Bill Belichick was as juiced as he's been in recent memory for a regular-season win when he pumped his fist on the sideline following a fourth-down stop that secured a New England Patriots 14-10 win over Buffalo.
The legendary coach got a victory in a game in which his quarterback attempted just three passes, and his defense allowed just 10 points and 230 yards to a team that entered the week tied for second in points scored and fifth in total yards for the season.
Belichick's giddiness over the victory, which put them 1.5 games up in the AFC East with their bye week ahead, spilled over into Tuesday morning.
if anything from Monday night's game can help the Pats to prepare for the rematch against the Bills in Week 16, Belichick quipped:
"We can use our whole passing game. All the pass plays that we have they haven't seen."
Zing!
With Mac Jones going 2-of-3 passing for 19 yards, the Patriots became the first team to win a game with three or fewer pass attempts since the Bills in a 16-12 win versus the New York Jets in Week 3, 1974.
They are the first team to win a game with fewer than three completions since the Denver Broncos in a 17-10 win in Week 17, 2011 at Kansas City -- Tim Tebow was 2 of 8 for 69 yards in that game.
New England also became the first team to win a game with fewer than 20 passing yards since the Carolina Panthers in a 10-3 win at Atlanta in Week 16, 2006 (11 yards).
And the Pats are the first team to have 200-plus more rushing yards (222) than net passing yards (19) in a game this season. The last team to do so was the Ravens in Week 17, 2020, when they rushed for 404 yards and passed for 121.
Perhaps more importantly for Belichick's happy mood, the Pats moved to 6-0 on the road this season and have won seven straight road games dating back to last year, which is the longest active streak in the NFL.
Belichick also posted his 36th win against Buffalo.
The run-heavy victory even had Belichick in the mood to make subtle puns.
Asked how he was feeling after the quick turnaround following the prime-time affair, Belichick responded: "A little run down, but good."
