Archives for October 31, 2005

‘Turning point: The Bills settling for Rian Lindell’s third field goal of the night early in the fourth quarter.’

‘Alas, Buffalo caved into turnovers and big plays, losing a game they dominated statistically. It’s why New England has captured three of the past four Super Bowls and the Bills haven’t won the division since 1995.’

‘After the Patriots had pulled within 16-14 with 7:06 remaining, the Bills’ running game should have been able to absorb some clock. But on second and 7 at their 32, the Bills decided ”mixing it up” would be the best course of action. Kelly Holcomb dropped back and was sacked by linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, who stripped Holcomb of the ball and recovered the fumble. The Patriots took over at the 23, and two plays later scored the go-ahead touchdown. ”The fumble was the game,” said Holcomb. ”If that didn’t happen, we could have taken time off the clock. When you fumble like that, you leave them a short field. They’re going to take advantage of that because they’re the world champions.”‘

‘Vinatieri’s first two kicks were to McGee but gave him no chance at a good return. The first kick sailed three yards deep into the end zone, where McGee caught it and returned it 22 yards to the 19 where he was stopped by Mike Stone and Matt Chatham. The second went to the sideline, where McGee muffed it out of bounds for no gain.’

‘Luckily for the Patriots, the Buffalo Bills rank second-to-last in the NFL in passing yardage. Imagine how last night’s game might have played out if they were any better.’

‘It’s time to pick up your Number 2 pencils and take our annual Buffalo Bills quiz.’

Electric football (Boston Globe)

Bruschi proves he’s a key piece (Boston Globe)

Bills lost their edge when it mattered (Boston Globe)

A win, but which direction now? (Boston Globe)

Hooking up for victory (Boston Globe)

At controls, Brady hoping for a takeoff (Boston Globe)

He wasn’t in a giving mood (Boston Globe)

Defense is struggling, big time (Boston Globe)

Eyes rested, problems to focus on (Boston Globe)

Brady’s not half bad in win (Boston Herald)

Putting brakes on McGee (Boston Herald)

Same old Bruschi (Boston Herald)

No waiver necessary (Boston Herald)

An ace in the soul (Boston Herald)

Dangerous signs (Boston Herald)

Command performance (Boston Herald)

Fans offer up opinions on decision (Boston Herald)

Seymour among missing (Boston Herald)

No goblin up cash again (Boston Herald)

Branch big in crunch time (Metro West Daily News)

Bruschi blends in with teammates (Metro West Daily News)

Secondary problems not masked by Tedy’s return (Metro West Daily News)

Great comebacks all around (Providence Journal)

Branch’s big catches finish off Bills (Providence Journal)

Bruschi right back doing what he really does best (Providence Journal)

Bills came in near bottom in passing (Providence Journal)

Pass injury puts Dillon back in the running (Providence Journal)

Two-minute drill (Providence Journal)

Squib kicks (Providence Journal)

Key play of the game (Providence Journal)

Talking points (Providence Journal)

Anaylsis (Providence Journal)

What they’re saying (Providence Journal)

On the run (Providence Journal)

Savorng a fresh Bruschi (Woonsocket Call)

Welcome back, Tedy (Springfield Republican)

Branch answers call (Springfield Republican)

Patriots Find The Time (Hartford Courant)

Bruschi Gets Right Back To Work (Hartford Courant)

Turning Point (Hartford Courant)

Patriots’ Bruschi plays first game since suffering stroke (Nashua Telegraph)

Seymour misses Bruschi’s return (Nashua Telegraph)

Two stirring comebacks (Portland Press Herald)

He’s back, living life as he knows it (Portland Press Herald)

Dillon makes his presence known at the right time (Portland Press Herald)

Tedy’s triumphant return (New Bedford Standard Times)

Bruschi an inspiration in return to the playing field (New Bedford Standard Times)

Seymour, Brown absent at kickoff (New Bedford Standard Times)

The Comeback kids (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Bruschi, Patriots defeat Bills (Lynn Daily Item)

Bruschi, Pats come all way back (Brockton Enterprise)

The return of Tedy Bruschi made for a storybook night (Brockton Enterprise)

The Boss is back (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Colvin feels rosy at game’s end (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Pats awake, rally in fourth for win (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Bruschi back where he belongs (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Bills’ Preston learned lessons from Lawrence legend – his dad (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Bruschi Is Back, and the Patriots Return to Form (New York Times)

Bruschi alone can’t save the day for Patriots (ESPN)

Bruschi returns for Patriots (AP)

LB Bruschi records seven tackles in return for Patriots (Sportsticker)

Patriots stay on top of AFC East, 21-16 (Patriots.com)

Patriots take something away (Patriots.com)

Belichick Press Conference (Patriots.com)

Tom Brady Press Conference (Patriots.com)

Photo Gallery (Patriots.com)

Championship Form Arrives Just In Time (PatsFans.com)

Patriots Avoid Date With Grim Reaper (PatsFans.com)

Bruschi’s Return Simply Amazing (PatsFans.com)

‘Another linebacker made the big play that led to Dillon’s second touchdown with 5:32 left. Rosevelt Colvin stripped the ball from quarterback Kelly Holcomb and recovered at the Bills 23. Tom Brady then hit Deion Branch with a 22-yard completion, and Dillon, who missed the previous game with an ankle injury, scored the winning touchdown.

‘”You’ve got to learn to finish games off,” Bills head coach Mike Mularkey said. “We played well enough for long enough, but against teams of this caliber that have been in big games, you can’t give them a breath and we did, and they took advantage of it. It’s not surprising.”‘

‘Buffalo did engineer a drive late in the game and moved the ball to the New England 38, but could not pick up a crucial first down. On 3rd and 6, Holcomb completed a pass to Moulds for a first down, but was called for offensive pass interference. Two short passes later, including a connection to Moulds for no gain on fourth down, the victory was sealed for New England.’

‘Early in the fourth, Aaron Schoebel knocked the ball out of Brady’s hands, Lauvalle Sape recovered. Rian Lindell booted a 41-yard field goal with 10:13 left in the game to extend the Bills lead to 16-7. Brady responded driving the Patriots 61 yards in 6 plays, ending with a Dillon one-yard touchdwon run.’

The Bills played their best game of the year for the first 50 minutes in New England. Unfortunately the problems of the first half of the season reared its ugly head in the final 10 minutes as the Bills lost a heartbreaker 21-16 to the Patriots.

Despite a tough loss, the Bills grade out well as most of the units performed quite well.