Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' Blowout Victory Over Bills
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots are the best team in the AFC East, which in itself isn't saying much. But when considering just how soundly they won on the road in Buffalo on Sunday, they bolstered their case for being the best team in the entire NFL.
It wasn't perfect, no, but considering the flaws that exist throughout the league, the Patriots' offense under Tom Brady is officially the most potent threat in all of the NFL.
The 39-year-old quarterback had yet another spectacular day as the Patriots improved to 7-1 on the season as they head into their bye week.
With that, here are the highlights and the lower lights from the Patriots' 41-25 win in Buffalo.
FOUR UPS
Tom Brady
At this point, it's getting difficult to properly put into context just how much of an impact this quarterback is having on the team. The record -- 4-0 -- speaks for itself, as do Brady's stats. On Sunday, he threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-33 passing, bringing his season total to 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
His best showing came on the second Patriots' drive, when Brady absorbed a massive hit on a deep touchdown throw to Julian Edelman. The play didn't count, due to an ineligible lineman downfield, but Brady came right back and dropped a deep ball in the bucket for Chris Hogan streaking up the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown.
"Tom's a tough player," head coach Bill Belichick said of the sequence. "We've seen that from day one. So I don't think that's ever been an issue. Mentally and physically, he's about as tough as they come."
While the highlights were many, the most important stat for the Patriots' offense was their 9-for-13 mark on third down. That's how they sustained long drives and ended up in the end zone five times.
But Brady is clearly the engine of this machine (he even ran for 15 yards on one carry), and though he did absorb a number of hard hits and four sacks on Sunday, he now has two weeks to rest and recover for the second half of the year. The NFL is on alert.
Stephen Gostkowski
All eyes were on the kicker heading into Sunday. He responded by putting forth a perfect performance.
Gostkowski was 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts, including a 51-yarder that kissed off the left upright and through the goal posts for a field goal just before halftime. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 on PATs, which haven't been automatic lately.
Though the kicker's experience since 2006 kept most people from fully panicking, the showing on Sunday will make things a bit easier for Gostkowski as he waits 14 days to make his next kick. If there had been a missed field goal or PAT on Sunday, that long wait could have led to even more discussion and even more doubt. Gostkowski made sure to put a stop to that.
Rob Gronkowski
It speaks to how dominant a player Rob Gronkowski is that what looked like a somewhat quiet performance ended with a stat line that looked like this: five receptions, 109 yards, touchdown.
Two of those receptions picked up first downs, and one ended in the end zone. It was a big one, too, as it was the 69th of Gronkowski's career, thus making him the Patriots' all-time leader in touchdowns scored in franchise history.
"It's a great accomplishment, and he's a dynamic player for us, there's no doubt," Brady gushed about his tight end. "He makes great plays in the pass game -- down the field, intermediate, short. He's tough to tackle. He's got a great enthusiasm about him. He's just done an amazing job since he's been here. It's a credit to him and his toughness, his mental toughness. I've talked about that with him and his ability to overcome the difficulties that he's faced in his career to get to this point, and we need it, because he's such a great player for our team."
Most remarkable about the feat is that he did it in just 86 career games. Stanley Morgan, the previous record holder, scored his 68 touchdowns in 180 games played.
Chris Hogan
In his return to Buffalo, Chris Hogan made the Bills regret letting him go. The receiver caught four balls for 91 yards and a touchdown, including that 53-yarder past Ronald Darby in the first quarter to put the Patriots up 14-3.
It was just the third time of his career that Hogan has topped the 90-yard mark in a game.
"He had a good inside release, and Hoge's fast. I mean, he runs by people and they don't catch him," Brady said. "So if you can just put it out there for him and let him run under it, he's able to make those plays."
FOUR DOWNS
Eric Rowe
The move of Cyrus Jones to the healthy scratch list over the past three weeks has led to an uptick in play for Eric Rowe. He had been good filling in, until Sunday.
Rowe was flagged for an illegal contact penalty and a defensive pass interference in the second quarter that helped set up a Buffalo touchdown. He was also penalized for pass interference late in the fourth, though that was a missed call by the official who didn't see receiver Robert Woods holding Rowe's arm.
The day wasn't a complete loss for the third-year cornerback, but it wasn't a winner.
Jordan Richards
Unfortunately for the second-year safety/special teamer, he was injured in the final minute of a blowout loss. It wasn't exactly clear what he hurt or how bad it looked, but requiring attention from the trainers on the field is always a way to sour an otherwise positive day.
Nate Solder
It's difficult, at times, to pin a sack on one specific lineman. The game's often more complex than just watching 1-on-1 battles. Still, Solder was clearly beat for two third-down sacks to kill consecutive drives in the second quarter, first by Kyle Williams and then by Preston Brown. He later got beat around the edge by Shaq Lawson for another sack, too.
Overall Discipline
It was a 16-point win, and really, considering the final Buffalo touchdown was scored during garbage time, it wasn't even that close. But the final line of 10 penalties for 116 yards is just too much for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations. By comparison, the Bills committed 12 penalties but for only 84 yards. The Patriots' list of penalties included Marcus Cannon jogging laterally while three yards upfield to negate a 47-yard bomb from Brady to Julian Edelman, a 12 men on the field penalty, multiple pass interference penalties, and an illegal use of hands penalty.
The Patriots only committed one false start, so it's not even a matter of the crowd noise leading to the flags. It gives the coaches something to throw at the players this week, at the very least.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
