Stefon Diggs sends message to Patriots after collapse, loss to Bills

The New England Patriots would have clinched the AFC East title with a home win over a Buffalo Bills in Week 15. The Pats proceeded to build a 24-7 halftime lead, only to see the Bills storm back to earn a thrilling 35-31 win that improved Buffalo to 10-4.

Shortly after New England fell to 11-3, Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs sent a message to his teammates regarding the lesson they could take from the disappointing result. 

Stefon Diggs challenges Patriots to play 60 full minutes

"Sixty minutes," Diggs said, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "You can’t have a lull on the mental side of it and the physical side of it. When you’re playing a team like that, they play from behind. They’re used to playing from behind, fighting back and clawing. They’ve been together for some years now, and they’ve led this division for a while. So, in order to get over that hump, play 60-minute football and execute at a higher level." 

New England defeated Buffalo in Week 5, and the Patriots entered Sunday looking to keep pace with the Denver Broncos in the battle for the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed. Later in the afternoon, the Broncos improved to 12-2 via a 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers.

The Bills will play at the lowly Cleveland Browns (3-11) on Dec. 21. Later that night, the Patriots will play at a 7-7 Baltimore Ravens team that will be hoping to keep its playoff dreams alive. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as 2.5-point underdogs for that contest. 

Meanwhile, Denver hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) on Dec. 21. 

What Stefon Diggs wants to see from the Patriots this week

"Don’t be sensitive," Diggs added about how the Patriots need to respond after Sunday's defeat. "Go in [Monday] with the mindset of everybody could have done more. Everybody could’ve just gave a little extra effort, even if you did give the maximum. Just getting on the same page, communication, just things like that around this time of the year. We had a little bit of weather or whatever you want to dress it up, just going in with the right mindset [Monday] that whatever we did to get here, we’re not going to change up. We’re just going to have to go a little bit harder, watch a little bit of extra tape, do a little couple extra spins at practice, whatever it takes to get a win. So, preparing the right way is going to be another thing, but we’re not changing."

If New England fails to prepare the right way and then loses to Baltimore, takes suggesting that the Patriots are more pretenders than contenders will likely only get louder ahead of Christmas.