No TD passes for Brady in win
ORCH A RD P A RK, N .Y. » Devin McCourty returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown, and the New England Patriots’ defense smothered the Buffalo Bills’ anemic offense in a 256 win on Monday night.
James White scored on a 1yard 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 Eastleading record to 62. Brady finished 29of45 for 324 yards, but was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.
Gostkowski hit four of his five fieldgoal attempts, including two from 25 yards after New England drives stalled inside Buffalo’s 10.
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, Bills tight end Jason Croom’s diving onehanded touchdown catch was negated following a video review. Replays clearly showed Croom never had possession in attempting to make the 25yard catch, which would have made it a onescore game.
Buffalo lost its third straight and dropped to 26 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 Bradyled offense that had scored 38 or more points in each of its past four games.
Buffalo’s problem continued to be an offense that has managed just 87 points this season, and was held to under seven points for the fourth time. Stephen Hauschka accounted for the scoring by hitting field goals from 51 and 47 yards.
Anderson was escorted off the field with 1:25 left when he was sacked by Kyle Van Noy. Anderson was making his second start in place of rookie Josh Allen, who’s listed as week to week with a sprained elbow on his throwing arm.
Brady continued his string of careerlong dominance over the Bills by improving to 293, extending the NFL record for most wins by a quarterback against one opponent.
The Patriots beat Buffalo for the seventh straight time and improved to 325 in their last 37 meetings under coach Bill Belichick.
The highlight for Bills fans was a halftime ceremony in which the team retired Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas’ No. 34.
He became the third player in Bills history to receive the honor. Jim Kelly had his No. 12 retired in 2001, and Bruce Smith’s No. 78 was retired in 2016.
With the lights turned out at the soldout stadium, highlights from Thomas’ Hall of Fame career were shown on the video scoreboard while two spotlights projected 34s onto the field. “When I look up and see the No. 34 retired under my name, I’ll be reminded that number doesn’t just belong to me,” Thomas said. “It belongs to the Bills fans everywhere.”