Most of the day the Patriots looked like the Bills usually do when they play New England.
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On the day Tom Brady’s infamous four-game Deflategate suspension ended, the New England Patriots were exceedingly transparent and straightforward about their plans to re-acclimate their franchise quarterback after …
No, the Jets didn’t capitalize on Tom Brady’s absence, but let’s be honest: Only a 4-0 record would’ve accomplished that, and there’s no way they were going to win every game against such a hard schedule. But there is reason to hope things are on the upswing after Sunday’s 16-0 victory over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
The Bills scored on each of their first three possessions with a touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor to LeSean McCoy followed by a pair of field goal drives.
Coach Bill Belichick was less than forthcoming when he was asked that question during his teleconference Monday morning. The last Bills’ shutout win away from Orchard Park was 23-0 over Washington in a Buffalo “home” game at Toronto on October 30, 2011. In his second year as a starter, he has found confidence with his throwing. He caught one pass for 11 yards. “And yesterday, the Bills beat them”.
Brissett saw his second National Football League start on Sunday, as backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was inactive for the game, likely still dealing with the injury to his right shoulder he sustained during Week 2.
The Patriots (3-1) converted just one of 12 attempts on third down and finished with just 13 first downs, including just two in the second half.
BB: It wasn’t good enough in any area.
“But we know we have a good football team, we just needed to stick together and that’s what we’ve done and dug ourselves out of this hole”. “It’s unfortunate the world we live in, but obviously I have to be more aware of certain situations like that”.
The latest bad blood between AFC East Division rivals began about an hour before kickoff, when several punches were thrown during an on-field altercation.
The Bills were able to prevent Brissett from making an impact during the match.
And it came after Brissett and fellow rookie Malcolm Mitchell became involved in a pregame fracas, Buffalo players swinging wildly and perhaps even hitting Patriots assistant coach Brendan Daly.
Bills coach Rex Ryan was his usual bombastic self, declaring after the game that he had “inside sources” which told him that Brissett would be starting in place of the injured second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Harbor appeared in three games with New England, mainly on special teams, and did not register any statistics.
Heading into the season, 2-2 after the first four games was acceptable.
All of it without their four-time Super Bowl winning QB.
Sunday, Patriots fans got an up close and personal view of what it’s like being a fan in about 25 other regions of the country.
“I think we have a disciplined team”, said Bills safety Robert Blanton.
“We just put it into our mind that he’s a third-string quarterback, make him look like a third-string quarterback”, linebacker Zach Brown said. “I think it’s clear today we also had the better team”. “They got to prepare just like we do”. TE Rob Gronkowski, who played sparingly in his 2016 debut September 22, had his first reception of the season Sunday.
INJURIES: Patriots DT Vincent Valentine left in the third quarter with a back injury.
Q: What are your thoughts on Tom Brady’s return tomorrow?
But he did admit, “God, it feels good to finally win here.
It’s satisfying. But let’s face it: They had a player out”.
“Anytime one of your best players isn’t there, there’s something missing”, said Edelman.
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BB: We did the inactives today.
