Gostkowski leads way as New England rolls
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Devin McCourty returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown, and the Patriots’ defense smothered Buffalo’s anemic offense in a 25-6 win Monday night.
James White scored on a 1-yard run, and the Patriots relied more on Stephen Gostkowski’s leg than on Tom Brady’s arm for their fifth straight win, which improved their AFC East-leading record to 6-2. Brady finished 29-for-45 for 324 yards, but was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.
Gostkowski hit four of five field-goal attempts, including two from 25 yards.
“They made it tough on us,” Brady said. “We couldn’t get anything going in the red zone.”
McCourty sealed the win with 5:54 remaining by intercepting Derek Anderson’s pass over the middle intended for LeSean McCoy and taking it to the end zone.
Two plays before the pick, Buffalo tight end Jason Croom’s diving one-handed touchdown catch was negated following a video review. Replays clearly showed Croom did not have possession in attempting to make the catch, which would have made it a one-score game.
McCourty’s interception also came after White scored to cap a 10-play, 85-yard drive to put New England ahead 18-6 with 9:58 remaining.
“I felt like once our offense got one in the end zone, it was big for us to go out there and try to get a stop,” McCourty said. “And it ended up being a turnover for a touchdown.”
Buffalo lost its third straight and dropped to 2-6 for its worst start since opening the 2010 season with eight losses.
Credit the Bills’ defense for not playing the role of the expected pushover against a Brady-led offense that had scored 38 or more points in each of its past four games.
“You come out and you hold those guys to one touchdown and still can’t get a win. It’s tough, man,” Buffalo cornerback Tre’Davious White said.
The Bills’ problem continued to be an offense that has managed just 87 points this season, and was held to less than seven points for the fourth time. Stephen Hauschka accounted for the scoring by hitting field goals from 51 and 47 yards.
“It’s clearly not good enough,” head coach Sean McDermott said of his sputtering offense. “I thought the defense came out and played well at times. Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit there, and just couldn’t get it going enough.”