Patriots vs. Bills: Tom Brady Sets Records as New England Creams Buffalo
Tom Brady had a record-setting day, and the New England Patriots rolled over the Buffalo Bills 34-3 on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The Bills committed seven turnovers in the cold, while the Patriots, playing in the same elements, didn't turn over the ball once. The Bills offense seemed to lack focus, as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had five turnovers on the day. By contrast, the Patriots have had nine turnovers for the entire season.
For the Patriots, they have now clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs and seem well poised to be headed to the Super Bowl one more time.
For the Bills, this was a measuring stick game to gauge how much they have improved during the past two months. As far as measuring goes, the Bills went backwards, and they did so in alarming fashion.
Tom Brady Sets Multiple Records
1 of 11
Tom Brady did not have an eye-popping day from a statistical point of view, but what he excels at is taking care of the ball. Brady went 15-of-27 for 131 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His QB passer rating was 107.0.
What was special about today's game is that Brady set an NFL record, breaking Bernie Kosar's record by throwing 319 straight passes without an interception. Brady has now gone 10 straight games without an interception. He has gone seven straight games with at least two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Brady has led the Patriots to seven straight games of at least 31 points. The Patriots team has not turned the ball over once in seven straight games, establishing another NFL record.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Has a Day to Forget
2 of 11
For the contest, Ryan Fitzpatrick went 18-of-37 for 244 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. The interceptions caused his QB passer rating to plummet to 37.1. This mark will really bring down his respectable season totals to date.
The game lowered his season rating to 81.8 and dropped him out of the NFL's top 20.
As a reflection on how strong a season that Fitzpatrick has put together, his 244 yards passing was enough for him to finish the game exactly at 3,000 yards for the year. Congratulations to Fitzpatrick for hitting the milestone.
Fitzpatrick had some chances to put some touchdowns on the board, but in three trips inside the red zone, the Bills came away without a touchdown on all of them, settling for a field goal on the first try and then losing the ball via interception or turning it over on downs.
Fitzpatrick tried to connect with Steve Johnson for a touchdown on the very first drive of the game, but one of his feet was ruled to have just touched the sideline in the end zone. Chan Gailey did not decide to challenge the ruling.
The lack of a touchdown pass broke the streak of consecutive games that Fitzpatrick had thrown a touchdown pass in at 15 straight. Fitzpatrick will now settle for the second longest such streak in Bills team history.
Fitzpatrick did have his scrambling ability on display several times, but when he did, he coughed up the ball twice via fumbles, as he seemed to have difficulty holding on to the ball in the cold weather.
Bills fans were left to wonder how much worse Fitzpatrick would have to play to have Gailey lift him for a look at Brian Brohm, the backup to Fitzpatrick that hasn't really played all season. Five turnovers for Fitzpatrick seems like a pretty long leash to give your starting quarterback.
Fred Jackson Has Nice Game, but Bills Abandoned the Run
3 of 11
Fred Jackson gained 27 yards on the opening play of the game for the Bills offense. He continued to pound the ball during the Bills' opening drive, accounting for 50 yards on just five rushes.
The Bills looked like they could run the ball at will on the Patriots in the opening drive, but oddly the Bills seemed to forget that they could run the ball, as Jackson was only handed the ball eight more times for the rest of the game.
His final totals were 13 carries for 81 yards. C.J. Spiller was also putting up some decent totals, as he came up with 30 yards on just six carries.
So with Jackson averaging 6.2 yards a carry and Spiller averaging 5.0 yards per carry, why didn't the Bills run the ball more? I am still scratching my head over that strange decision.
Too bad the Bills decided to go pass-happy because Fitzpatrick was dealing with some strong winds in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Patriots secondary came up three interceptions for the day, and several of them were really not that close to a Bills receiver.
Fred Jackson now finds himself 108 yards short of reaching 1,000 yards for the season. He has a very tough task next Sunday against the New York Jets defense, so if he falls short, no doubt he will reflect on this game, when the Bills forgot that they knew how to run the ball.
