Bills @ Patriots Week One

After a flurry of off-season acquisitions, including wide receiver Terrell Owens and former Arizona middle linebacker Gerald Hayes, the Bills seemed ready to take on the Beasts of the AFC East, the New England Patriots, who were welcoming back future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady did not seem to miss a step after missing an entire season due to knee injury, as he dissected the Buffalo secondary. His favorite targets were Wes Welker and running back Fred Taylor, who topped off a seventy-yard drive with a ten yard reception for a touchdown. Buffalo’s ensuing possession never got off the ground, and the Bills went three and out. Brady answered with another well-orchestrated scoring drive, dishing to Taylor on a screen pass. A few key blocks and sixty-four yards later, and the game looked to be getting out of hand quickly.
On the next Bills drive, however, Marshawn Lynch showed a welcomed spark of life, as he took a sweep play 56 yards to the endzone. After a Fred Taylor fumble, the Bills were able to put up an additional three points, narrowing the score to 10-14. Rookie Free Safety Jarius Byrd then picked off a pass intended for Welker, bringing the ball inside the Patriot 10 yard line. Lynch was able to clean up from there, and Buffalo found themselves in the lead, 17-14.
After a number of impressive defensive stops by both teams, the Patriots were able to get things rolling once again. Utilizing screen passes and QB rollouts to avoid pressure from Buffalo’s front four, Brady was able to keep the Bills on their heels, once again connecting on a short pass to Taylor that he took the distance, sixty-nine yards for his third receiving touchdown of the game.
Buffalo’s offense continued to struggle against a strong Patriot Defense, led by middle linebacker Jerrod Mayo. Well-timed blitzes kept Marshawn Lynch from breaking free on any more long runs, and put too much pressure on QB Trent Edwards. It was soon apparent that, beyond the first Lynch rush that went for six points, the only reason Buffalo was able to score was the field position provide them by defensive turnovers. Rarely was the Bills offense able to cross midfield, and when they did, their drives sputtered out before they could enter field goal range. Sammy Morris would tack on a receiving touchdown of his own late in the game to seal the deal, and Brady earned a triumphant return as the Pats won 28-17.

MVP: Fred Taylor - 40 yards rushing, 155 receiving, 3 TDs
Rookies: Darius Butler (NE) - Covered receivers well, picked up a sack in his NFL debut
Jarius Byrd (BUF) - Four tackles and the first INT of his career.

Bills vs Patriots

In the season opener, the Buffalo Bills traveled to Foxboro, MA, to take on the New England Patriots. The main attractions before kickoff were the recent addition of T.O. to the Bills, and the return of Patriot’s QB Tom Brady. However, only one of those would actually prove to make a difference.

In the opening drive of the game, the Patriots moved the ball slowly but steadily down the field. Each team seemed to be feeling the other out, as there were not dynamic plays during the drive. That is, until the Pats reached the red zone.

Threatening to take an early lead, Brady and the Pats were knocking on the door. Just as they were on the verge of putting the first points on the board, Buffalo cornerback Terrence McGee out-leapt Brady’s receiver in the endzone for an interception. A quick move and 99 yards later, Buffalo had scored their (and Brady’s) first TD of the season with a pick six.

Determined to shake off his initial misstep, Brady came out firing in his next possession. After picking apart the Buffalo defense with short slants and flat routes, Brady uncorked a ball toward familiar target Randy Moss. Though Leodis McKelvin tried to defend against the pass, there are few in the league who will win a jump-ball against Moss. Moss came down with the ball, and McKelvin just came down, leaving Moss daylight and a 58 yard score.

After a few sputtering drives, the Buffalo offense began clicking, thanks to some key plays by running back Marshawn Lynch and rookie Shawn Nelson, not to mention a great diving catch by T.O. on 3^rd and 10 to keep the drive alive. QB Trent Edwards capped the drive with an 8 yard pass to TE Mark Campbell for the touchdown.

Back at the helm, Brady continued his dissection of the Buffalo defense, utilizing halfbacks Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk in the passing game before connecting on an 8 yard TD of his own to WR Wes Welker. Trent Edwards would try to fire back, but with only 16 seconds and 80 yards to go, he wasn’t able to score before the half. Patriot linebacker Jerrod Mayo snuffed out the drive at the 40 yard line with an interception. He’d finish the day with four tackles.

The Bills’ possession to start the 3^rd was fortunate to reach the thirty yard line, where Rian Lindell knocked in a 48 yard field goal to put Buffalo ahead 17-14. Just over a minute later, though, Brady hit receiver Greg Lewis for a 20 yard TD strike, putting the Pats on top for the first time of the game.

The Bills’ offense continued to struggle, having to convert two fourth downs to keep their hopes alive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Not wanting to risk an interception so late in the game, Lynch carried the Bills into scoring position, setting up a 5 yard dish from Edwards to backup RB Fred Jackson for the go ahead TD with less than two and a half minutes remaining.

Two minutes, though, is a lot of time. For an ace QB like Tom Brady, it’s an eternity. With superb clock management and precision passing, Brady led the Pats into scoring position for the third time. A goal-line tackle left the Pats at the one yard line, and TE Alex Smith ended up punching it in for the game winning rushing touchdown, marking the game as a successful, if not perfect, comeback for Brady.

Final Score: Bills 24, Patriots 28
MVP: Tom Brady, 340 yards, 1 INT, 3 TDs, 24/29.

Rookies: Pats - CB Darius Butler covered his assignments well and recorded two tackles.

Bills - 6 rookies, 5 defensive, saw playing time. Aaron Maybin (RE) collected two tackles and a sack. TE Shawn Nelson led the team with 64 yards in four receptions.