The Bills had plenty of time for celebration – the majority of the second half, in fact – but the Patriots still found a way to win. Credit: Getty Images
1:21 p.m.: Stevan Ridley and C.J. Spiller both fumble on their first rush of the season, the difference being that the Patriots recovered their own and Spiller lost his to Tommy Kelly.
1:25: Excellent 9-yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Julian Edelman in the back of the end zone. The window to complete that was so small and Edelman did a great job to get both his feet in bounds.
1:33: Brandon Spikes went to the locker room with dehydration? Insert joke here.
1:40: Stephen Gostkowski makes his first field goal of the season, from 48 yards, so that has to be a good sign.
Greg Gumbel might be hammered: first he said a 2-yard run on 2nd and 5 was a first down and shortly after that he credited Edelman’s TD catch to Amendola.
1:50: Patriots lead 10-0 after the first quarter and it doesn’t feel like they have really played well yet. Other than Amendola, the other receivers for the Pats haven’t done anything (save for Edelman’s TD).
2:00: 4th and 2 for the Bills at New England’s 42 but Buffalo elects to punt it into the end zone. Dierdorf defends the weak decision saying “young teams are fragile.”
2:07: E.J. Manuel is athletic but his throws aren’t accurate, also the fact that he’s on the Bills doesn’t bode well for his career prospects.
2:09: Ridley can’t stop fumbling, this time he lost his footing then the ball came out before he had been touched on the ground and Da’Norris Searcy returns it for a 74-yard TD to cut it to 10-7 . Ugh. It’ll be interesting to see how many more touches he gets today, my guess is none.
2:13: Alfonzo Dennard was called for a really dumb penalty, pulling down T.J. Graham when they were tangled up out of bounds. It’s way too easy to bash him with all his off the field transgressions.
2:16: Another nice play by the Pats defense, Kyle Arrington stripped it from Marquis Goodwin and Rob Ninkovich recovered. I know it’s the Bills and a rookie QB (that’s not good) but you have to be satisfied with their effort so far. The offense on the other hand has been shaky.
2:18: Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Amendola limped off with a groin injury. Can he ever stay healthy for a few games in a row? At least the Patriots got rid of Wes Welker who played through a million injuries and came back sooner than expected from a major knee injury. That was a guy you couldn’t count on.
2:19: Speaking of brittle white wide receivers, 2nd TD catch of the 1st half for Edelman. This time he was wide open, let’s see if he lasts longer than Amendola.
2:26: As Zach Sudfeld drops a pass right in his hands leading to an interception by Justin Rogers, this is a friendly reminder for why the preseason is utterly meaningless. Guys (cough Thompkins) that tear it up in August usually aren’t ready for primetime when the games actually mean something.
2:28: Predictably, the Bills cash in with an 18-yard TD pass to rookie Robert Woods. Aqib Talib couldn’t have left him anymore open, somebody blew that coverage.
Patriots lead Bills 17-14 at halftime but New England gift wrapped both TDs for Buffalo. Manuel hasn’t done anything, but then again, the Pats’ offense has been very hit or miss.
2:50: Stevie Johnson backs up his talk with an 18-yard TD catch, perfect throw by Manuel beats two Patriots (Arrington and McCourty) in the corner of the end zone. First lead of the game for Buffalo (21-17), excellent opening drive to start the 2nd half. Pats are reeling a bit.
3:10: Patriots had First and Goal from the 5 but couldn’t score, they went for it on 4th and Goal from the 1 but Brady fumbled the snap before he could presumably hand it off to Blount. New England doesn’t deserve to win playing like this (3 turnovers).
3:15: Didn’t see this coming: Bills up 21-17 after the 3rd quarter. Looks like nothing will be easy for the Patriots this season.
3:30: Brutal playcalling by the Pats in the red zone, they have very few receivers that can get open but they keep forcing no-hope throws. Why is Blount on the team? Vereen has been running it well, this is really frustrating.
3:55: The Bills obviously have never played with a lead before, for some reason they aren’t taking any time off the clock before running plays. 3-and-out, thanks Buffalo.
4:14: Gostkowski makes a 35-yard field goal with five seconds left for a 23-21 Patriots lead. It couldn’t have been a much easier kick since it was perfectly centered but it’s still nice to see him make a money field goal (which never happens).
4:21: Wins don’t get less impressive than that but New England will take it. It continues their ridiculously dominant streaks vs. Buffalo: 10 straight wins on opening day for the Patriots, they have won 24 of their last 26 vs. Buffalo, Bills coaches are 0-16 in their first games and Brady is 21-2 lifetime vs. Bills.
Follow Metro Boston sportswriter Richard Slate on Twitter: @RichSlate
