The New England Patriots took a major step in wrapping up the AFC East Division on Sunday as they defeated the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium 17-10. Both teams in second place in the Division the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets also lost on Sunday giving the Patriots a 2 game lead in the Division with just 2 games left in the regular season. However if the way that New England performed against Buffalo is any indication of how they will play in the NFL Post Season; expect the Patriots to be eliminated in their first game.

If last week’s win over the Carolina Panthers was “Winning Ugly” then this victory was “Winning With Mediocrity.” New England did just enough Sunday not to lose against an extremely bad team. This loss knocked the Bills out of the NFL Playoffs for the tenth straight season; a mark they share with the Detroit Lions. Yet on Sunday the Patriots would win by just a touchdown. It truly boggles the mind to realize that this is the remnants of the club that went 16-0 in the regular season just two years ago.

The effort out of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was far less than inspiring as he completed 11/23 pass attempts for 115 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The touchdown was thrown to New England wide receiver Randy Moss with 12:34 left in the second. It was a 13 yard pass for a touchdown which gave the Patriots their first lead of the game after kicker Stephen Gostkowski put the ball through the uprights they would be on top 7-3. Moss had 5 receptions for a total of 70 yards and acted after the game as if he had a record breaking day.

New England would get their only other touchdown of the afternoon via the running game as running back Laurence Maroney lept one yard into the end-zone for a touchdown with 24 seconds to play in the first half. With the extra point the Patriots would lead 14-3 at the half.

New England would score for the final time in the third quarter when Gostkowski who may be the most consistent player in a Patriots uniform this season kicked a 30 yard field goal late in the third giving his team a 17-3 lead. However with just 3:02 to play in the game the Bills made things a lot tighter as Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an 11 yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans.

After Bills kicker Rian Lindell got the ball through the goal-posts the Patriots lead was down to 17-10; however New England held on for the victory. Fitzpatrick actually had a better game than Brady as the Buffalo QB was 17/25 for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The victory gives the Patriots a 9-5 record for the season and will host Jacksonville next Sunday. Buffalo falls to 5-9 and will play in Atlanta next Sunday.

© Copyright 2009 thesackattack

Tagged with: Buffalo Bills • Carolina Panthers • Detroit Lions • End Zone • Extra Point • First Game • Impressive Victory • Laurence Maroney • Miami Dolphins • New England Patriots • New York Jets • Nfl Playoffs • Patriots Quarterback • Ralph Wilson Stadium • Randy Moss • Running Game • Stephen Gostkowski • Straight Season • Tom Brady • Wide Receiver

Filed under: NFL

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