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Week 3 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 7, New England Patriots 38
What you need to know
| Buffalo Bills |
J.P. Losman was injured on the first play of the game when DL Vince Wilfork hit Losman in the knee. Losman limped around but stayed in the game for the next two plays. On third down, he failed to see CB Ellis Hobbs on a cornerback blitz and was sacked and fumbled. He did not return to the game.
QB Trent Edwards saw his first NFL action against the stout New England defense. His first drive went 80 yards over 12 plays and culminated in a touchdown run by RB Marshawn Lynch. The next five possessions resulted in zero first downs. The Bills did not put up another point following the Lynch touchdown run.
LB Paul Posluszny broke his forearm in the first half. After he left the game, the Patriots focused on pounding the ball up the middle and put up 35 unanswered points.
Marshawn Lynch was the lone bright spot for the Bills. He ran hard and willed his way into the end zone on his team's only score.
Lee Evans was targeted five times but only hauled in one catch for seven yards. No Bills' receiver ended up with more than two catches or more than 27 yards.
| New England Patriots |
The New England Patriots once again piled on the points as they put up 38 points for the third consecutive week. Fast friends QB Tom Brady and WR Randy Moss exploited the inexperienced Bills' secondary for another pair of touchdowns.
The Patriots also spread the ball around both on the ground and in the air. Four different players carried the ball and eight caught it in the air. They started off very slowly, only managing a single field goal until midway through the 2nd quarter despite two trips to the red zone. QB Tom Brady fumbled the ball while attempting to squeeze his way through the pile into the endzone for a touchdown.
The Patriots' defense dominated the Bills' offense in every fashion. After the Bills' single touchdown the Patriots' defense made some adjustments on the fly and simply shut down the Bills' offense in every way. QB Trent Edwards and his team were unable to complete a first down for five consecutive plays after their lone score.
Midway through the 4th quarter QB Matt Cassel spelled Brady but did not throw a pass, as the Patriots ran the ball to kill the clock.
TE Ben Watson caught a touchdown for the third straight game.
RB Laurence Maroney ran for 103 yards but RB Sammy Morris had the only rushing touchdown for the Patriots. Maroney was not seeing much time on 3rd down or in goal line or red zone situations.
What you ought to know
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 10 - 20 - 97 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
QB Trent Edwards had no NFL experience heading into today's game but that did not stop him from leading the Bills on a 12 play 80 yard touchdown drive on his first possession of the game. He made a nice 21 yard pass to WR Josh Reed on the sideline and converted three third downs on the drive including a 13 yard pass to WR Roscoe Parrish over the middle on third and eight.
The next five drives failed to result in a single first down and the Bills did not put up another point the rest of the way. The Patriots' defense adjusted well to the new looks the Bills were giving them on offense and the game was pretty much over in the second quarter.
His lone interception occurred after he threw the ball too high and behind the receiver in the 4th quarter. Overall, he did not look good outside of his first drive of the game where he was four for five on attempts for 55 yards. Over the rest of the game he only completed six of 15 for 42 yards. In general, the wide receivers on the Bills looked capable and willing to make the extra effort to bring in balls but Edwards' inexperience and the Patriots' mid-game defensive adjustments proved too much.
Following the QB Tom Brady goal line fumble, the Bills were pushed back deep in their zone. On the first play, Edwards nearly ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Lacking confidence in their quarterback, the Bills ran the ball on second and third downs down in an effort to give P Brian Moorman some room to punt, effectively giving up on the drive.
| QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 1 - 1 - 4 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Losman only lasted one drive in this game before leaving with an injury. On the first play, DL Vince Wilfork hit Losman in the knee. He lasted two more plays but after being sacked by CB Ellis Hobbs two plays later he never returned. He fumbled the ball on the sack.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 20 - 74 - 1, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Lynch was the lone bright spot for the Bills on either side of the ball. He bulldozed his way into the end zone on an eight yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter. His overall numbers suffered due to the team's ineptitude over the final three quarters of the game.
Lynch had the best rushing day of any running back against the Patriots so far this season. After the game was out of hand, rookie RB Dwayne Wright saw some garbage time action.
| RB Dwayne Wright, Rush: 6 - 36 - 0 |
Wright came into the game late in the fourth quarter in place of Marshawn Lynch. He averaged an impressive six yards per carry, but the game was already out of reach and the Patriots were just happy to let the time run out.
| RB Anthony Thomas |
Thomas came into the game for the Bills on a couple of third down plays but he did not touch the ball.
| WR Peerless Price, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (5 targets) |
Price caught two passes on five targets.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (2 targets) |
Reed brought in two catches and made a nice effort on a 21 yard pass from QB Trent Edwards on the sideline.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (2 targets) |
Parrish converted a third and eight pass over the middle for 13 yards during the Bills' lone touchdown drive. Otherwise, he was as quiet as the rest of the Bills' receiving core.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (5 targets) |
Evans' early season struggles continued. He hauled in a single pass for seven yards. No Bills' player caught more than two balls in the game so Evans' production issues are likely the result of a worrisome team-wide offensive problem which will likely be heightened if J.P. Losman is out for an extender period of time.
| TE Robert Royal (1 targets) |
Royal was targeted once and did not make any catches. QB Trent Edwards targeted his tight ends only three times against the Patriots.
| PK Rian Lindell 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Lindell had no field goal attempts and easily converted his only extra point attempt.
| BUF Rush Defense |
A variety of Patriots' running backs found success running the ball against the Bills' defense, especially after LB Paul Posluszny broke his forearm in the first half of the game. The Patriots then focused on running the ball up the middle and put up 35 unanswered points. The entire Bills' defense spent too much time on the field while the offense limped through five consecutive possessions without a first down.
