New England Patriots grind through 37-31 victory over Buffalo Bills in Week 10 – NFL Recap
Buffalo Bills again ended up losing despite fighting hard in their 31-37 defeat against New England Patriots in Week 10 on Sunday, November 11, 2012, at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA.
It was a completely different scenario this time as compared to the last encounter between the two teams in Week 4. In that game Patriots came back from 7-21 behind to win the game 52-28.
It was Patriots this time who were inching towards losing their 17-3 as Bills came back to reduce the deficit to a mere three points.
However, Bills missed a final-minute chance as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw away an interception to Patriots safety Devin McCourty.
Patriots have now gone 11-0 at Gillette Stadium against Bills. This is an extraordinary record against their American Football Conference (AFC) East rivals. Giving his comments after the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said:
"They didn't really hit us with a lot of big plays. They've got an explosive group of skilled players and they got them all involved."
Bills on the other are standing third in their division with a 3-6 record, and their hopes for going into the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons are diminishing fast.
However, Bills head coach Chan Gailey is optimistic that the team can do miracles if it just rectifies a few problems. According to the Associated Press, Gailey said:
"Still a chance. I think we'll get there. I know I'm in the minority, but thank goodness I've got a group of guys in that room in there that, I think, think the same thing."
Patriots returned to field after bye week and their quarterback Tom Brady looked in exquisite form as he finished the game with 23 of 38 for 237 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Bills offence also gave tough time to Patriots defence with Fitzpatrick leading the way. He completed 27 out of 40 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns.
Patriots started the game on a high as they scored a field goal followed by a touchdown to finish the first quarter 10-0.
Bills opened their score with a 41-yard field goal from kicker Rian Lindell. Then the game saw a rain of touchdowns as both teams scored two touchdowns each in final nine minutes of the first half to take the score to 24-17.
Patriots then strengthened their lead in the third quarter with Brady throwing his second touchdown pass of the evening as the score went 31-17.
Bills reduced the lead to 24-31, thanks to a one-yard run in the final minutes of the third quarter.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski took New England Patriots to 34-24 with a 48-yard field goal.
However, Bills offence continued their pressure which paid off with a touchdown from wide receiver Donald Jones as the score went 31-34 with seven minutes remaining in the clock.
Patriots went on to seal the win with Gostkowski scoring the winning points through a field goal to mark a 37-31 victory.
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