Buffalo scores a big division victory at New England in just the Bills second win ever at Gillette Stadium.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides all the details. Here is his report:
Regular season records: Buffalo (2-2), New England (3-1)
In a nutshell:
For the second straight week the Bills offense got off to a fast start and the defense was downright dominant. It led to a 13-0 halftime lead for Buffalo in a venue where almost no visiting team leaves with a victory. But a week after the Patriots shut out Houston at Gillette Stadium, Buffalo gave their division rivals a taste of their own medicine in a 16-0 shutout win. It was New England’s first loss of the season.
It was the first shutout victory ever for the Bills in New England.
The Bills scored on each of their first three possessions with a touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor to LeSean McCoy followed by a pair of field goal drives. Meanwhile New England’s offense was smothered by an inspired Bills defense.
Rookie QB Jacoby Brissett made his second straight start in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, and had a tough time figuring out the Bills defense. The Patriots were unable to convert on third downs as the Bills defense played a good deal of zone coverage and Brissett was indecisive. New England went one for 12 on third down conversions for the game. The rookie was also under pressure as the Bills forced a good amount of long down and distance situations and tallied three sacks.
The Patriots were also not sharp with their execution. There were dropped passes and inaccurate throws by Brissett. New England also committed eight penalties for 64 yards including a pair of 15-yard infractions.
Buffalo meanwhile played perhaps their sharpest game of the season as they had superior execution to that of New England.
Dan Carpenter had three field goals in the victory, including the only points in the second half with a 44-yard attempt late in the third quarter.
With the win Buffalo improved to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the AFC East.
How it went down:
-The Bills grabbed an early lead with an inspired 12-play 65-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. Tyrod Taylor got off to a hot start hitting five of his first six passes for 51 yards on the drive including a seven-yard touchdown pass to LeSean McCoy.
-Buffalo added three more points to their early lead as Dan Carpenter was good on a 34-yard field goal attempt on the Bills second possession (10-0) early in the second quarter. The 10-play drive covered 52 yards.
-Carpenter put another three on the board on Buffalo’s third possession after a 12-play, 71-yard march by the offense to take a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
-Near the end of the third quarter Buffalo’s kicker knocked a 44-yard attempt up and through to finish off an 11-play drive and moved the Bills lead to 16-0.
Subplots:
-Tyrod Taylor had more passing yards in the first half against the Patriots (165) than he did in the entire game in the Week 3 win over the Cardinals (119).
-Taylor finished the game 27-39 passing for 246 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 94.6. He also had 28 yards rushing.
-Zach Brown was a man possessed in the first half with eight tackles including two forced fumbles and two tackles for loss. He finished the game with XX tackles
-LeSean McCoy was a matchup nightmare for the Patriots when he came out of the backfield to be part of the passing game. In the first half he had five catches for 36 yards and a touchdown as no New England defender could handle him one on one. He finished the game with 108 all-purpose yards and a TD.
-Dan Carpenter hit his first two field goal attempts, but missed a 47-yarder in the third quarter clanging it off the left upright. He closed with a 44-yarder to go three for four on the day.
-The Patriots did not convert a third down until the early stages of the fourth quarter. They were one for 12 on third down conversions.
-Corey White was taken to the locker room after a violent collision on a punt return. He was placed in the concussion protocol.
Inactives:
QB Cardale Jones, WR Greg Salas, WR Justin Hunter, RB Reggie Bush, OL Gabe Ikard, C Patrick Lewis, OT Cyrus Kouandjio.
Up next:
The Bills travel to Los Angeles next week to take on the relocated Rams for a 4:25 pm kickoff on Sunday, Oct. 9.