ourselves back together, getting back on pace and just playing New England football, playing Patriot football."
"I know for me personally this is one of those games, it happened, it's over, we're flushing it and moving on," added Brandon Bolden.
It's a bit strange that the Patriots and Bills met just a couple weeks ago and will now face each other again on such a short turnaround. But coming off a game that took place in a low-grade hurricane, it's hard to take too much from what unfolded during the Patriots' thrilling 14-10 victory.
Still, the film will be valuable resource in some regards.
"You have to see what they hit you with on their big plays and the plays they were successful on," said Lawrence Guy of what they can take away from the first matchup. "You always have to go back because the game is so fresh. 'OK, this is the play that kind of hurt us, this is what we need to do. What are they going to adjust? How are they going to approach us going into the game?'
"They're going to come in here with a full head of steam, trying to play good football. We all know it's going to be a hard-fought game."
With so much at stake and just three games to go, Guy expected the intensity to be through the roof.
"You've got to understand what's left," said Guy. "We've got three games left and everybody's going to play those three games like it's the last game of the season. We all understand that.
"We've got to come in here and practice hard, we've got to compete every single day. The last two games are all about grit."
Belichick on taking the three
Bill Belichick spoke with the media on Monday morning and was asked to clarify his decision to settle for a field goal on 4th-and-7, making the score 20-10 with just under nine minutes left in the game. With 4th-down aggressiveness all the rage these days, Belichick's decision was the target of some criticism, including from analytics site Edj Sports, who named it the third-worst decision of the NFL's Week 15.
"I thought there was enough time left that we would have enough possessions to be able to score 10 points, which we conceivably could have," said Belichick. "I didn't feel great about converting 4th-and-goal from the 7. Had there been less time and there's a situation where you would go for it or I would go for it on 4th-and-goal at the 7, absolutely. I didn't think, in that game situation, that would've been the best decision. I thought that would've passed up three points and that would've taken two touchdowns.
"At the end of the game, especially in the dome, having a chance at a 50-plus yard field goal, I think it's a lot better chance than scoring a touchdown and having a six-point differential as opposed to a three-point differential, relative to the chances of converting a 4th-and-7."
Bourne, reserves land on COVID list
The Patriots added four more players to their Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, including starting wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. It's another layer of uncertainty at receiver, as both Nelson Agholor and N'Keal Harry left Saturday night's game with injuries. That leaves the Patriots with just two healthy receivers - Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski - on the roster, with Kristian Wilkerson and rookie Tre Nixon on the practice squad.
All eyes will be on Wednesday's practice attendance, hopefully Agholor and Harry are present.
Harvey Langi, Ronnie Perkins (IR) and Cameron McGrone (IR/NFI) were the other three to land on the list.
