Patriots Live Blog: Logan Ryan Interception Seals Pats Win
Final, 40-32 Patriots: The Bills' desperation drive lasted all of one play. Taylor threw high to Watkins deep over the middle. Watkins got a hand on it, tipping it up on the air, and Logan Ryan found the football and made a diving interception.
Two kneeldowns by Tom Brady, and the Patriots are 2-0. Things got a little out of the Patriots' control in the fourth quarter for a while there, but that will just give the team plenty to work on in the film room this week.
Fourth quarter, 1:15, 40-32 Patriots: Blount ran the ball just about all the way for a first down, but came up a few inches short.
So the Patriots settled for a field goal, and now it's up to Tyrod Taylor to lead an eight-point drive with no timeouts. That's a tall task, but he's moved the ball well for the past few drives.
Fourth quarter, 2:00, 37-32 Patriots: Things may have gotten much too close for the Patriots' liking in this game, but man, they have to be happy with that drive from the offense.
In a drive where a three-and-out would have spelled a whole lot of trouble, Brady engineered a tremendous drive down the field, deep into Buffalo territory. It'll be third-and-5 from the Buffalo 12-yard line on the other side of the two-minute warning.
Incredibly, the Patriots opted to not run the ball at all on the drive until the last play before the two-minute warning. Instead, Brady threw five straight passes, benefiting from a Nigel Bradham pass interference on a deep pass to Dion Lewis and then finding Danny Amendola for a gain of 29 yards. Amendola made an incredible diving catch with a Bills defender right in his face on that play. Truly an incredible catch.
A field goal on this drive, mind you, makes it an 8-point game, which is pretty comfortable. But a touchdown, obviously, ends the game.
Fourth quarter, 4:16, 37-32: There's the quick strike, and we've got ourselves a football game.
It took all of two plays for Buffalo to get in the end zone. Taylor hit Woods up the left sideline for a gain of 25 yards, and then Taylor went deep to Watkins, who toasted Bradley Fletcher in coverage for the touchdown.
And now it's a five-point game. The Bills need a stop, and they can win this game.
Fourth quarter, 4:31, 37-25 Patriots: The risk of staying with a pass-heavy attack late in a game when you need to close it out is that you might get your quarterback hit. That happened for the Patriots, as Jerry Hughes burst in off the end and stripped the ball from Brady.
The ball bounced out toward midfield, and the Bills take over, technically still alive. A quick strike her and things will actually get interesting.
Fourth quarter, 5:27, 37-25 Patriots: The Bills did indeed attempt the onside kick, but it failed to travel 10 yards, and the Patriots take over.
Fourth quarter, 5:27, 37-25 Patriots: The Bills have scored yet again, with Tyrod Taylor taking it right up the gut on a designed QB run from the 7.
On the two-point conversion attempt, Harvin slipped on the turf on a speed sweep type of play, and he fell well short of the goal line.
It might be onside kick time for the Bills, who have just two timeouts and not much time remaining.
Fourth quarter, 5:32, 37-19 Patriots: The Bills are driving, down on the New England 7-yard line, facing a second-and-6.
Fourth quarter, 8:10, 37-19 Patriots: New England opted to go for it on another fourth-and-1, again choosing to pass, and again failing. Brady overthrew Edelman, who was streaking up the middle of the field and had a step on Stephon Gilmore, and the Pats turn it over on downs.
Fourth quarter, 11:42, 37-19 Patriots: It's been a while, but the Bills fans finally have something to cheer about.
After successfully gaining two yards on a fourth-and-1, Tyrod Taylor escaped from a collapsing pocket and fired a pass 32 yards to Robert Woods in the end zone. The pass was perfect, just out of the reach of a leaping Malcolm Butler.
But the Bills failed on a two-point conversion, so the lead remains 18 points, aka a three-possession lead.
Third quarter, :28, 37-13 Patriots: A 23-yard catch-and-run from Gronkowski moved the Patriots along, but the drive stalled out in Buffalo territory. No matter, really, because Stephen Gostkowski can kick 50-yard field goals with ease. He did just that, and the Patriots now lead by 24 points.
Third quarter, 2:17, 34-13 Patriots: The Buffalo offense is just terrible. There aren't any words for it.
The Bills lost 11 yards on that drive, with Taylor fumbling on the first two plays and taking a sack on third down.
Danny Amendola returned the punt down to the Buffalo 30. A holding penalty brings it back out toward midfield though.
