Patriots can’t hold early 21-0 lead against Bills
No, these are not the same old Bills.
Going into yesterday, Buffalo had lost 15 straight to the Patriots. Now that streak — along with some measure of confidence in New England’s ability to close — is history.
Rian Lindell hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bills a stunning 34-31 win and spoiling record-setting days by Tom Brady and Wes Welker (see box, right).
The Pats took a 21-0 lead on three early TD passes by Brady. But Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Bills back within 24-17 by the time the third quarter wrapped up.
Bills running back Fred Jackson tied it at 24 with a 1-yard scoring run early in the fourth, and Drayton Florence returned a Brady interception — one of four on the day — 27 yards to paydirt 14 seconds later.
Brady and Welker connected to tie it at 31 with 3:25 to play, but Buffalo simply marched it down the field after a touchback. Jackson appeared to score on a 39-yard reception with 1:43 to go, but he was ruled down at the 1.
That allowed the Bills to kill the clock and ultimately score the upset.
