Week 1 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 17, New England Patriots 19

What you need to know

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills played a near perfect first half and came out in the second half looking to build on a 17 – 7 lead when the Patriots’ defense held firm on a fourth and one play at the seven yard line. J.P. Losman played with much more poise and maturity than he showed in 2005 completing 15 of 23 pass attempts for 126 yards. He made an outstanding play on the Bills’ first drive recovering a botched snap and making a perfect throw to Josh Reed to move the team out of the shadows of their own goal line.

Willis McGahee began the game running strong and looking more decisive in his cuts but struggled after tweaking his ankle in the first half. He played through the injury but was less effective after getting the ankle re-taped. Anthony Thomas scored the team’s only offensive touchdown with a nice 18 yard jaunt while filling in for McGahee.

Buffalo’s defense came out fast on the Patriots with a surprise blitz on the Patriots’ first snap. A sack by Takeo Spikes forced a Tom Brady fumble that London Fletcher-Baker recovered and advanced five yards into the end zone to put the Bills up 7 – 0 after twelve seconds. The Bills’ offensive line harassed Tom Brady the entire first half forcing him to rush throws and batting down his pass attempts. Rookie Donte Whitner recorded his first interception of his career after entering the game to replace Troy Vincent who left in the first half with a left leg injury.

New England Patriots

It was a tale of two halves for the New England Patriots. They struggled mightily in the first half and allowed the Bills to march down the field to their own seven to start the second stanza only to have the defense once again step up and provide the impetus to a comeback victory. After stopping Willis McGahee on a fourth and one attempt at their own seven, Tom Brady led the team on a twelve play 93 yard touchdown drive capped by a perfect pass to Kevin Faulk from 17 yards out.

Brady struggled in the first half completing just three of 11 passes and was under constant pressure by the Bills’ defense. One of Brady’s completions was a touchdown strike to Troy Brown on the team’s second possession. Brady finished the afternoon 11 of 23 for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

Rookie Laurence Moroney and Corey Dillon combined to carry the ball 33 times for 159 yards. Dillon’s power and Moroney’s quickness and strength look to be a perfect combination for the Patriots. The Patriots dressed only three wide receivers and tight end Ben Watson led the team with three receptions for 50 yards. Newly acquired Doug Gabriel was inactive for this game with an injured groin.

It was a safety recorded by the Patriots in the fourth quarter when Ty Warren took J.P. Losman down in the end zone, that led to their victory.

What you ought to know

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 15 - 23 - 164 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0

Losman showed poise and maturity two characteristics missing in his game in 2005. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 126 yards. Losman’s athleticism was evident on the team’s first offensive series when he recovered an errant snap at his own five and maintained his cool and completed a 20 yard strike to Josh Reed. Losman was tackled in his end zone for a safety in the second half as the Patriots turned up the pressure on the Bills’ offense.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 20 - 70 - 0, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (2 targets)

McGahee rushed 20 times for 70 yards and added two catches for 20 yards. Early on he looked quick and decisive to the hole. McGahee tweaked his ankle on the team’s first offensive possession but returned after missing a series getting the ankle re-taped. He also caught both passes thrown in his direction for 24 yards.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 3 - 29 - 1, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets)

Thomas played during the Bills’ second offensive possession and ran three times for 29 yards including and 18 yard touchdown run as McGahee tweaked an ankle and was being re-taped. He also had two catches for 19 yards

WR Peerless Price, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (4 targets)

Price made his return the team of his best success and finished with three catches for 25 yards. Price had a ten yard reception called back on a holding call.

WR Josh Reed, Rec: 3 - 40 - 0 (5 targets)

Reed started opposite Lee Evans for the Bills and led the team with three catches for 40 yards. He made an outstanding toe tapping catch on the sidelines to prolong a scoring drive for the Bills in the first half.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (5 targets)

Evans caught two of the five balls thrown in his direction and did not register a catch until early in the second half.

WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (3 targets)

Parrish caught two of the three balls thrown his way for twenty yards.

TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (2 targets)

The former Washington Redskins’ tight end contributed one catch for 14 yards.

