Archives for September 21, 2015

'Only a stunning case of either arrogance by Belichick or a simple desire to embarrass Ryan (or both) by continuing to throw the ball in a hurry-up offense with a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter kept the Bills in the game and allowed them to make the final score respectable.'

'New England rushed the ball only 15 times, for 56 yards, preferring to keep the ball in Brady’s hands. And the Buffalo defense mostly refused to blitz Brady, out of respect for his ability to burn it with a quick throw. Instead, Buffalo defenders dropped into coverage in the hopes that the defensive line could generate pressure.'

'Buffalo committed eight penalties for 74 yards in the first half alone. The Bills ended up committing 14 penalties total for a back-breaking 140 yards.'

'Julian Edelman scored two touchdowns, and the Patriots needed to stave off a fourth-quarter rally after building a 37-13 lead through three quarters.'

'Buffalo unraveled on both sides of the ball, looking nothing like the team coming off a 27-14 season-opening win over Indianapolis. "We need to be smarter," defensive end Mario Williams said. "We dug ourselves a hole and it's up to us to get out of it."'

'Their attacking defense surrendered 507 yards, and allowed the Patriots to score 21 points over a 5:48 span to open a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. And their Tyrod Taylor-led offense was held to 127 yards and 13 points, before mounting a 19-point fourth-quarter rally that fell short.'

'The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes. Teammates gathered around Williams, who was put on a stretcher and had his entire body immobilized before being loaded onto the ambulance.'

'Penalty flags flew frequently in this game. The teams combined for 25 penalties for 259 yards. Buffalo had 14 of those penalties for 140 yards.'

'Williams was injured while trying to make a diving tackle on Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman's 22-yard touchdown reception.'

'Bravado only goes so far. The Bills spent the week talking about their disdain for the Patriots and how eager they were for this matchup. The talk after the game was different. "It showed that we're not the best," linebacker Preston Brown said. "We act like we are, but we aren't right now."'

'"We just came out too fired up, I believe," linebacker Nigel Bradham said. "That's what caused the penalties. We had way too many penalties."'

'"Sometimes, you know, it's an emotional game," he said. "You should play with emotion. But sometimes you let your emotions get the better of you, and it went to our detriment. And it starts with me. I obviously have to control my emotions a little better regardless of how bad things are going."'

'Asked to elaborate on whether he meant that the Bills would meet the Patriots in the playoffs, Willimas responded, "Of course."'

'Williams was injured diving while trying to tackle Julian Edelman at the end of a 22-yard touchdown for the New England receiver. An ambulance was called to the edge of the field, and play was stopped for more than 15 minutes while Williams was transported off the field.'

'“We were just so pumped up for this game,” Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore said in the locker room afterward. “Sometimes in these games you’ve got to calm down and play your game, take it one play at a time instead of being so hyped up.”'