Bills Defense Plays Tough, But Not Enough

Even as huge underdogs, the Buffalo Bills made a game of it for over three quarters, holding the New England Patriots to just four field goals.  But the wheels fell off in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots scored a pair of touchdowns 10 minutes apart to turn a close game into a rout.  Tom Brady directed the Patriots on a 10-play 96-yard drive for New England's first touchdown as James White scored on a one yard run.

Then the Patriots put it out of reach when on the Bills next series cornerback Jason McCourty intercepted a Derek Anderson pass and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown.  Game over.

The Patriots 25-6 win is Tom Brady's 29th career victory over the Bills against just three losses. Brady passed for 324 yards but the Bills kept him from scoring a touchdown.

Again the defense played well enough to win but the offense just can't get into gear.  And more problems loom ahead for the Bills as Derek Anderson was helped off the field late in the game and replaced by Nathan Peterman.

Anderson passed for 290 yards and an apparent 25-yard touchdown pass to Jason Croom looked like the Bills were still in it, but it was wiped out when replay showed the ball hit the ground.  On the next play Anderson was picked off for a touchdown the other way as the Patriots put it out of reach.  Because of his injury, if Anderson can't go next week against the Bears, guess who's back at quarterback again.

Halfway thru the season the Bills have scored a total of 87 points, that's just barely 10 points a game.  Not a formula for winning.  And another tough club comes in next week with linebacker Khalil Mack expected back in the lineup for the Chicago Bears.