Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said in the days leading up to the game that both Randy Moss and Tom Brady were playing lights out. Nothing changed Sunday night as the two were instrumental in turning the lights out early on the Bills' hopes in a 56-10 whitewash on Sunday night football.
It was the largest margin of defeat (46) in a home game in team history surpassing the previous mark of 43 points set back on Oct. 10, 1971 against Baltimore (43-0), and tied for the second most points allowed in Bills annals.
"That was not a pleasant way to spend an evening," said head coach Dick Jauron. "We ran into a buzzsaw and we didn't do much to slow them down… anywhere. My hat is off to them. We knew they were awfully talented. We knew it could get out of hand. We had seen a lot of tape on them and it usually got out of hand and it got out of hand."
Moss and Brady combined for 28 of the Patriots' 35 first half points hooking up on touchdowns of 43, 16, 6 and 17 yards to stake New England to a 28-point lead at the break (35-7).
"When you watch him play he plays a lot of really good games," said Jauron of Brady. "We haven't seen a lot of people slow him down a whole lot. They are so confident in what they do and they are so talented, and he is right in the middle of the whole thing."
Buffalo, without the services of Marshawn Lynch (inactive - ankle) did not get off to the start they were hoping for as J.P. Losman was intercepted on his third pass attempt by Randall Gay, who returned it to the Bills 13-yard line. It was intended for Josh Reed.
"It was just a miscommunication there," said Losman. "I thought he was coming over, but we just have to get that fixed. As a quarterback it's your job to be on the same page so we have to get that thing done."
Two plays later New England was up 7-0 on a Laurence Maroney six-yard touchdown run. That was followed by the Brady-Moss show as they were responsible for the Patriots' next 28 points. Brady hit Moss, who got behind the safety coverage deep for a 43-yard touchdown reception to make it a 14-0 lead for New England just midway through the first quarter.
The Bills responded on their ensuing possession putting together an eight-play 82-yard drive with Roscoe Parrish accounting for more than half of those yards with his 47-yard touchdown reception to make it 14-7. Parrish beat Ellis Hobbs deep down the far sideline and Hobbs could not recover in time.
"They were blitzing when we spread things out," said Losman. "So they gave us a cover zero look, one-on-one there. It was one of the few times they did it and we held them just enough to get the throw off. Roscoe made a good play, stopped and had to come back to the ball and scored."
But that would be the last threat Buffalo's offense would pose in terms of altering the course of the game. New England would score 21 unanswered points with three more touchdown passes from Brady to Moss for 16, six and 17 yards respectively.
"I think they just made plays and there were a lot of times we blew coverage," said Jabari Greer. "When you play a team like New England they capitalize off those mistakes. It was one of those games. They made the plays. That's pretty much all there is to it."
The Patriots' kept their foot on the gas pedal marching 73 yards on 12 plays to start the second half with Brady throwing his fifth touchdown pass of the night to Ben Watson from three yards out to make it 42-7.
Following a Terrence McGee kick return out to the Bills 48-yard line, Buffalo's offense was able to gain enough yardage to put Rian Lindell in position for a 52-yard field goal attempt. The Bills' kicker was true as he tucked it over the crossbar making contact with the NBC camera mounted on the support pole of the uprights. The ball bounded back into the field of play, but the officials correctly called the field goal good.
New England's defense added a touchdown for good measure early in the fourth quarter. Patriots safety James Sanders put a hard hit on Dwayne Wright after a short reception in the flat to force a fumble. Ellis Hobbs caught the fumble in mid-air and promptly returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
Buffalo fell to 5-5 on the season, while New England maintained their perfect record improving to 10-0. The Bills travel to Jacksonville Sunday for a pivotal AFC conference matchup with the Jaguars.
