Patriots Live Blog: Pats Leave Buffalo With 41-25 Victory Over Bills
Final, 41-25 Patriots: It's all over. The Patriots are 7-1 and heading into their bye as the best team in the NFL.
Fourth quarter, :30, 41-25 Patriots: The Bills scored a garbage-time touchdown.
Wahoo. Then they got a two-point conversion. A few people were even left in the stadium to see it.
Fourth quarter, 2:26, 41-17 Patriots: With Tom Brady on the sideline, Jimmy Garoppolo handed twice to Blount and then get bodyslammed by two Bills defenders on third down. Ouch.
The Patriots punted. If there's any mercy in this world, the Bills will keep it on the ground and end this game.
Fourth quarter, 4:29, 41-17 Patriots: Jamie Collins absolutely clobbered Tyrod Taylor on a third down pass attempt, and Taylor took another hit from Barkevious Mingo on the fourth down attempt that followed. Robert Woods caught the wobbly pass but was marked down about five inches shy of a first down.
The Bills have challenged, but I don't think they'll get an overturn. UPDATE: They did not. Patriots take over on downs.
Fourth quarter, 8:35, 41-17 Patriots: Another possession for the New England offense, another long drive.
This one was kept alive by a foolish roughing the passer penalty on Shaq Lawson, who didn't even get his money's worth when running into Brady a good two steps after the quarterback had let a long incompletion fly on a third down.
That penalty moved the Patriots up near midfield, and on third-and-4, Brady connected with Gronkowski on a back-shoulder type of pass that led to Gronkowski sprinting free up the left sideline. He didn't come down until he had gained 33 yards.
At the Buffalo 20, the Patriots faced a third-and-12. White dropped a wide open pass after Brady had scrambled to buy time, but the Patriots got a free first down on a defensive holding penalty. That was the Bills' 12th penalty of the afternoon.
Brady ended up getting sacked on third-and-4, so the Patriots settled for a 32-yard field goal from Gostkowski to put the Patriots over 40 points for the first time all year.
They drained almost eight minutes off the clock there and tacked on a few points. It's officially Don't Get Injured territory for all players involved in this game.
Fourth quarter, 14:55, 38-17 Patriots: The Patriots got their stop, thanks to a high throw from Taylor and a clank off the hand of Clay. Patriots take over at their own 10.
End of third quarter, 38-17 Patriots: The New England defense is ensuring that this win won't be a cinch for the Patriots, as the Bills are once again threatening to score. A pass interference penalty on Justin Coleman moved the Bills to the New England 6-yard line. There, the Bills ran a silly trick play that didn't even come close to working. It ended with Reggie Bush lateraling a football to Taylor, and the QB was fortunate to be able to fall on it.
When the fourth quarter opens, it'll be fourth-and-goal from the 10.
Third quarter, 3:05, 38-17 Patriots: The best way to respond to a touchdown is to drive 75 yards and put seven more right back on the board.
The honors for this one went to LeGarrette Blount, who jumped up and over the pile from the 1-yard line for his ninth touchdown of the season.
The highlight of that drive was Brady dusting off his wheels and running 15 yards on a third-and-5. That was one of three third-down conversions on the drive, and Chris Hogan drew a holding penalty in the end zone to set up the Blount plunge.
The Patriots have a lot of points this afternoon.
Third quarter, 7:57, 31-17 Patriots: Rex decided to coach with some desperation, having his team go for it on a fourth-and-3 at the 25-yard line. Taylor looked left, then tucked the ball and ran straight up the gut untouched for a 25-yard touchdown run.
So, credit the punter for effectively scrambling to save the Bills from likely giving up seven. The offense made the most of it to complete the 14-point swing, and the fans will have to stick around for a bit longer. It's still a ballgame.
Third quarter, 12:31, 31-10 Patriots: The Bills tried to get a drive going. But then the Bills became the Bills. Yet it somehow worked out. Sports are crazy.
Colton Schmidt dropped the football while trying to punt it, but he picked it up and scampered for a 16 yards. And the Bills are still driving.
Sports.
Third quarter, 14:00, 31-10 Patriots: Two plays, touchdown.
On the first play after the long return, Brady hit Bennett over the middle for a gain of 12. On the next play, Edelman ran a little swing route on the right side and climbed over Corey Graham for a touchdown.
The play was reviewed, and while the replay did show Edelman's elbow hitting the ground, it was unclear where the football was at that moment, so the play stood as called. That's Edelman's first touchdown of the season, and it's Brady's fourth touchdown of the afternoon.