PK Rian Lindell 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points

Lindell was perfect on the day converting two extra point attempts and booming a 53 yard field goal.

BUF Rush Defense

The Bills gave up 183 yards rushing to the Patriots on 43 attempts. London Fletcher-Baker led the Bills with nine tackles. Fletcher-Baker also recovered a Tom Brady fumble and returned it five yards for the Bills’ first touchdown of 2006

BUF Pass Defense

The Buffalo pass defense started the game with a lot of pressure on Tom Brady including a sack forcing a fumble and scoring a touchdown 12 seconds into the new season. The team held Brady in check in the first half limiting him to three completions on 11 attempts as they batted down a number of his throws and harassed him into early misfires. They sacked the Patriots’ quarterback three times and rookie first round pick Donte Whitner, filling in for the injured Troy Vincent, recorded his first interception of his career.

QB Tom Brady, Pass: 11 - 23 - 163 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 3 - 0

Brady opened the 2006 season with a fumble that led to an early opposition touchdown. He struggled throughout the first half of the game completing three of 11 attempts. One of the completions was a touchdown pass to Troy Brown. Truer to form Brady was much more accurate in the second half and led the team on a 93 yards scoring drive on the team’s first possession of the second stanza. He punctuated that touchdown drive with a perfect 17 yard strike to running back Kevin Faulk.

RB Corey Dillon, Rush: 16 - 73 - 0, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets)

Dillon looking more slender than last season carried the ball 16 times for 73 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards. Dillon shared carries equally with rookie Laurence Moroney on first and second downs.

RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 17 - 86 - 0 (2 targets)

The first round pick wasted little time showing his burst as he took his first two carries a total of 50 yards. The rookie finished with 86 yards on 17 carries. He does need to work on his pass catching skills as both balls thrown his way went through his hands as he looked to move up field before securing the football.

RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 3 - 21 - 0, Rec: 1 - 17 - 1 (2 targets)

Faulk continues to be the Patriots’ third down back and with the team only dressing three wide receivers for the game, he lined up a number of times as a wide receiver. He finished with one catch for 17 yards as he stretched out nicely, diving for a touchdown to pull the team within three points in the second half.

WR Troy Brown, Rec: 2 - 18 - 1 (3 targets)

The reliable and versatile Troy Brown was one of three receivers dressed for the Patriots on the opening Sunday. Brown had the team’s first touchdown as he found a hole in the defense and caught the nine yard strike for Tom Brady. Brown finished with two catches for 18 yards.

WR Reche Caldwell, Rec: 2 - 33 - 0 (4 targets)

The former Charger was one of three wide receivers available to the Patriots on the afternoon and only he and Troy Brown caught passes on the day. Caldwell finished with two catches for 33 yards.

WR Doug Gabriel

Gabriel was a game day scratch with a groin injury.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (7 targets)

Watson proved to be quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite target and caught three of the seven balls thrown his way for 50 yards.

TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 1 - 23 - 0 (3 targets)

With the Patriots dressing only three wide receivers tight ends Graham and Watson figured to be key targets in their passing attack. Graham finished with one reception for 23 yards on the afternoon but made several key blocks to open holes for the Patriots’ running game.

PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points

The rookie kicker was perfect on the afternoon converting two extra points and a 32 yard game tying field goal.

NE Rush Defense

The Patriots’ rush defense struggled early getting gashed for yards by both McGahee and Thomas including missing a couple of tackles on Thomas’ 18 yard touchdown run. But on a key play on the Bills’ first drive of the second half they stuffed McGahee on a fourth and one at their own seven. The stop turned the momentum in the game and keyed the team’s comeback. Newly acquired Junior Seau and safety Eugene Wilson led the team with five tackles apiece.

NE Pass Defense

The Patriots’ pass defense limited the Bills to 164 yards passing and did not allow a touchdown. Ty Warren sacked J.P. Losman in the end zone for a safety and the Patriots' margin of victory. Rosevelt Colvin and Richard Seymour also had a sack each on the game. The Patriots did not force a turnover during the game.