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 The Patriots (2-0) have now beaten the Bills (1-1) in 24 of their 27
meetings when Brady was the Patriots starting quarterback.
New England is also now 10-4 against teams coached by Rex Ryan, who
led the New York Jets before taking over in Buffalo during the
offseason.
Penalty flags flew frequently in this game. The teams combined for
25 penalties for 259 yards. Buffalo had 14 of those penalties for
140 yards.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman caught 11 passes for 97 yards
and a pair of touchdowns, and tight end Rob Gronkowski caught seven
passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. New England running back Dion
Lewis gained 138 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown, and
kicker Stephen Gostkowski made all four of his field goal attempts.
Gostkowski sealed the win with a 25-yard field goal after the Bills
had cut the Patriots' 24-point lead down to 37-32 late in the fourth
quarter.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor struggled for much of his second
career start, but rallied Buffalo to three touchdown drives in the
fourth quarter. He finished with 242 yards passing and touchdowns to
tight end Charles Clay and wide receivers Robert Woods and Sammy
Watkins. Taylor also rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown, but was
intercepted three times and sacked eight times.
New England appeared to put the game out of reach when it scored 13
straight points in the third quarter and built a 24-point lead.
The Patriots opened the half with a 77-yard drive that ended with
Gostkowski's 21-yard field goal.
Edelman then took a short pass 22 yards for his second touchdown of
the day to punctuate an 83-yard drive and put the Patriots in front
34-13 midway through the third quarter.
A 50-yard field goal from Gostkowski made it 37-13 just before the
end of the third quarter.
Taylor hit Woods for a 32-yard touchdown with 11:41 remaining, but
missed a 2-point conversion pass attempt to wide receiver Percy
Harvin. Taylor also scored on a 5-yard run with 5:27 left in the
game.
The Bills got within one score when Taylor threw a 24-yard touchdown
pass to Watkins with 4:16 remaining. Buffalo started the drive at
the 50 when linebacker Preston Brown recovered a Brady fumble forced
by defensive end Jerry Hughes.
Gostkowski made a 46-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 24-13
lead heading into halftime.
Buffalo had cut New England's lead to 21-13 late in the first half
when Taylor connected with Clay on a 9-yard touchdown, but kicker
Dan Carpenter missed the extra point. Buffalo started the drive on
the New England 48 after the Patriots failed to convert a fourth
down, and got down to the 9 when Patriots cornerback Bradley
Fletcher was flagged for pass interference on a deep pass to Harvin.
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New England scored three touchdowns in a span of 5:48 to take a 21-7
lead early in the second quarter.
Brady found Edelman on an 8-yard pass for the Patriots' first
touchdown with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter.
New England started its next drive at the Buffalo 13 following a
27-yard punt return by Danny Amendola and a 15-yard
unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Buffalo's Duke Williams. Three
plays later, running Lewis scored from 6 yards out on the Patriots'
first running play of the game.
Brady's 2-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski capped a 30-yard drive
set up by an interception by cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Buffalo trampled the New England defense on the opening drive,
gaining 58 of its 80 yards on the ground and taking a 7-0 lead on
rookie running back Karlos Williams' 2-yard touchdown run.
On its next five drives, the Buffalo's offense totaled minus-6
yards.
NOTES: Bills S Aaron Williams was taken off the field in an
ambulance after sustaining a neck injury on WR Julian Edelman's
touchdown in the third quarter.
... The Patriots shuffled their interior offensive line to start the
game, inserting rookie Shaq Mason at left guard and moving Josh
Kline to the right side. Kline started at left guard in the opener.
... Bills DT Marcell Dareus and Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount both
returned after serving one-game suspensions for violating the NFL's
substance abuse policy.
... Former Bills general manager Bill Polian received his Pro
Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime.
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