The Sports Xchange
Oct 30, 2016
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Tom Brady passed for 315 yards and four touchdowns in the New England Patriots' 41-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills on a rainy Sunday at New Era Field.
Brady improved to 26-3 against the Bills, tying Brett Favre's NFL record for most wins against a single opponent.
The Patriots (7-1) avenged their only defeat of the season, a 16-0 loss to the Bills four weeks ago in Foxboro when Brady was serving the final game of his Deflategate suspension.
Buffalo (4-4) has lost two in a row after a four-game winning streak and now trails New England by three games in the AFC East standings.
Brady threw scoring passes to Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, who set a Patriots record with his 69th career touchdown. Gronkowski led the receiving corps with five catches for 109 yards.
The Bills offense struggled without leading rusher LeSean McCoy and top receiver Sammy Watkins. McCoy missed the game due to a strained hamstring and Watkins is on injured reserve with a foot injury.
Tyrod Taylor was 19 of 38 passing for 183 yards. He also ran for 48 yards and a touchdown. Mike Gillislee rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown and rookie Jonathan Williams scored his first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left to play.
Taylor's 26-yard touchdown on fourth down brought the Bills within 31-17 with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter.
The Patriots went back up by three touchdowns five minutes later when LeGarrette Blount scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Stephen Gostkowski added a 32-yard field goal in fourth quarter.
Amendola returned the opening kickoff of the second half 73 yards and Brady threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Edelman to make it 31-10 one minute into the half.
Brady threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns by halftime to build a 24-10 lead.
Gronkowski high-stepped into the end zone after Brady hit him on a post pattern for his record-setting 53-yard touchdown. Brady then drove the Patriots 28 yards in 24 seconds to set up Gostkowski's 51-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Buffalo had cut New England's lead to 14-10 on Gillislee's 3-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
Brady's first two touchdown passes of the season to wide receivers put the Patriots up 14-3 by the end of the first quarter. He engineered a 14-play drive and found Danny Amendola for a 9-yard touchdown on the first series. Chris Hogan caught a 53-yard bomb from Brady on New England's next possession.
Dan Carpenter made a 23-yard field goal on the Bills' opening drive. Carpenter hit the goal post on a 49-yard attempt in the second quarter.
NOTES: Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander, who leads the NFL with nine sacks, left the game in the second quarter after injuring his hamstring blocking on a punt return. ... Buffalo WR Brandon Tate was evaluated for a concussion after getting hit by Patriots S Devin McCourty in the third quarter. Bills TE Charles Clay went to the locker room before halftime with a shoulder injury but was able to return. ... Pro Bowl DT Marcell Dareus made his season debut for the Bills. Dareus was suspended the first four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy and missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. ... Patriots rookies WR Malcolm Mitchell (hamstring) and CB Cyrus Jones were inactive. Jones, a second-round pick, has not played since being ejected in New England's Week 5 win over Cleveland. ... Bills S Aaron Williams (neck) did not play.