Patriots crush Bills, 23-3, for eighth straight win taken at New Era Field (Patriots)

(Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports)

Patriots

Patriots crush Bills, 23-3, for eighth straight win

By Christopher Price

Dec 3, 2017 • 11:04 am

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Patriots are rolling.

New England shook off an occasionally sluggish first half — punctuated by some sideline fireworks between quarterback Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — and cruised to a 23-3 win over the Bills Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.

It was the eighth straight victory for the Patriots, and the 14th consecutive win away from home for New England, extending their AFC record for consecutive road victories.

Brady (21-for-30, 258 yards, one interception) wasn’t overwhelming, but got a tremendous effort from the Patriots’ ground game. Dion Lewis (15 carries, 92 yards) provided some terrific support in the early going, while Rex Burkhead (12 carries, 78 yards) added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the victory. Rob Gronkowski added nine catches for 147 yards in the win.

On the other side of the ball, the Bills put together an impressive opening drive, but quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw an interception at the goal line, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Taylor finished 9-for-18 for 65 yards and an interception. LeSean McCoy had 15 carries for 93 yards for the Bills.

After an occasionally sluggish first half that saw them settle for field goals on two red-zone appearances (plus a 50-yarder from Stephen Gostkowski), the Patriots put the screws to the Bills at the start of the second half. New England put the contest out of reach with a game-defining drive to open the second half, going 70 yards in 10 plays and churning out consistent gains with the likes of Gronkowski, Lewis and Burkhead, who culminated the drive by plunging over from the 1-yard line. Burkhead’s touchdown made it 16-3 with just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, and he added one more late in the third from 14 yards out to make it 23-3 and finish the scoring.

There was a sizable flap late in the game when Gronkowski came down on Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White following a White interception. A clearly frustrated Gronkowski was flagged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.



Updates from Price:

3:58 p.m.: That'll do it. Patriots win, 23-3.

3:53 p.m.: Two-minute warning. Pats lead 23-3.

3:47 p.m.: Given the NFL's disciplinary system and the precedent that's been set this year, I wouldn't be surprised if Gronkowski is suspended for a game.

3:43 p.m.: Getting chippy. Time to get the starters out of there.

3:41 p.m.: Going to be a talk here about that last play. Regardless of the situation/context, not a smart decision by Gronkowski at all.




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had


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There's your screen pass, Price


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Time for the foosball.


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To get you ready for kickoff, here are some of our best links from this week:










How do you feel about that, Zo?












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