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.