Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots Recap - Losing with Class

The Buffalo Bills offense had a new leader this Sunday versus the perennial Super Bowl contenders the New England Patriots. After two pathetic starts by QB Trent Edwards, Coach Gailey handed the pigskin to back-up QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills offense ran the ball fairly well in the first quarter and even completed a 3 rd down and 10 plus yards play for the first time in over 40 attempts. Playing a Patriots team that had the undying support of every person in Gillette Stadium and coming off a prime-time loss to the New York Jets last week, the Bills had their backs up against the wall from the get go. Early in the first the Bills converted a field goal and Brady completed a 7 yard pass to WR Randy Moss. Once again the Bills were playing from behind.

Surprisingly the Bills kept things close and actually took a 13-7 lead after CJ Spiller punched one in. After losing 13 consecutive games, the Bills body language was definitely positive in the first half, the Pats rushing TD gave them a 14-13. The Bills converted their third field goal of the half to take a 16-14 lead. Having a lead, let alone a lead against the Patriots, was unimaginable after seeing the Bills in week one and two. Tom Brady carved up the Bills Defence, completing 9 of his first 11 passes and the Patriots offensive line protected Brady as expected. But the first half of this game was all about lead changes, field goal topping field goal, the Bills led 16-14, then the Pats led 17-16 at the half. Brady continued his assault with his second TD pass to Moss of the game, early in the second half the TD gave them an 8 point lead. On the ensuing kick, rookie sensation CJ Spiller returned the punt for 95 yards and a TD, his second of the game. He looks like he might actually live up to the hype. The ebb and flow of this game had the making of a late-possession finish.

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Kicker Ryan Lindell missed his first field goal of the day, a kick which would have given Buffalo the lead, instead they trailed 24-23 at this point. A week ago it was unfathomable that the Bills would put up 23 points against New England and actually compete. For all the credit that I have given Edwards, it seems as if Fitzpatrick was more deserving of praise than his teammate. New England had the ball in Buffalo’s red zone late in the third quarter. Having scored on 22 of their last 23 red zone possessions against the Bills, Brady completed an easy TD pass to rookie TE Gronkowski increasing their lead to eight once again. Fitzpatrick completed 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards through three quarters, pretty impressive for a team which has averaged way less yards passing per game this season.

Entering the fourth quarter the Bills were close enough to bite as the Pats led 31-23. Threatening near the NE red zone, Fitzpatrick made his first significant mistake of the day, over throwing his receiver which resulted in an interception. Tom Brady had another consistent day in the office completing 20 of his first 24 passes for 246 yards, 3 touchdown passes and no turnovers. But Brady was not the surprise, it was the Patriots rushing numbers. Entering the game they were 24th in rushing yards and today they rushed for 150 plus yards, great numbers when considering they have averaged 85 rushing yards per game this season. The veteran NE squad kept the chains moving and retained possession for most of the fourth quarter. New England padded their lead with RB Ben Jarvis Green Ellis rushing TD with 8 minutes left on the clock. Just when the Bills were counted out, Fitzpatrick completed a TD pass to Steven Johnson narrowing the lead down to eight points once again. The Bills would simply not die this afternoon, they were showing heart, determination and most importantly, hope.

Three minutes to play, the Bills down 8 points and with possession was the scenario. Still early in the 2010 NFL campaign, the Bills looked like a revitalized team this afternoon. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was taking the necessary risks to put points on the scoreboard, something Edwards has not done as he has been pre-occupied with not turning the ball over. The opportunity was there and the Bills were poised to make it happen. However, Fitzpatrick threw his second interception of the day on a high pass. The Bills defence could not slow down Brady and his troops and the Bills came up short once again. RB CJ Spiller is becoming a fan favourite amongst Buffalo fans and if Fitzpatrick continues to play like he did today (247 yards passing, 20/28), Edwards might find himself as the permanent back up QB in Buffalo. The final score was 38-30. The Bills were the worst offence in the league coming into this game and put up 30 points, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the Bills from losing their 14 straight versus their AFC rival. Next up for the Bills, another AFC Division contender, as the Bills play the Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

By Ranhvir Samra
ProFootball-fans.com Buffalo Bills Correspondent