Bills vs. Patriots: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

For three weeks, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick worked his magic and made quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension seem like a minor inconvenience. On the fourth week, the clock struck midnight.

Buffalo Bills signal-caller Tyrod Taylor threw for 246 yards as his team's defense held the Patriots offense in check on the way to a 16-0 victory Sunday, marking the first time the Patriots have ever gone scoreless at Gillette Stadium, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.

It was the first time they've been shut out in general since December 2006. 

The win snapped Bills head coach Rex Ryan's four-game losing streak against Belichick, his longtime AFC East rival. The Patriots coach had won nine of their last 10 matchups. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the disparity before the game:

All of the pregame stats in the world couldn't keep Ryan from engaging in his typical animated antics.

Ryan began the week with a deadpan impression of Belichick before later posing as a reporter, asking receiver Julian Edelman whether he would play quarterback. Patriots president Jonathan Kraft cited Ryan's nature when discussing a pregame scuffle instigated by Bills safety Robert Blanton.

"That gets back to Rex," Kraft told 98.5 The Sports Hub (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com). "I think if you are less than disciplined in your personal approach, your team will take on the attitude of the coach...My guess is Rex probably loves that. That's why Rex is Rex. And that's why Bill [Belichick] is Bill."

Edelman lined up at quarterback for a read-option play but was otherwise at his normal receiver spot while rookie Jacoby Brissett earned his second straight start under center. Playing despite an injured thumb ligament in his throwing hand, Brissett finished with 205 yards on 17-of-27 passing. A large chunk of that came on a 58-yard completion to Martellus Bennett, with Brissett spending most of his day making short, underneath throws.

Seven Patriots drives ended in five or fewer plays, and they squandered their few scoring chances. Brissett lost a fumble inside the red zone after Bennett's big catch, and Stephen Gostkowski missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt on New England's first drive of the second half.

Will Carroll of All22.com noted Brissett's thumb injury likely played a part in his fumble:

LeGarrette Blount, who entered the week leading the NFL in rushing, was held to 54 yards on 13 carries. Blount was coming off consecutive 100-yard performances and had at least 22 carries in each of the first three weeks.

In contrast, the Bills looked steady for the second straight week after firing offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Taylor completed 27 of his 39 passes while taking the underneath routes the Patriots were giving him. Three Bills made at least five receptions, highlighted by a seven-grab, 89-yard performance from Robert Woods.

Buffalo was playing without top receiver Sammy Watkins, whom the team placed on injured reserve Friday because of a lingering foot injury. The offense nonetheless produced 24 first downs and held possession for more than 36 minutes.

Sigmund Bloom of FootballGuys.com was surprised by the Patriots' defensive struggles:

LeSean McCoy continued his bounce-back season by scoring a touchdown and going over 100 total yards for the second straight week. McCoy has rushed for 100-plus yards only once this season, but he's been a huge facet in the passing game. He and Taylor connected from seven yards out in the first quarter for the game's only touchdown.

Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated was impressed:

The Bills, seemingly on the brink of internal collapse after Week 2, suddenly look like New England's biggest AFC East threat. They've reeled off consecutive victories over 2015 division winners, appear to have harmony on their offensive staff and have looked strong defensively in three of their four games.

Albert Breer of NFL Network noted the Bills' about-face:

With winnable upcoming games against the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, Buffalo could be sitting at 5-2 when it meets New England again in Week 8.

The Patriots team that makes the trip to Buffalo will look more familiar than Sunday's outfit. Brady will return next Sunday from his Deflategate suspension, and Rob Gronkowski should be closer to 100 percent after being limited to one catch, his first of the year, for 11 yards Sunday.

The Patriots came out of Brady's suspension in better shape than expected. They're 3-1 with a one-game division lead and may have found long-term trade bait, or a Brady replacement, in backup Jimmy Garoppolo.

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Postgame Reaction

Belichick commented on the offense's struggles: "It wasn't good enough in any area. Obviously, we were in a lot of third-and-longs so that wasn't good. A lot of third-down problems are related to first and second-down and it wasn't good enough on third-down. It's pretty obvious."

Gronkowski discussed Brady's return: "You've got to give hats off to Jacoby [Brissett] today going out there. Much respect to him going out there and doing what he did today as a rookie, so hats off to our quarterbacks. They did a tremendous job the first four weeks and obviously it's exciting to get Tom back tomorrow."

Ryan said he knew all along Brissett would start, per Matthew Fairburn of NewYorkUpstate.com: "My sources inside the New England Patriot building said that Jacoby Brissett would be the quarterback. How's that? I'll stir some stuff up. Who was it? I don't know who it was."

He expanded on the Patriots' situation: "Yeah, they're different. I've got news for you: Garoppolo's not Tom Brady, either. It ain't close. Garoppolo's a good player, but there's only one Tom Brady."

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.