Bills stun Pats in Wild Comeback
ORCHARD PARK, NY - On paper it was a matchup of undefeated teams, but on the field it was once again the mighty Patriots against the lowly Bills. Or was it? Despite their 2-0 start, who really believed the dominant Patriots could lose to a Buffalo Bill team led by Ryan Fitzpatrick. After all, it has been 15 consecutive games since the Bills have tasted a victory in this rivalry.
A 28-yard field goal off the foot of Rian Lindell as time expired capped a 34-31 victory as the Bills quieted their critics, at least for another week. The Bills showed a total team effort, led by Fitzpatrick who threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns. Buffalo showcased their defense as they picked off a usually mistake-free Tom Brady four times.
The Bills, who are no strangers to comebacks, fought off an early 21 point deficit. Last week, they came back to beat an Oakland Raider team after getting behind 18 points.
After an opening drive touchdown from Brady to Wes Welker, the fourth straight game the Patriots have scored on their opening drive; Brady efficiently worked his offense into two more touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski. Fitzpatrick battled through a first half interception as it seemed to hardly phase the Harvard alum. He came back with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Stevie Johnson, cutting the deficit to 21-7. After a Brady miscue with 1:05 left in the first half, the Bills intercepted a pass that lead to a 42-yard Lindell field goal cutting pats lead to 21-10 at half time.
With 9:34 left in the third quarter, Fitzpatrick found Tight End Scott Chandler in the end zone cutting the Patriot lead yet again, 21-17. After a Stephen Gostkowski 23-yard field goal, the fourth quarter started with a score of 24-17.
The last quarter of play proved to be the most inspiring quarter of football for the “new generation” Bills. After a 1-yard run into the end zone by Fred Jackson, the Bills Drayton Florence picked off Brady and returned it 27 yards to the house, giving Buffalo their first lead at 31-24. Brady battled back with a 6-yard strike to Wes Welker, their second touchdown hook-up of the game, to tie the score at 31. The touchdown came on a fourth and goal that included a drive where Chad Ochocinco dropped a touchdown pass that was placed perfectly by Brady.
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With 3:25 left in the game, Fitzpatrick showed why this Bills offense can be considered one of the most clutch offenses in football this year. In just three plays, the Bills found themselves in position to finish off the Patriots. First-and-ten at the Patriots 39, Fitzpatrick hit Jackson over the middle and he was able to break loose down the middle of the field. In an attempt to dive into the end zone, the Patriots Devin McCourty found Jackson and stopped him at the one-yard line.
Originally, the play was scored a touchdown, but as the new rule in the NFL this year, the play went under review and found Jackson just short of the end zone. This proved to be an advantage for the Bills as Patriot Coach Bill Belichek was seen on the sidelines almost begging for the touchdown to stand. He knew that if Brady could have the ball in his hands with any time left, he’d be able to make something happen with the offense. But with the ball at the one, the Bills were able to kneel and run time off the clock, as the Patriots had run out of time outs. That lead to Lindell hitting the game winning field goal with no time left of the clock, much to the joy of a rocking Bills crowd.
Tom Brady threw for 387 yard and 4 touchdowns. He set a record, throwing for 1,326 yards in three straight games. His 4 interceptions however, proved costly as the Bills offense was able to turn those turnovers into crucial points. “We made too many mistakes”, said Brady. “It’s tough to overcome as many mistakes as we had today.”
The usually bottom of the AFC East Bills sit alone at the top of the division today with a record of 3-0. 76 percent of teams that start out 3-0 in a season make the playoffs which, if proved true for the Bills, would be the first time since 1996. It’s clear there is a new confidence and trust in this “new generation” Bills team, and beating the Patriots was a crucial first step.
As for Brady and the Patriots, they know from previous seasons and their veteran leadership that you must go through these types of losses in a season to win games at crucial points down the road.
“We just can’t play like this,” said Wes Welker. “Hopefully we learn from this and move on,” said a down but still confident Tom Brady.
It’s clear the Pats defense needs to indentify their weakness and one if clearly the pass rush. Fitzpatrick dropped back to pass 40 times and the 4-3 defense of New England had 0 sacks and only 2 hurries.
Buffalo(3-0) visits Cincinnati while New England(2-1) makes a trip to the West Coast to visit the Oakland Raiders.
By: Matt Romano
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent