Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 10 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL at HOU | BUF at NE | CAR at OAK | DEN at CLE | GB at MIN | IND at PIT | JAX at DET | KC at SD |
| NO at ATL | NYG at PHI | SEA at MIA | SF at ARI | STL at NYJ | TEN at CHI | ||
Week 10 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 10, New England Patriots 20
What you need to know
| Buffalo Bills |
Buffalo is now a team free falling and their 4--0 start is a distant memory. They struggled all afternoon to grind out ten first downs and 180 yards of total offense. Their offensive line wasn't able to open holes and the Bills' runners weren't fast enough to get outside. Their rushing attack was held to 60 yards and failed to pick up a first down until the third quarter. Marshawn Lynch, who still hasn't gained one hundred yards in a game this season, managed to pick up 46 yards mostly on his own. Fred Jackson added 14 yards on four carries and 11 more yards on two pass receptions.
Buffalo receivers didn't have time to get deep because of the wicked pass rush. The longest completion went for 15 yards and Trent Edwards wound up with only 120 passing yards on the day. He was sacked twice, intercepted twice, and pressured into several bad passes. With less than two minutes in the game, following New England's final TD, Leodis McKelvin returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards. Edwards then threw a 14 yard pass down the right sideline to James Hardy for Buffalo's only score. Lee Evans didn't catch a pass in the first half and was held to two grabs for 22 yards. Roscoe Parrish led the Bills with four catches for 31 yards.
The inept Bills' offense meant the defense had to fend for itself. By the fourth quarter they were so worn out that the Patriots were able to sustain a 90 yard, 19 play drive that ate up over nine minutes that resulted in the proverbial nail in the coffin touchdown.
| New England Patriots |
The Patriots' balanced attack was relentless. They picked up 11 first downs rushing, 11 first downs passing, and controlled the ball for over 37 minutes. As a team, New England generated 144 rushing yards as rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis averaged four yards per carry and topped 100 yards for the first time in his career.
The basic game plan involved Randy Moss going deep to pull defenders downfield while Wes Welker cut across the field through the vacated area. When Cassel didn't find either of them open he was often presented with a soft Bills' secondary. He scored the game's first touchdown on a 13 yard scramble up the middle and later picked up key first downs the very same way. Cassel is developing poise and is starting to look more comfortable in the pocket. He completed 23 of 34 for 234 yards, and while he failed to throw a TD pass he also failed to throw an interception. In the fourth quarter and only up by ten points, he directed a 90 yard, 19 play drive that ate up over nine minutes and led to their final touchdown.
Welker caught ten passes for 107 yards - which set an NFL record for catching at lease six passes in nine straight games to start a season - while Moss added 53 yards on five balls. The key to success was pass protection. Cassel wasn't touched in their last game against the Colts, and he was only sacked once in this game.
The New England defense pressured Trent Edwards all afternoon, sacking him twice and pressuring him into two interceptions and several bad throws. They played physically against Lee Evans, rolled coverage to his side, and limited him to just two receptions. One of their interceptions was a pass intended for Evans.
What you ought to know
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 13 - 23 - 120 - 1 TD / 2 INT |
Edwards is not getting much help from his offensive line. The Buffalo running game has been anemic lately and when he tries to pass he doesn't have much time to find receivers downfield. His lone TD pass came late in the game after New England had gone up 20--3. Rookie Leodis McKelvin returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards and Edwards connected with another rookie, James Hardy, for the touchdown. Edwards is intelligent, young, and still learning, but based on recent games he seems to be regressing. Or maybe the entire team is sliding and he is just along for the ride. Edwards earned a QB rating of 49.2.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 14 - 46 - 0 (2 targets) |
New England was determined to shut down the Bills' rushing attack so Lynch had to gain his 46 yards the hard way, literally inch by inch. So far this season, Lynch has failed to gain 100 yards in a game while averaging 3.6 yards per carry. He was expected to have an expanded role in the passing attack but was only targeted twice in this game and failed to catch either one.
| RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 4 - 14 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) |
While Jackson is usually the quickest player on the field he couldn't shake any Patriot defenders. His role was limited in this game because the offense was only on the field a little more than 22 minutes.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (4 targets) |
Parrish was only targeted in the first half but led all Buffalo receivers with four grabs for 31 yards. Buffalo seldom had time to send him on deeper patterns, but he was able to catch short underneath passes and pick up additional yardage.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (3 targets) |
The Patriots decided to take Evans out of this game by playing him physically at the line and rolling a safety to his side. The first pass thrown to him, an intermediate range slant pattern, was over thrown and intercepted by Ellis Hobbs. If Edwards had been given time to find other receivers, or if the running game had been more effective, losing Evans like this would not have been so devastating.