.jpg?w=256 "Cowboys Schottenheimer Football")
C.J. Spiller Has 168 All-Purpose Yards but Also Has Two More Turnovers
4 of 11
In this photo, C.J. Spiller jumped up to bring down a 41-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick. The catch was a very difficult play, but Spiller made it look easy.
It makes you wonder why the Bills have not thrown the ball to him long before this, as most of his pass targets have been of the shorter variety.
For the day, between rushes, catches and kick returns, Spiller totaled 168 all-purpose yards. It was his second straight strong game against the Patriots, as Spiller had scored both of his touchdowns against the Patriots back in Week 3.
The two fumbles by Spiller will no doubt leave Bills fans with a less than ideal image of the rookie, as his muffed punt on the final chance for the Bills offense was a pitiful attempt to catch the ball, as well as a pitiful attempt to even recover the muff.
It just seemed to be a final straw on what was a miserable day for the Bills players, coaches and fans. Not even close to the final home game result that Bills were looking to leave the fans for next year.
Patriots Moved the Ball at Will Against the Bills
5 of 11
The Patriots offense was clicking all game. They came up with 217 rushing yards on the day, as BenJarvus Green-Ellis had over 100 yards and Danny Woodhead, the pint-sized backup, just missed hitting the 100-yard mark.
Green-Ellis had 104 yards on 19 carries, while Woodhead had 93 yards on 13 carries. Woodhead scored a touchdown on a rush of 29 yards when he sped past the Bills defense in the first quarter.
The Patriots were moving the ball well enough on their own that they really didn't need any help from the Bills offense, who helped set them up in great field position throughout the game.
Seven turnovers is one thing, but if you do it often enough deep in your own end of the field, the defense really has its back to the wall. Tom Brady was seemingly afforded all day to throw the ball. Chris Kelsay did sack Brady once, but that was the extent of the pressure the Bills could muster for the day.
The Patriots offense converted on eight of 17 third down chances. They held the ball for over 32 minutes compared to 27 minutes for the Bills. They ran 69 plays compared to the Bills' 60. Despite playing in very cold weather, the Patriots never turned the ball over. The Patriots' offensive line seemed to be ready for whatever the Bills defense wanted to do.
As much progress as the Bills defense appeared to make in the win over Miami last week, they went that far backwards against the Patriots.
Akin Ayodele Had Busy Day with 17 Tackles
6 of 11
Some of the Bills' defensive players had very busy days, but none were busier more than linebacker Akin Ayodele. Ayodele had 17 tackles on the game, which means that he was really all over the field.
Fellow linebacker Paul Posluszny had 13 tackles, while safety Donte Whitner had 12 tackles of his own.
The game might have been the final time that Bills fans see Posluszny or Whitner in a Bills uniform, as both of them will be free agents at the end of the season. The Bills have extended an offer to Whitner, but Donte replied that he was hurt and offended by the size of the offer.
The Patriots did a very strong job of isolating their tight ends on Posluszny, as he was burned for a touchdown to Alge Crumpler, his first of the season. It seems that the Bills can't figure out a way how to defend against tight ends. This has been a season-long issue.
It will be interesting to see if the Bills do bring back either Whitner or Posluszny. They both are sitting in the top four tacklers in the NFL after the contest. Posluszny is No. 3 with 139, while Whitner is No. 4 with 136 tackles. They no doubt are on the radar screen of other NFL teams that are looking for help on defense, so what will the Bills do?
The agents for Whitner and Posluszny no doubt are going to use the contract that the Bills gave Chris Kelsay as a starting point in negotiations and go from there. Gulp. The Bills may regret that Kelsay deal for many reasons when it is all said and done.
Nice Game from Naaman Roosevelt
7 of 11
Naaman Roosevelt was able to give all of his local fans and friends a very nice game, as he turned out to be the Bills' leading receiver for the game. Roosevelt had four catches for 74 yards, and some of his catches were of the difficult variety.
Roosevelt looked like he belonged out there on the field, and Ryan Fitzpatrick did not hesitate to throw the ball to him.
It was evident that Roosevelt and Fitzpatrick are not on the same page on every play, as one of Fitzpatrick's three interceptions in the game was the result of him thinking Roosevelt was going to run the pattern one way, while Roosevelt went a different direction. The end result was a bad-looking pick.
