Patriots hold off the Bills
The New England Patriots had a 27-13 lead midway through the 4th quarter on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Rich Stadium but needed a big defensive play to hold them off.
Patriot QB Drew Bledsoe laced a bullet to WR Shawn Jefferson, who raced 72 yards for a TD to give the Patriots what seemed to be a game-clinching 27-13 lead. However, the Bills fought back under QB Todd Collins. On the Bills next possession after the Patriot TD, Collins rifled a pass to Quinn Early, who eluded Patriot defenders and ran 72 yards for a TD to cut the lead to 27-20.
After the Bills forced a Patriot punt, the Bills took over at the 44 in their own territory. After a few dinks and dunks here and there, Collins threw a pass to Andre Reed, who was roughed up by the Patriot defense and was flagged 15 yards. RB Thurman Thomas skated through the Patriot defense on a draw play and got the ball down inside the Patriot ten-yard line to the 9.
After an incompletion and a couple of short passes, the Bills had a 4th down on the final play of the game. Collins dropped back and hit Eric Moulds at the 4-yard line. He tried to juke and jive to get into the end zone, but CB Ty Law tripped Moulds up and he hit the Rich Stadium turf 4 yards short of the end zone allowing the Patriots to escape with a 27-20 victory.
Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe threw for 269 yards in the game with 2 TDs and an INT. Bledsoe’s new favorite target has been WR Shawn Jefferson, who has really broken out this year as a potent threat on the outside. In this game, Jefferson caught four passes for 147 yards and 2 TDs. One of them was a 50-yard catch, while the other was the 72-yarder. On the season, Jefferson has 38 catches for 856 yards and 9 TDs. The yards and TDs are both career-highs for Jefferson.
With the win, the Patriots snapped a two-game losing streak. They are still atop the AFC East standings at 7-3 but have a formidable opponent next Sunday in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As for the Bills, they are now 3-7 and will travel to Pro Player Stadium next Sunday to face the Dolphins.