| WR James Hardy, Rec: 2 - 21 - 1 (4 targets) |
Hardy's development has been disappointing so far this season. The injury to Josh Reed was supposed to be opportunity knocking but he has been slow to take advantage. With less than two minutes in this game, however, Edwards found him down the right sideline in single coverage. The ball was thrown a little short but Hardy caught it around the two yard line and stepped into the end zone for the Bills only TD.
| WR Steve Johnson, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) |
Buffalo's seventh round draft pick from Kentucky caught the only pass thrown to him, a 15 yard sideline route in the second quarter.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) |
Royal managed to catch one of the three hurried passes that came his way.
| TE Derek Schouman, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
While New England was busy packing eight defenders in the box and double Evans, Schouman was one of the Buffalo receivers who were ignored. He caught the only pass thrown to him for a 15 yard gain.
| PK Rian Lindell 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Lindell hit a 15 yard field goal and converted his only extra point.
| BUF Rush Defense |
The Bills defense was handled pretty well by the now healthy Patriots offensive line. Green-Ellis averaged four yards per carry and scored a touchdown and Matt Cassel also scrambled 13 yards for a score.
| BUF Pass Defense |
Buffalo tried various blitz packages but rarely got within sniffing distance of Cassel. They were probably most successful when 6'7" DE Ryan Denney, filling in for Aaron Schobel, batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage.
| QB Matt Cassel, Pass: 23 - 34 - 234 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 9 - 22 - 1 |
Cassel is developing poise and is starting to look more comfortable directing the Patriot offense. He completed 23 of 34 for 234 yards, and while he failed to throw a TD pass he also failed to throw an interception. With New England clinging to a ten point lead in the fourth quarter, he directed a 90 yard, 19 play drive that ate up over nine minutes and led to their final touchdown.
| RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Rush: 26 - 105 - 1 (1 targets) |
The rookie who is jokingly referred to as "the law firm" by his team mates broke 100 yards for the first time in his short career and scored a TD in his fourth straight game. He shows great patience setting up his blocks but also knows when to hit a hole quickly. With the New England offense line healthy again Green-Ellis has to be accounted for by opposing defensive coordinators and he certainly has a nose for the end zone.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 5 - 9 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (4 targets) |
One of the many unsung Patriot heroes in this game, Faulk's numbers don't jump off the page at you. He only picked up nine yards on the ground and another nine yards on a pass play. He saw lots of work on passing plays. Faulk understands pass protection assignments as well as anyone in the league.
| RB Heath Evans, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 |
In limited duty, Evans picked up a key first down on a third and one play in the third quarter.
| WR Wes Welker, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 10 - 107 - 0 (11 targets) |
Most passes to Welker are thrown under the coverage and he leads the league in yards after the catch. Buffalo had no answer for Welker. His longest reception went for 27 yards, but he only got one foot down on the play and was juggling the ball as he went out of bounds. Dick Jauron threw the red flag to challenge the call but officials didn't' see it and New England scored the first touchdown of the game two plays later.
Welker set an NFL record by catching at least six passes in the first nine games to start a season.
| WR Randy Moss, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 5 - 53 - 0 (9 targets) |
Not a particularly productive game by Moss standards but he continued to stretch the field all afternoon. Two passes were defended in the end zone and another drew a personal foul penalty. He is always a threat to score and helped to open up the field for Welker and other receivers.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 4 - 36 - 0 (5 targets) |
Gaffney has a situational role in this offense which sees his production fluctuate from game to game. Three of his five targets came in the fourth quarter and finished the game with four balls for 36 yards.
| WR Sam Aiken, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) |
The former draft choice of the Buffalo Bills who was cut from the team got some pay back in this game. Aiken, a special teams standout, caught both second half passes thrown to him for 22 yards.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Watson only managed one catch for seven yards.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
A terrible game for Gostkowski as he missed his second field goal of the season, a 49 yard attempt. He was good from 32 and 37 yards and also converted the PAT.
| NE Rush Defense |
The Bills were limited to just 60 rushing yards as New England was determined to shut them down. Buffalo fell behind and all but abandoned the run in the second half.
| NE Pass Defense |
Lee Evans became a non entity in this game and didn't catch a pass until the second half. Trent Edwards was sacked twice, intercepted twice, and was hurried into many bad throws. While Buffalo passed for a touchdown with less than 2:00 in the game, they only gained 120 yards through the air.