SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 30, 2012
Patriots 52, Bills 28: Tom Brady accounted for four second-half touchdowns as New England rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat host Buffalo and avoid its first 1-3 start since 2001.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdowns, including a 68-yard strike to Donald Jones that gave the Bills (2-2) a 21-7 lead with 11:18 left in the third quarter.
The Patriots (2-2) begin their comeback on Brady's 17-yard scoring pass to Danny Woodhead and tied it on his 4-yard TD run. Tight end Rob Gronkowski hauled in a 28-yard reception on the first play of the fourth quarter to give New England a 28-21 lead.
Brady completed 22 of 36 passes for 340 yards and three TDs as the Patriots also avoided their first three-game losing streak since 2002.
The Patriots scored 35 straight points to defeat the Bills for the 22nd time in the last 24 meetings, extending their lead to 42-21 on Brandon Bolden's 7-yard TD run with 10:34 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Fitzpatrick, who has thrown a league-high 12 touchdowns, connected on 22-of-39 for 350 yards with four interceptions. The Patriots scored 31 points in the fourth period and 45 in the second half. ... Brady (41,206) climbed over Kerry Collins (40,922) for 11th all-time on the NFL's all-time passing list and threw a TD pass in his 35th straight game, the fourth-longest streak in league history. ... With nine receptions for 129 yards, Wes Welker (6,485) moved past Troy Brown (6,366) for second on the Patriots' list.