Third quarter, 3:24, 34-13 Patriots: After Williams was taken away via ambulance, Gostkowski hit the PAT to stretch the lead to 34-13.
It's hard to tell what Williams might have injured. He hit his facemask on Edelman's backside and sort of slid on the turf a bit. Nothing was obvious, that's for sure, but he required quite a bit of attention so hopefully he ends up OK. The Bills say it's a neck injury.
Third quarter, 3:24, 33-13 Patrtiots: The Patriots' offense is simply too much for the Bills to handle.
Brady calmly led the Patriots on an 83-yard drive, capped off with a casual flick to Edelman from the 22-yard line after a play-action fake to the right side. Edelman caught it in stride and won the footrace to the front pylon, diving across the end zone for six.
Aaron Williams was hurt on the play, so much so that an ambulance had to come out onto the field. So there's a delay before the PAT.
Brady spread it around on that drive, with Aaron Dobson catching two passes for 35 yards.
Third quarter, 6:36, 27-13 Patriots: Penalties, penalties, penalties. The Bills seem to be unable to get out of their own way, getting called for three penalties on that drive before stalling out and coming up short on a third down.
Brady and the Patriots take over a their own 17-yard line. A long touchdown drive here would likely be enough to secure a victory. A turnover could flip the script quite drastically.
Third quarter, 10:02, 27-13 Patriots: The Patriots will gladly add a chip shot field goal from Gostkowski, but it really should have been a touchdown drive.
New England recovered from a holding penalty on David Andrews that set up a first-and-20 from their own 10-yard line by methodically driving down the field. They marched 77 yards all the way down to the goal line, but Scott Chandler dropped consecutive passes in the end zone.
The first one was a bad throw by Brady, but Chandler did get his hands on it. And Chandler essentially caught the second one -- a fade in the right corner -- but allowed Aaron Williams to wrestle the ball away.
After unsuccessfully going for it on fourth down earlier, the Patriots took the easy -- and smart -- three points.
Gronkowski came up with a 28-yard catch-and-run on a third down to keep that drive alive.
Third quarter, 15:00, 24-13 Patriots: The second half is underway. The Patriots start at their own 20.
Halftime, 24-13 Patriots: Stats!
Brady: 18/27, 194 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Taylor: 12/16, 68 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Lewis: 3 rushes, 14 yards, TD
McCoy: 10 rushes, 44 yards
Lewis: 4 receptions, 74 yards
Gronkowski: 3 receptions, 39 yards, TD
Edelman: 6 receptions, 39 yards, TD
Watkins: 4 receptions, 26 yards
Clay: 2 receptions, 13 yards, TD
Halftime: The Bills were driving, hoping to make this a one-possession game before halftime, but Taylor tossed up an ugggly pass to the deep middle. He threw it against his momentum as he ran to his left, and Duron Harmon closed in on the duck and picked it off, returning it out to the 34-yard line.
Brady took a knee, and the Pats take a nine-point lead into the locker room.
That was a pretty wild first half. Stats coming shortly.
Second quarter, 2:18, 24-13 Patriots: The Bills looked to be right back in this thing, after Marcell Dareus sacked Brady on a third down. However, a defensive holding penalty on Ronald Darby gave New England five yards and a free first down.
After a holding penalty on Josh Kline, Brady threw deep up the left sideline and hit Dion Lewis in stride for a huge gain of 40 yards.
The next play was a screen to Lewis, who broke a couple of tackles and turned it into a 12-yard gain.
I suppose that's why Lewis did not get the Ridley Treatment after that fumble.
Though Brady threw a bad pass behind Gronkowski on third down, Stephen Gostkowski came out and absolutely drilled a 46-yard field goal.
Injury note: Sebastian Vollmer headed to the locker room with a finger injury. Marcus Cannon will fill in at right tackle in the meanwhile.
Second quarter, 5:13, 21-13: Patriots: A bad pass interference penalty by Bradley Fletcher gave 38 free yards to an offensively inept team. That, combined with the fourth down decision, loom large as the Bills made the Patriots play.
Taylor had some time to wait for Charles Clay to find space inside the 5. Taylor connected with the tight end, who turned around and waltzed into the end zone for six points.
Dan Carpenter missed the extra point, so the Pats lead by eight.
Second quarter, 8:36, 21-7 Patriots: Things go wrong for the Patriots offense once again, and the Bills will take over near midfield after stopping the Patriots on a fourth-and-1.
