But so do the wins.
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It is no secret that the New England Patriots have a healthy rivalry with Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan, one in which they have consistently had the upper hand dating back to his days as the coach of the NY Jets.
It led to an uneven win. I didn’t think that was our best.
New England Patriots running back James White (28) scores a… “I’m ready to go,”‘ Ryan said.
The Patriots improved to 10-0 this season as Brady completed 20 of 39 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown at Gillette Stadium.
New England’s depleted offense goes scoreless in a quarter for just the second time all season, while the defense shuts down Buffalo when it counts. Watkins got a step on Malcolm Butler but the ball was underthrown. “He doesn’t take risks”.
During his post-game press conference, Ryan was apparently not aware of the play call.
“I mean, guys are going to go down”, White said.
LeSean McCoy topped 100 yards from scrimmage for the fourth straight week, running for the Bills only touchdown. But he also dropped a touchdown pass.
Dan Carpenter’s 33-yard field goal made it 20-13 with 3:30 left to play.
SHOULDERING THE LOAD: Tyrod Taylor was 20 of 36 for 233 yards for Buffalo.
First Star: Cornerback Malcolm Butler held wide receiver Sammy Watkins to one reception for 15 yards (albeit an awesome one handed grab) on four targets, before an 8 yard catch with no time on the clock. Taylor took a big hit and landed on his shoulder late, leading to some struggles with arm strength down the stretch.
In any case, it’s clear the defense did its job Monday night.
That left Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski – who had made all 22 of his attempts this season and his previous 52 at home – with a 54-yard attempt. With defenders bearing down on him, the sideline judge blew his whistle, perhaps to save a franchise quarterback from taking a shot on the sidelines. Take off those annoying trousers, and join us in the open thread tonight. “As a player, they teach you to play to the whistle”.
With both Lewis and receiver Julian Edelman out, the Patriots have admitted that they’ll need other players to up their level of production to help fill the void. “So that’s how they came to that decision”. To Gene Steratore from us all, that was pathetic. “They’re a good team”, said Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was limited to two catches.
NOTES: Game time temperature was 29 degrees with a wind chill of 21….
The troll game of the Patriots is strong.
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As the wins keep mounting, so do the injury concerns for New England’s football team. QB EJ Manuel was Buffalo’s backup with Josh Johnson inactive….
