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 Tom Brady still owns them on the field.
The New England Patriots quarterback passed for 361 yards and four
touchdowns Sunday in a 37-22 win over Buffalo at Ralph Wilson
Stadium. Brady is now 23-2 in his career against the Bills.
"You've got to give credit to the whole offense," Patriots coach
Bill Belichick said. "We did a decent job of blocking up front, gave
Tom enough time. The receivers made some good plays. Tom made some
good reads and some good throws. It took everybody working together
out there today. It's not a one-man band."
Wide receiver Brandon LaFell caught two touchdown passes and Stephen
Gostkowski kicked three field goals of more than 40 yards as the
Patriots (4-2) claimed sole possession of first place in the AFC
East.
Wide receiver Julian Edleman caught nine passes for 91 yards and
tight end Rob Gronkowski caught seven passes for 94 yards. LaFell
had 97 yards receiving.
The Patriots won the game, but suffered some key losses. Starting
linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley both left the
game with knee injuries and left tackle Nate Solder was sent to the
bench with a head injury.
The Bills (3-3) were playing for the first time since the Pegulas
took ownership of the franchise.
Buffalo turned the ball over three times in the first half, which
led to 13 Patriots points, and was penalized eight times for 107
yards.
"I think that's the story of the day," Bills tight end Scott
Chandler said. "You've got to protect the ball, and obviously that
was our Achilles heel today."
Bills running back Anthony Dixon added, "Turnovers and you can't
win. Especially when the other team doesn't turn the ball over at
all. We got to get back in the lab. We got to work on that, and we
will. We'll come back stronger."
Quarterback Kyle Orton threw for 299 yards, two touchdowns and an
interception in his second start for Buffalo. Chandler caught six
passes for a career-high 105 yards.
After a slow start, the Patriots scored on six of seven possessions
before kneeling down in the final minute.
"I don't think we've played to our potential yet," Pats left tackle
Nate Solder said. "That's something we're working on.
"Maybe next week."
New England has a short turnaround before hosting the New York Jets
on Thursday night. Buffalo hosts Minnesota next Sunday.
Brady iced the game with a 56-yard touchdown pass to LaFell that put
the Patriots up by two touchdowns with 2:49 remaining in the game.
Buffalo cut New England's lead in half with less than six minutes to
play when Orton threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Chris Hogan, then connected with wide receiver Robert Woods on a
two-point conversion pass. Orton completed a 25-yard pass to Woods
on fourth down to extend the eight-play, 80-yard drive.
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Brady completed all four of his passes on a 12-play, 80-yard drive
that spanned 6:08 of the fourth quarter and put the Patriots up
30-14 on his 17-yard touchdown pass to LaFell with 8:42 left in the
game.
The Patriots went up 23-14 on Gostkowski's 40-yard field goal with
3:08 left in the third quarter, but lost starting running back
Stevan Ridley to a knee injury on the drive.
Bills running back Fred Jackson scored on a 1-yard plunge to cut the
Patriots lead to 20-14 with 5:33 left in the third quarter. Orton
completed all four of his passes for 61 yards on the 13-play,
80-yard scoring drive.
Wide receiver Brian Tyms caught his first career touchdown on a
43-yard bomb from Brady that gave the Patriots a 20-7 lead on the
opening drive of the second half.
Gostkowski gave the Patriots a 13-7 lead with his 53-yard field goal
on the final play of the first half. Defensive end Zach Moore
recovered a fumble by Bills running back C.J. Spiller that gave the
Patriots the ball at the Buffalo 42. Safety Devin McCourty forced
the fumble.
Gostkowski made a 43-yard field goal with 1:43 left in the first
half to put the Patriots in front 10-7. Defensive end Chandler Jones
forced and recovered a fumble on a sack to give New England the ball
at the Buffalo 24 just before the two-minute warning.
Orton connected with wide receiver Robert Woods on a 7-yard slant
pass that tied the game at 7-7 at 3:52 of the second quarter. Tight
end Scott Chandler made two third-down receptions on the 10-play,
61-yard drive.
Brady hit tight end Tim Wright on a 1-yard play-action pass to give
New England a 7-0 lead with 13:04 left in the second quarter. A
30-yard pass interference penalty on Bills safety Duke Williams gave
the Patriots a first-and-goal at the 1. The five-play, 61-yard drive
came after the game's first turnover, an interception by linebacker
Jamie Collins.
NOTES: Patriots QB Tom Brady passed for more than 300 yards for the
60th time in his career. ... Bills fans embraced new team owners
Terry and Kim Pegula. The Pegula family, including their five
children and dog Sydney, were introduced to a rousing standing
ovation during a pregame ceremony. ... Goo Goo Dolls lead singer
Johnny Rzeznik, a Buffalo native, sang the national anthem. ...
Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower missed his second straight game with a
knee injury. ... Bills S Aaron Williams (wrist) was inactive and
replaced in the starting lineup by CB Corey Graham. WR Mike
Williams, a starter the first four weeks, was a healthy scratch.
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