The Patriots held the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer than the Bills' offense.
The Patriots gained 177 total yards on the ground for an average of 4.7 yards a carry.
| BUF Pass Defense |
The Bills' young secondary was brutalized by QB Tom Brady. The lack of experience in the secondary really hurt the Bills especially on another 45 yard pass to Moss in which he was left wide open running down the sideline.
Also following the injury to Posluszny, the Bills featured a nickel defensive formation for most of the game.
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 23 - 29 - 311 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Brady had all day to pass as the Bills only mustered a single sack and very little pressure. It seemed as if Brady was exercising his will against the depleted and inexperienced Bills' defense.
His 45 yard touchdown toss to WR Randy Moss was perfectly placed as Moss only had to reach up and snatch the ball out of the air as he scampered into the endzone. He also hit a wide open Moss earlier in the game for another 45 yard pass.
He fumbled the ball on the Bills' goal line in the second quarter while trying to sneak into the end zone.
He continued to spread the ball around -- throwing balls to eight different receivers and handing off to four different running backs.
| QB Matt Cassel |
Cassel relieved QB Tom Brady in the fourth quarter but did not attempt any passes.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 19 - 103 - 0 (1 targets) |
Maroney was the featured running back for the Patriots and he rushed for over 100 yards against the Bills. It was the third time Maroney has hit the century mark in his career. He failed to get into the end zone despite an ample supply of scoring chances for the Patriots.
The Patriots continued to feature a cadre of running backs. In goal line situations, RB Heath Evans and RB Sammy Morris were usually featured in the backfield. On 3rd downs, RB Kevin Faulk stepped in.
Maroney was also not a primary (or secondary) receiving target for QB Tom Brady coming out of the backfield but he did average almost five and a half yards per carry.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 12 - 46 - 1 |
Morris was a key aspect of the Patriots' rushing attack against the Bills. While spelling RB Laurence Maroney, Morris managed 46 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He did not catch the ball during the game.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0, Rec: 5 - 38 - 0 (5 targets) |
Faulk had 54 total yards on two rushing attempts and five receptions. On 4th and seven in the 2nd quarter, Faulk was stopped inches on short of converting the 1st down on a reception.
Faulk was QB Tom Brady's favorite target out of the backfield and he was featured on 3rd down extensively.
| WR Wes Welker, Rec: 6 - 69 - 0 (6 targets) |
Welker caught several balls over the middle and helped to spark the Patriots after some early team struggles.
On his longest reception of the day, he lateraled the ball to WR Randy Moss as he was going down which resulted in an additional eleven yards on the play. That type of heads-up play is going to make him a favorite of the coaching staff, his quarterback, and the fans.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 5 - 115 - 2 (7 targets) |
Moss had another spectacular game for the Patriots. He had two receptions of 45 yards including a stellar touchdown pass where he just need to reach up and grab the ball while running into the endzone. Brady placed the ball where only the tall receiver could grab it.
WR Wes Welker also lateraled the ball to Moss in the third quarter. Welker had already gained 28 yards but the pitch to Moss resulted in another 11 yards and the subsequent play resulted in a touchdown for the Patriots. It was a heads-up play for both wide receivers.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 2 - 15 - 1 (3 targets) |
Gaffney caught two passes including a short touchdown toss from QB Tom Brady. He was only targeted three times and was overshadowed by the output of WR Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 1 - 28 - 0 (1 targets) |
Stallworth only caught a single pass for 28 yards and was very quiet overall. QB Tom Brady had little need to check down on his receiving options as WR Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker had big days against the young and inexperienced secondary for the Bills.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 2 - 17 - 1 (2 targets) |
Watson caught a touchdown for the third straight game in the first quarter.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
Gostkowski nailed five extra points and was good on his only field goal attempt.
| NE Rush Defense |
The entire Patriots' defense was solid in every facet. RB Marshawn Lynch ran the ball well but the Patriots held him to only 74 yards on the ground (which was still the best effort against the Patriots to date). At one point in the game, the Bills endured five consecutive possessions without a first down. By the time the Bills managed a first down, the game was already out of hand. Outside of the one touchdown drive, the Patriots' only allowed only three first downs (all of which were in the final quarter).
| NE Pass Defense |
The Patriots' let up a few big pass plays to QB Trent Edwards on his first possession of the game. It appeared like the Bills' offense was giving the Patriots' defense some unfamiliar formations and looks up front. But what makes the Patriots so dangerous is their ability to adjust within the flow of the game, and they did just that. After the touchdown run by RB Marshawn Lynch the Patriots put the clamps down and the Bills' offense was unable to muster anything of note for the rest of the game.
The Patriots also had two sacks as well a fumble recovery on the cornerback blitz by CB Ellis Hobbs which knocked Losman out of the game for good. Losman never saw Hobbs coming.
Training camp holdout CB Asante Samuel had the Patriots' only interception of the day.
