RARE AIR
Rob Gronkowski was on the receiving end for Tom Brady’s monster day vs. Bills . . . but even that couldn’t touch what Raiders QB David Carr did to the Bucs.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.— Patriots quarterback Tom Brady asserted his on-field ownership of the Buffalo Bills again Sunday, matching an NFL record in beating them for the 26th time.
Brady went 22 of 33 for 315 yards and threw four touchdowns in leading New England to a 41-25 win. He improved to 26-3 against Buffalo, matching a record set by Brett Favre, who went 26-9 against Detroit.
Best of all, Brady’s performance had Bills fans heading for the exits early in the fourth quarter, while Patriots fans remained as the clock wound down.
“We’ve had a lot of experiences where there’s 70,000 people against you,” Brady said. “And at the end there’s 5,000 Patriots (fans) on the road that are cheering for us. . . . To be so far ahead you can run out the clock, it’s a great feeling.”
The Patriots (7-1) have won four straight since Brady returned after opening the season serving the NFL’s four-game “Deflategate” suspension. His absence included New England’s only blemish, a 16-0 home loss to Buffalo on Oct. 2, the first time the Patriots were shut out at home since 1993.
And don’t think that loss didn’t still sting.
“You know, they like to talk all that. They got that win,” said tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had 109 yards receiving and a touchdown. “I’m so glad we came in here and showed them what we’re really about.”
After a Bills field goal, Brady threw touchdowns passes on his first two drives. They included a 53-yarder to former Bills receiver Chris Hogan, who beat cornerback Stephon Gilmore up the left sideline.
The Patriots then broke the game open by scoring 27 points over five consecutive possessions in a surge that began with a touchdown by Gronkowski. It was the 69th of his career and 68th receiving, breaking the franchise marks held by Stanley Morgan.
The Bills (4-4) sputtered minus their offensive top threat, running back LeSean McCoy, who has a hamstring injury. And their defence was unable to keep the Patriots in check despite star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus making his season debut.
Dareus missed the past three games because a hamstring injury, and missed the start of the season serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. “Obviously, we weren’t good enough,” Bills coach Rex Ryan said. “We made way too many mistakes, mistakes that we haven’t made all season.”
Backup running back Mike Gillislee scored on a 3-yard run and Taylor scrambled for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth down in the third quarter. Jonathan Williams scored on a 1yard run with 30 seconds left.