For rookies like Roosevelt, this kind of game experience is invaluable to their growth and learning curve in the NFL.
Steve Johnson Tops 1,000 Yards in Receiving Yards for the Season
8 of 11
In this photo, Steve Johnson hauls in a lob pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick during the first quarter. Johnson got one foot down in the end zone, but the second foot was ruled to have touched the sideline in the end zone.
That would have provided the Bills offense with a nice start to the game, an opening touchdown drive against the Patriots. As it turned out, the Bills settled for a Rian Lindell field goal and a quick 3-0 lead. The Patriots then proceeded to score the next 34 unanswered points.
For the contest, Johnson did catch five passes for 58 yards, which allowed Johnson to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Congratulations to Steve Johnson on an outstanding season. This was a year of highs and lows for Johnson, but he has clearly left his mark that he is going to be an exciting receiver for years to come and a valuable member of the team.
Bills Lost David Nelson Early, and He Is Now Out for the Year
9 of 11
Ryan Fitzpatrick tried to hit David Nelson with a pass in the first quarter, but as you can see, Nelson was sandwiched between two Patriots defenders at the time.
The hit was severe enough that Nelson hurt his ribs on the play and never returned to the game. That left the Bills with only three healthy receivers for the rest of the game.
Nelson saw his streak of three straight games with a touchdown catch come to an abrupt halt. Chan Gailey announced after the game that Nelson would miss the season finale against the New York Jets due to the rib injury he received. Too bad this is the way that Nelson's rookie season comes to an end, because he was definitely one of the surprising bright spots for the Bills all season long.
Rob Gronkowski Puts on Show for Family
10 of 11
Coming back to Western New York for his first NFL game in Buffalo, New England rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski was hoping to put on a good show for his family and friends.
Prior to the start of the game, there was an interesting piece on Gronkowski and his brothers that aired on ESPN. Rob is one of three Gronkowski brothers that currently are playing in the NFL, and they regularly give each other a hard time about everything they do, from spiking the ball, to catches, to blocks, etc.
There was a big weight room established in the basement of their home in Williamsville, and Gronkowski showed that his weight room work paid off. His size was no match for the Bills safeties, as he hauled in two touchdowns for the day.
He led the Patriots with four catches for 54 yards and would have had more except that Tom Brady missed him badly when he was wide open deep down the middle on the first pass of the day.
The Patriots were without Gronkowski's bookend rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was inactive for the game. So between Gronkowski and Alge Crumpler, the Bills surrendered three more tight end touchdowns. This is one of the glaring weaknesses of the Bills' defensive schemes.
For Gronkowski, it was a sweet homecoming indeed.
Could There Have Been a Worse Way to Close Out the Home Schedule?
11 of 11
For all the Bills fans that went to the final home game and sat there in the freezing conditions, you should have been rewarded with a better effort from the home team.
I am sure the Bills' players did not want to go out this way. They have been working so hard to improve week to week that this has to be a stinging defeat.
The Bills now draw the season to a close when they travel to face the New York Jets, who officially claimed a wild card playoff berth this weekend. So what kind of a team will the Jets come out with next week? Will it be similar to the team that the Indianapolis Colts trotted out to finish the 2009 season?
One of the interesting byproducts of this weekend was that a number of teams that were tied with the Bills in the standings came away with a win. The bottom feeders that won were Detroit, Arizona, Cincinnati and Denver. Depending on how the strength of schedule factor is determined, the Bills right now would be looking at drafting in the second, third or fourth slot. That is a major development. Carolina has the No. 1 slot guaranteed.
You know the Bills do not want to mail it in against the Jets. They do not want to turn in dreadful showings in back-to-back weeks. But against the best record in the NFL, the Bills showed that they still have a long way to go.
.jpg?w=480 "Cowboys Schottenheimer Football")
.jpg?w=480 "49ers Future Football")
.jpg?w=600 "New Landing Spots for Trade Candidates")
.JPEG?w=600 "Every Team's Biggest Draft Needs 🙏")