Third quarter, 14:45, 24-10 Patriots: Amendola bobbled the kick at the goal line, burst up the right sideline and went into a full sprint, tiptoeing through creases and taking it all the way to the Buffalo 25-yard line. That's how this half starts. Seventy-three yards on that return. And he broke a couple of tackles on that one.
Halftime, 24-10 Patriots: The Patriots very surgically drove up the field to get into field-goal range for Stephen Gostkowski. A six-yard screen to White, a 15-yard gain to Amendola and an eight-yard pass to Gronkowski set up a 51-yard attempt into the wind.
The kick fluttered a bit like a knuckleball and took a sharp left turn on its way to the goalposts, but it clanged off the left upright and through for three points. Or, it was more of a kiss than a clang.
That's a huge swing there -- a missed FG by Carpenter, a long bomb from Gostkowski, and the Patriots take a 14-point lead into halftime. They'll get the ball to start the second half, too.
Second quarter, :38, 21-10 Patriots: The Pats take over after a missed Dan Carpenter field goal. The ball is at the 39. On the previous Buffalo drive, McCourty had an interception wiped off the board due to penalties on both Patrick Chung and Eric Rowe.
Second quarter, 4:18, 21-10 Patriots: Rob Gronkowski had been held in check to this point, but with him, it's only a matter of time. Brady recognized Gronkowski in man coverage with Nickell Robey-Coleman and threw a perfect pass up the right seam to hit Gronkowski in stride. With no safety over the top, Gronkowski made the catch and ran free for a 52-yard touchdown.
With that, he's now the record holder for Patriots touchdowns. He's only 27 years old, which is a pretty remarkable feat.
Second quarter, 6:26, 14-10 Patriots: The Bills are back, thanks in large part to a defensive pass interference penalty on Eric Rowe. He got a hold of Justin Hunter's left arm as the receiver went up for a catch, and the flag flew for a 29-yard penalty that got Buffalo inside the New England 32. Reggie Bush and a 12-men penalty on New England got Buffalo even closer, and Gillislee slashed up the gut from the 3-yard line for a touchdown.
And it's a ballgame again.
Second quarter, 8:40, 14-3 Patriots: Another Patriots drive ends on a third-down sack, this one by Preston Brown.
Tom Brady tried to escape pressure but didn't know Brown was lurking from behind. Brown delivered a facemask-to-facemask shot on Brady, but the QB held on to the ball after what was a pretty significant hit.
Allen's punt was fair-caught at the Bills' 42-yard line. The Patriots' offense has been stuck in the mud in the second quarter.
Second quarter, 10:09, 14-3 Patriots: The Buffalo fans did not enjoy seeing the Bills go with a short dump pass on third-and-24, and when it only went for six yards, they let their frustrations be heard in the form of boos.
They're probably wondering what happened after the offense drove with ease on the opening drive, but on that one, an illegal formation penalty followed by an offensive pass interference penalty (really a needless call, if you ask me) killed that drive before it could turn into anything for Buffalo. Devin McCourty had a near pick on an underthrow by a pressured Taylor. That type of pressure is what New England's defense needs, because Taylor has been wildly inaccurate when he's had to rush a throw by even a millisecond.
Edelman returned the booming punt 10 yards out to the 18.
Second quarter, 13:55, 14-3 Patriots: The New England offense has been stopped. On a third-and-10, Kyle Williams ended up with an inside lane to Brady thanks to a twist off the end from the Bills defensive line. Williams sacked Brady, finally forcing the Patriots offense off the field.
Buffalo takes over at their own 27 after the punt and short return.
Also of note: Lorenzo Alexander, who leads the NFL in sacks, was talking to trainers while pointing to either his hip or hamstring or knee or calf. He was pointing to some areas. Not sure which muscle(s) is/are hampering him, but it was enough to force him off the field.
UPDATE: It's a hamstring for Alexander. His return is questionable.
End of first quarter, 14-3 Patriots: Tyrod Taylor threw to Gillislee on third-and-4, but Patrick Chung brought him down a yard shy of the first down. The second quarter will begin with a Buffalo punt.
First quarter, 1:33, 14-3 Patriots: Holy smokes.
Tom Brady waited and waited and waited, knowing he'd absorb a shot, but he deemed it worth it to spring Julian Edelman for a 47-yard touchdown.
But because Marcus Cannon was three yards upfield, the play got called back. Tom Brady was disappointed.
But he came right back and lobbed a picture-perfect deep ball up the left sideline to Chris Hogan. 53-yard touchdown.
