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Is Scorched Earth Approach The Right One For Patriots?

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are a pretty motivated team this season, and they're looking to take out their frustration on the rest of the league.

That much was evident on Sunday, when with a 12-point lead with 8:15 left in the fourth quarter, they went for it on 4th-and-1. And not just that one yard, but they went deep to Julian Edelman, going for the jugular. The pass fell incomplete and the Bills took over, scoring a few plays later to make it a 37-25 New England lead. The Bills were within five points a few minutes later when a strip-sack of Tom Brady led to a two-play touchdown drive.

That was the second time the Pats went for it on 4th-and-1 on Sunday, with Bill Belichick also keeping his offense on the field at their own 48 in the second quarter, needing just a yard to move the chains. That didn't happen, and a few plays later the Bills scored to make it a 21-13 game.

After an offseason in which the franchise had to put up with seven months of DeflateGate talk, is this "scorched earth" approach the right one for the 2015 Patriots? Felger & Mazz discussed the likelihood of the Pats running up the score the rest of the season on Monday's show. While it may be fun to watch, it nearly came back to bite New England on Sunday.

"They wanted to prove a point and it all came together. They were trying to put up a 50-burger yesterday, and it hurt them," said Felger. "I think they were too greedy."

The 4th-and-1 plays didn't bother Mazz as much as as Brady dropping back for a pass on 2nd-and-2 with a 12-point lead and 4:41 to go in the game. A handoff would have taken more time off the clock, and likely would have gone a long way into sealing the win rather than letting Buffalo inch closer.

"That's a handoff play, I'm sorry," said Mazz.

In 2007, after the Spygate scandal broke following the first week of the season, the Pats made it a point to run up the score, no matter the opponent. That season the approach never really came back to burn them. But after Sunday afternoon in Buffalo, they may be re-thinking such an approach.

"They're smart down there, and they're also emotional," said Felger. "They're pissed off at the world and the league, and want to prove something to the Bills and their fans. But they're also smart and I wonder if they'll look at it and say, 'this kind of got away from us at the end.'

"They let them back into the game with that," said Felger. "Maybe they look at it and say, '40 [points] is enough.'"

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