New England Patriots 2011 regular season Review: The search for the fourth ring continues – NFL Special Part II
Continued from part I
At Buffalo
It seemed that the Patriots were on a roll with two thumping victories over their opponents but a young Buffalo Bills side shocked New England and Tom Brady with a famous 34-31 victory over their AFC East division opponents.
The Bills had not defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots since 2003 and in one of most amazing comeback wins they defeated their rivals.
Brady was intercepted a massive four times in the game as Buffalo’s defence frustrated the quarterback who covered 387-yards and passed for four touchdowns.
Buffalo never gave up hope and showed their resilience with a wonderful fourth quarter comeback.
The Patriots were up 24-17 at the end of the third quarter. The Bills responded in the fourth with a 1-yard run to the end-zone by Fred Jackson to tie the scores and a few seconds later Drayton Florence intercepted Brady for a 27-yard interception return
which gave Buffalo a 31-24 lead.
With just three minutes left a desperate Tom Brady equalised the scores with a six-yard pass to Wes Welker but the Bills countered quickly and Kicker Rian Lindell’s 28-yard field goal won the game for the Bills as they gave New England their first loss of
the season.
At Oakland
The Patriots were not going to let defeat to become a habit and Brady returned to his brilliant best as New England thumped Oakland Raiders 31-19 to bounce right back.
The Patriots quarterback passed for two touchdowns and a total of 226-yards as he once again led New England to victory.
Oakland never stood a chance as mistakes and a lack of scoring plays helped the Patriots build up an insurmountable lead.
Wide receiver Wes Welker was happy with the return to winning ways and praised the team’s efforts.
"It's always big to bounce back. We had the letdown last week and we got a bounce-back from that and coming on the road into a hostile environment, it's a big win for us. It was good to see."
Against New York Jets
A visit of the New York Jets is always a feisty affair at the Gillette Stadium as these two big rivals faced off against each other.
Brady though was up for the occasion and with help from running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis led New England to a big win over their division rivals.
The quarterback passed for a total of 321-yards and a single touchdown, while Green-Ellis’ two rushing touchdowns helped the Patriots maintain their advantage over a lacklustre Jets team.
New England won the game 30-21 to send the Jets to their third straight loss of the season.
Against Dallas
Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were up next to face the surging New England Patriots and they gave New England their toughest time yet.
Both teams were neck and neck in the game as both Brady and Romo struggled to get past their opponents stringent defences.
It all boiled down to the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey gave his side a three point lead with just five minutes left in the game with a 26-yard field goal.
However, unluckily for the Cowboys they were facing Tom Brady and the Patriots quarterback showed his determination as he led his team on a final drive.
Brady drove the Patriots forward and with the clock ticking down the game’s final seconds, the quarterback launched a pass forward to tight-end Aaron Hernandez in the end-zone.
Hernandez made no mistake, made the catch and against all odds New England won the game 20-16 in a brilliant turnaround.
Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch said of his team’s performance.
"This is probably, as a whole, one of our worst performances as an offense. It's times like this when we show what we're made of -- that last drive."
To be continued
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