It wouldn’t be the most personable of moves towards its former quarterback but as the Packer-Favre situation proved, football is a business even when dealing with a legendary quarterback.
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The Bills might have shown other National Football League teams how to slow down quarterback Tom Brady and his offense, but there’s reason to fear the Patriots’ defense now.
The match officials meanwhile found themselves at the center of a freakish incident in the third quarter which may have cost the Patriots an Amendola touchdown. To add another hurdle for the Pats Bill Belichick’s team once again has to deal with the adversity of injuries.
NEXT MAN UP: Brady hit White for a 20-yard score that was the first touchdown of the running back’s career. “It’s our first year together so everybody can’t look at us and expect us to be on the same page Brady is with his guys or any other quarterback who had plenty of time – three, four years with those guys”. The Patriots offense didn’t suffer because of injuries at skill positions, or because of the offensive line play, or because of Rex Ryan’s game plan, or because of Tom Brady’s frustration with the offensive line play (and probably the injuries at the skill positions).
Two games ago, Brady lost slot receiver Julian Edelman to a broken foot.
The Patriots were down to two receivers and one of them, Chris Harper, had just been brought back from the practice squad.
Their prized tight end, Charles Clay had just three targets and one grab.
“We have a lot of unusual terms”, Brady said.
“I’m not going into a game trying to force it one guy or another”, he said. “It wasn’t necessarily what we wanted it to be, but it was good enough”.
The young QB could be seen nursing his right shoulder in the fourth quarter as he tried to orchestrate a comeback that fell short when wide receiver Sammy Watkins caught a pass near midfield, rolled out of bounds, yet was ruled inbound with the clock ticking down to zero. Williams did not return after being hurt in the second half. Amendola appeared to have a virtual clear run to the end zone with just one defender between him and a touchdown. The Bills would form a wall of defenders about 8 yards off the ball, content to give Amendola a 4-yard pass underneath but then swarm to the ball.
“It’s a new system that he’s putting in, and every week they’ve gotten better”, said Chiefs coach Andy Reid of his buddy, Rex. That’s a mistake and we shouldn’t have blown the whistle. They test you with different blitz looks and so forth.
New England’s Stephen Gostkowski kicked two field goals but also missed for the first time this season in a game that saw several players injured.
– Cannon whiffed on a block late in the first quarter of a 2-yard loss by Blount.
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LeSean McCoy, who loves the big spotlight, had a strong rushing game with 82 yards on 20 carries, including a 27-yard TD gallop that tied the game, 10-10, early in the third quarter.