It was a calculated gamble for the Patriots. On the one hand, the Bills haven't moved the ball at all for the past quarter-and-a-half. At the same time, risking a failed fourth-down attempt would give momentum to Buffalo.
That is what happened, as Brady rolled right and had no options, deciding to lob a deep prayer to Edelman which fell to the turf.
We'll see if Buffalo can capitalize on the second straight gift from New England.
Second quarter, 9:05, 21-7 Patriots: The fumble doesn't hurt the Patriots, aside from a loss in field position.
The Bills just can't do anything offensively, and they were forced into a three-and-out for the fourth time of the afternoon. They scored the touchdown on their first drive, and one other drive ended in an interception. The rest have been three-and-outs.
A fair catch by Amendola sets up the Patriots at their own 12-yard line.
Second quarter, 10:27, 21-7 Patriots: Dion Lewis officially has a fumbling problem.
On a quick screen to the left side, Lewis turned it into a decent gain of about 7 yards, but he allowed the ball to be knocked out of his control while being tackled.
Corey Graham scooped it up and returned it deep into New England territory, but a -- surprise, surprise -- personal foul penalty on Aaron Williams pushes the Bills back toward midfield.
Second quarter, 11:01, 21-7 Patriots: Three. And. Out.
And things aren't going too well for the Bills.
McCoy turned a short dump pass over the middle into a decent gain on first down, but he was stuffed for a loss of a yard on second down. Taylor had nowhere to throw on third down, but he also had nowhere to run, as Chandler Jones chased him down from behind for a sack.
That's three sacks so far for New England, and it forced the Bills to punt.
After a running into the kicker penalty on Rufus Johnson, punter Colton Schmidt sent one out of bounds at the New England 42-yard line. Another short field awaits Brady and the offense.
Second quarter, 13:14, 21-7 Patriots: Beat. Down.
There's obviously a ton of football left to play, and this one's far from over, but the Patriots are putting an absolute beatdown on Buffalo at the moment.
Credit to Dion Lewis, who looked to be stacked up in the backfield for a loss but managed to turn a play into a five-yard gain to move the Patriots down to the 2-yard line.
On third-and-goal from the 2, Gronkowski and Chandler motioned out wide left, and the Bills defense was absolutely, completely confused. Brady casually took the snap and tossed an easy touchdown pass to Gronkowski.
It's 21-7, and the Bills fans are quiet.
Second quarter, 14:50, 14-7 Patriots: Whoa, boy. Tyrod Taylor overthrew his receiver on third down, and everybody kind of gave up on the play, except for Malcolm Butler.
The second-year cornerback made an incredible play to make a diving interception, getting his fingertips just underneath the ball, which was tipped by the receiver. Butler got up and ran it to the Buffalo 30. The Patriots once again take over in scoring range.
End of first quarter, 14-7 Patriots: The first quarter comes to a close after Jamie Collins wrapped up LeSean McCoy behind the line of scrimmage for a 1-yard loss. It'll be third-and-9 for Buffalo at their own 21 coming out of the break.
Credit to the Bills for not getting called for going a full minute without committing a personal foul.
First quarter, :58, 14-7 Patriots: Two plays. Touchdown.
Any time you give the football to Tom Brady at the 13-yard line, you're begging for trouble.
Brady hit Edelman over the middle on a crossing pattern for seven yards, and Dion Lewis took it from there. The running back made a nice cut at the line and then lowered his shoulder to drive over Stephon Gilmore and across the goal line.
And just like that, this whole game has flipped on its head.
Keeping up their bad behavior, the Bills got hit with a personal foul penalty for taunting after the extra point.
First quarter, 1:46, 7-7: Since gouging the Patriots' D on the first drive, the Bills' offense looks putrid.
This drive ended with a Jamie Collins sack on Tyrod Taylor, just outside the end zone. A Watkins screen pass on first down lost a yard, a short pass to Harvin on second down lost five yards, and Taylor lost another 9 yards.
And with the Bills punting out of their own end zone, Amendola made it hurt by returning it all the way back to the 28-yard line of Buffalo.
Making matters worse for Buffalo, two Bills players were called for personal fouls after the return. Things are unraveling a bit here.
The Patriots are in business.
First quarter, 4:02, 7-7: The Patriots' offense came out firing, not even considering a rushing play at all, and it ended with Brady finding Edelman in the front right corner of the end zone for six.
