ORCHARD PARK, NY _ With both teams off to a 3-0 start, Bills fans were fired up at the start of this contest. The Patriots, however, did their best to quiet the home crowd. Brady and the offense struck first, jumping out to a 6-0 lead at 7:35 of the first quarter.
The offense started at midfield thanks to an interception by Devin McCourty, his fourth in as many games. James White then got the offense rolling. First, he caught a 15-yard pass on a third-and-9 play. Next, he hauled in a 26-yard pass on third down to set up a first-and-goal from the 4. Brandon Bolden scored on a 4-yard rush on the next play. Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point.
After the defense held the Bills to a three-and-out, the Pats special teams unit got into the fun. At 6:30 of the first quarter, J.C. Jackson blocked a Corey Bojorquez punt. Matthew Slater recovered the ball and ran 11 yards untouched into the end zone and the Patriots led, 13-0.
The first three Bills drives ended with an interception, blocked punt and a Jamie Collins sack on third down. The Patriots defense didn't let up. The Bills fourth drive ended with Jackson intercepting Allen with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. It was a dominant start by the Patriots. The defense and special teams effort made up for the fact that the offense punted on three of their first four drives.
The Patriots were close to extending their first-half lead, but the Bills applied some pressure and intercepted Brady in the end zone at 4:16 of the second quarter. The Pats were looking at a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line when Brady was pressured by Jerry Hughes and picked off by Micah Hyde after rolling out of the pocket.
That turnover gave the Bills some life. On the next series, Gore took a handoff 41 yards to get Buffalo in the red zone. The Patriots defense clamped down after that with Kyle Van Noy sacking Allen on third down. Stephen Hauschka finished the drive with a 46-yard field goal and the Pats led, 13-3, with two minutes left in the first half.
That marked the first time the Patriots defense surrender any points since Week 1.
After a quick Patriots three-and-out, the Bills threatened again, but Hauschka missed a 49-yard field goal as the half expired.
Buffalo, however, opened up the second half by driving down the field and scoring a touchdown to close the gap to 13-10. Allen completed his first six passes of the third quarter to get the Bills within striking distance. After the Pats defense stuffed Gore on the goal line, Allen rushed in for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 at 10:40 of the third. This marked the first touchdown against the Patriots defense this season.
The Patriots offense started the second half with two three-and-outs. It was a good thing the defense continued to make plays. At 4:06 of third, Jackson intercepted Allen for the second time.
That gave the offense some life as the Patriots extended their lead to 16-10. Josh Gordon hauled in a 31-yard reception on third down to set up a first-and-goal from the 7. Brady couldn't get the Pats in the end zone as the team settled for a 23-yard field goal at 1:00 of the third.
On the next series, Allen was taken out of the game after a hit to the helmet by Jonathan Jones. Matt Barkley took over for the Bills. That didn't slow Buffalo down as they were set up with a first-and-goal following an unnecessary roughness penalty by Van Noy.
The Patriots defense, however, stepped up. After Adam Butler stuffed Gore near the goal line, Buffalo went for it on fourth down from the 3. Patrick Chung nearly intercepted Barkley as the pass was incomplete and a turnover on downs.
The Bills made one last charge, but the defense held strong. With 1:34 remaining, Van Noy hit Barkley as he threw the ball. That resulted in an easy interception for Collins to seal the win.