It was really an incredible series of events.
Brady is now 8-for-11 for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and the Patriots lead 14-3.
First quarter, 3:41, 7-3 Patriots: The Bills should have been driving, but drops by Charles Clay and Brandon Tate on consecutive plays lead to a punt. And a bad one at that by Colton Schmidt. New England takes over at the Buffalo 45.
That Tate drop was a big one, as he was streaking up the right sideline for a potential big gain.
First quarter, 4:35, 7-3 Patriots: The New England offense is a sight to behold. Really.
After Shea McClellin recovered the fumbled kick return by Matthew Slater, the Patriots offense got to work at their own 30-yard line.
Brady hit Edelman on a second-and-5 for the initial first down.
On a third-and-6, Brady casually lobbed a pass to James White, who put a juke on a linebacker and picked up the first.
On the next third down, a third-and-10, Brady calmly waited for Chris Hogan to break free on an out route for a gain of 16.
On the next third down, his one a third-and-2, the Bills gave a huge pocket for Edelman to settle in to. He caught a pass for an easy six yards.
And then on third-and-8 from the 9-yard line, Brady scrambled right and then threw a dart into the bread basket of Danny Amendola in the front right corner of the end zone for six.
It was a very impressive drive, and yes, Gostkowski capped it off with a perfect PAT.
Brady went 7-for-9 for 54 yards and the touchdown.
First quarter, 11:05, 3-0 Bills: Even without LeSean McCoy, the Patriots' defense looked very similar to how it looked vs. Buffalo in the first half last time around.
The Buffalo drive began with Mike Gillislee breaking free off the left side for 28 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Three plays later on a third-and-7, Brandon Tate took a handoff on an end-around and sprinted around the edge for a gain of 14. On the next play, Taylor bought some time and scrambled before dumping off to the fullback for 22 more yards.
At that point, the Bills were in the red zone. Taylor scrambled left and with Hightower staring him in the face, he threw the ball away. Hightower ended up tackling him a full step or two out of bounds, but curiously there was no penalty for a late hit. That was a pretty blatantly missed call, and it went the Patriots' way.
With Taylor a bit shaken up, the Bills burned a timeout before a no-gain run and an incompletion.
But Dan Carpenter hit the chip shot, and the Bills lead early.
Also of note: Hightower walloped Gillislee after the big gain, and Gillislee remained on the sideline for the remainder of the drive.
First quarter, 15:00: Gostkowski's kick was a deep one. Buffalo will begin on the 25.
1 p.m.: The Patriots have won the coin toss and chosen to defer. Buffalo will start with the football.
12:28 p.m.: In case you were wondering what Bill Belichick's mind-set is heading into this game ...
11:35 a.m.: The inactive lists are out. Newcomer Kyle Van Noy won't be playing for the Patriots, nor will rookie cornerback Cyrus Jones, who finds himself as a healthy scratch for the third straight game. Two running backs are inactive, including Tyler Gaffney, who was signed off the practice squad yesterday. So it'll remain a heavy Blount/White game in the backfield.
The biggest name not on the list is Martellus Bennett. He'll be playing today.
Patriots
Tyler Gaffney, RB
Kyle Van Noy, LB
Woodrow Hamilton, DL
D.J. Foster, RB
LaAdrian Waddle, T
Cyrus Jones, CB
Malcolm Mitchell, WR
Bills
Cardale Jones, QB
Aaron Williams, S
LeSean McCoy, RB
Seantrel Henderson, T
Patrick Lewis, C
Marquise Goodwin, WR
Jerel Worthy, DL
11 a.m.: The Jets are a mess. The Dolphins aren't very good. The only theoretical challenger to the Patriots for this year's AFC crown would be these Buffalo Bills.
So let's see what they've got.
We know they're good enough to beat a Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots team in Foxboro, but with Tom Brady in for New England and LeSean McCoy out for the Bills, we're all expecting the table to be turned this time around.
But, you never know. If there's one thing Rex Ryan can do, it's get his charges to play all fired-up and emotionally. Maybe the Bills make a play early and put the Patriots in an early hole, and things get interesting. It could happen.
It may seem a bit silly to say the division is on the line in Week 8, but when you consider that the 6-1 Patriots still have games against the 49ers, Rams, Ravens and two games against the Jets, the Bills enter this week knowing that if they want to win the division, they need to win this week.
We'll have all the morsels of information you need right here in the live blog, from the pregame inactive lists to the final whistle.