The big play of the drive came on the second play, when Brady delivered a picture-perfect pass that hit Gronkowski right in the hands as the massive tight end ran at full speed up the right seam.
Aaron Dobson picked up 16 yards on a comeback route on the first play of the drive, and Brady hit Edelman over the middle for a short gain before the touchdown on a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line.
It was an impressive response from Brady, and this one's starting right back up again.
Noteworthy on that drive was the work of the offensive line, as Brady had quite a while to make his decisions in a clean pocket. Brady did take a sack on one play, but he wasn't hit. It was a coverage sack.
First quarter, 6:32, 7-0 Bills: The Patriots have righted the ship for the time being.
They stopped McCoy for a loss of a yard on first down, forced Taylor to settle for a very short completion to Matthew Mulligan. Ninkovich kept Taylor from breaking free on third down, eventually forcing him out of bounds for a sack. Rex Ryan (stupidly) tried to challenge the play, arguing that Taylor threw a pass before stepping out of bounds, but it was too late.
Danny Amendola returned the punt to the New England 38-yard line, and the Patriots will take over there.
First quarter, 8:26, 7-0 Bills: Oh, things are tough for the Patriots.
Manny Lawson did what few men do when he delivered a decent hit on Rob Gronkowski, limiting a first-down catch to just one yard. Edelman gained just one yard on a short reception on second down, and the noise was so loud on third down that Brady had to call a timeout. The quarterback lobbed somewhat of a prayer down the right sideline toward Edelman, but it fell incomplete, forcing a New England punt.
If the Patriots were going to have trouble, you would have scripted it by having the Bills score an early touchdown and force a three-and-out on defense. That's what we've got so far.
First quarter, 10:00, 7-0 Bills: That was exactly the start the Bills hoped to get on the Patriots, who find themselves in an early 7-0 hole.
The Bills offense came out flying, averaging 14 yards per play on the first four plays of the drive. That included a 23-yard scamper by QB Tyrod Taylor. Taylor threw incomplete on the fifth play of the drive, but the Bills wouldn't be stopped again.
After a pass to the left flat to Chris Hogan got the Bills down to the 2-yard line, Karlos Williams waltzed into the end zone right up the gut untouched for an easy score. The touchdown run capped off a 10-play, 80-yard drive that made the Patriots' defense look helpless.
The Bills are up 7-0 and the crowd, as expected, is going nuts. The pressure's on Tom Brady now.
First quarter, 15:00: Gostkowski's kick made it deep into the end zone, and the Bills start at their own 20-yard line.
1:01 p.m.: The Patriots have won the coin toss and decided to defer.
Buffalo will get the ball first.
12:55 p.m.: The longest hour of the week is just about over, and it's almost time for kickoff.
11:32 a.m.: Given Dominque Easley's injury history, particularly with his lower body, it comes as no surprise that the Patriots aren't rushing him back from his hip pointer injury. He's inactive today.
Running back James White is the odd man out in the backfield, while newcomer Keshawn Martin also won't dress.
Here's the complete list of Patriots inactives:
RB James White
OL Ryan Wendell
WR Keshawn Martin
CB Justin Coleman
DL Trey Flowers
DL Dominuque Easley
S Nate Ebner
And here are Buffalo's inactives:
QB E.J. Manuel
LB Tony Steward
OL Gabe Ikard
WR Marquise Goodwin
TE Chris Gragg
DL Andre Fluellen
DL Stefan Charles
10:45 a.m.: Typically, a Patriots trip to Buffalo doesn't exactly get the juices flowing. But credit Rex Ryan for adding quite a bit of intrigue to this Week 2 matchup.
The Patriots are at Ralph Wilson Stadium, a place where they've beaten the Bills 12 times in their last 14 visits. But the Bills are a confident bunch this year, backed by their braggadocio head coach, and the home crowd is expected to be quite amped up for this one.
Of course, as Bill Belichick noted this week, the crowd will only be as loud as the Patriots allow them to be. If the Patriots hit the ground running, get the Bills' offense off the field, and control the ball with a couple of sustained scoring drives, it could go a long way toward keeping things quieter. On the other hand, if the Patriots sputter early and fall behind, things could get crazy in there.
Whatever happens, it'll all be documented right here in the live blog. From the pregame inactive lists, to the final whistle, it'll all be right here.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.