Fourth quarter, 1:30: Wes Welker only has four catches for 40 yards, and it will snap Welker's streak of 11 consecutive games with at least six receptions.
Fourth quarter, 2:00: That's the ball game. Tom Brady had just three fourth-quarter passing yards, but he hit Wes Welker for a nine-yard gain on third-and-6. The Patriots can line up in the victory formation and take a few knees to win this thing.
Fourth quarter, 2:55: Rookie bust Aaron Maybin was flagged for offsides on the Bills' onside kick attempt, which negated Buffalo's recovery. Patriots special teams captain Sam Aiken hauled in the football but let it bounce away into Buffalo's possession. Surprisingly, the Bills kicked it away on the re-kick, and Wes Welker returned it to the Pats' 28. The Bills have one timeout and the two-minute warning, so the Patriots need a first down to win the game here.
Patriots 17, Bills 10. Fourth quarter, 3:02: That was way too easy. Ryan Fitzpatrick only needed two plays to get the Bills into the end zone, and he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans, who made a nice catch to cut the Patriots' lead in half. The Bills only have one timeout left, so an onside kick is likely in order.
Fourth quarter, 3:37: The Patriots couldn't do anything with the ball and punted it away in 43 seconds. After Roscoe Parrish's punt return, the Bills have the ball at the New England 28 with a chance to pull off a shocker.
Fourth quarter, 4:20: Josh Reed pulled a Mark Clayton and dropped a fourth-down pass. The Bills had converted twice on fourth down in their last drive, but the third time was anything but a charm. The Patriots take over at their own 11 and are closing in on their first road victory of the season. That is, of course, unless they pull off a Bills-like collapse in the final four minutes.
Fourth quarter, 8:23: Ryan Fitzpatrick has replaced his replacement, entering the game after Trent Edwards injured his ankle during his lone series. And you want to talk about a lack of effort? Look at Terrell Owens on the Bills' recent third-and-12. He caught a pass over the middle and had to beat the smaller Jonathan Wilhite for an extra yard to pick up a first down, but Owens was easily pushed out of bounds shy of the marker.
Fourth quarter, 11:40: The Trent Edwards experiment didn't turn out so hot for Buffalo. Edwards was sacked twice, and the Bills punted it away. By the way, Ron Brace isn't really taking advantage of his playing time in this game. He's been blown up a number of times, and he was flagged for a facemask during Gary Guyton's sack on the last series. Guyton had Edwards wrapped up, and Brace came in late, grabbed the facemask about five feet away from an official and disappeared to the sideline.
Fourth quarter, 13:14: Wow, Perry Fewell benched Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of Trent Edwards. Fitzpatrick hasn't played poorly, so this is probably an attempt to invoke a little spirit into his team. On a side note, the Bills have more penalty yards (119) than rushing yards (98) or passing yards (82), and they just got away with a possible pass interference that would have given them about 50 more penalty yards. Drayton Florence never turned around — evidenced by the ball hitting him in the back of the head — while defending a deep throw to Randy Moss.
Fourth quarter, 14:41: Buffalo faltered on offense, drawing more boos from the crowd, and the Patriots take over at their own 9-yard line.
End of third quarter. The Bills are driving — thanks to a dumb neutral-zone infraction from Derrick Burgess — and trying to cut into the Patriots' 17-3 lead. Buffalo has a second-and-17 at the New England 38 on the other side of the break.
Third quarter, 2:58: The Patriots have again completely taken Terrell Owens out of this game. Owens has zero catches and one false start so far. He had two catches for 46 yards in the season opener.
Patriots 17, Bills 3. Third quarter, 4:43: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 30-yard field goal to extend New England's lead after a drive that featured nine runs and four passes, including two screen plays. The Patriots stayed on the ground and found some success, which has been a theme Sunday.
Third quarter, 10:30: Randy Moss made another great catch, this time in double coverage over the middle of the field, and he had a pretty good collision with Terrence McGee, too. It looked like McGee might have broken his right wrist or forearm during the hit, though.
Third quarter, 11:47: The Bills followed suit with an equally unimpressive drive, and the Patriots get their second crack at it in the third quarter. Let's see a little more from the running game on this possession.
Third quarter, 13:51: Three plays, three passes, no first downs, one punt. That's how the Patriots opened the second half. They've had real offensive issues in the second half of road games this season, and they've continued — at least for one series — Sunday in Buffalo.
Third quarter, 14:53: The Patriots have the ball at their own 20 after the second-half kickoff, and they're back in business in Buffalo.
Halftime. Rian Lindell missed a 56-yard field goal at the end of the half, and the Patriots have a 14-3 lead heading into the break. That was a seriously impressive job by the Patriots, whose defensive adjustments and ability to capitalize on Buffalo's mistakes have resulted in their lead. That isn't something we've seen much of from the Pats in 2009 road games, so it's a good sign so far.
Patriots 14, Bills 3. Second quarter, 0:24: Now, that was a serious drive from the Patriots, who capitalized after a turnover, seized control of the game and remained dedicated to the run all at once. Laurence Maroney scored from one yard out on the Patriots' third consecutive rushing attempt in their goal-to-go situation. If the Patriots take this score into the half, I will be very impressed with their effort in the opening 30 minutes.
Second quarter, 3:30: Jonathan Wilhite took a page out of Randy Moss' toe-tapping book and made a nice interception along the sideline to give the Patriots possession at their own 36. Wilhite has struggled lately, and that interception was the product of great coverage on Josh Reed. This has been a big game for three Patriots who have come under recent fire — Wilhite, Moss and Adalius Thomas.
Second quarter, 7:32: Oh, boy. Aaron Schobel hit Tom Brady at an awkward angle on his left knee, but Brady managed to maneuver out of harm's way. By the league's new rules, I have no idea how that wasn't a personal foul against the Bills. The stalled and punted to the Bills, who take over at their own 13.
Second quarter, 9:41: The Bills have been really stagnant against the Pats' defensive wrinkle. Because of the Patriots' execution with less defensive linemen in this game, I've got to believe they spent a great deal of practice time in the formation, and that's an indicator they knew Vince Wilfork wouldn't be ready to go Sunday.
Patriots 7, Bills 3. Second quarter, 12:34: Randy Moss was a beast on the Patriots' last possession, drawing a 43-yard pass interference penalty and making a beautiful fingertip, toe-tapping catch for a 13-yard touchdown. Moss has looked good all day, and it's time to get ready for a mass mea culpa this week.
End of first quarter: Buffalo's dedication to the running game caused the first quarter to fly by, and this game might end around 3 p.m. if that continues. The Patriots have the ball at their own 39 when play resumes.
First quarter, 0:46: Great job by the Patriots' defense, which got a Mike Wright sack on second down to force a third-down passing situation. Then — sit down for this one — Derrick Burgess blew through the line to sack Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Pats were aggressive on that series and forced a punt, and they'll take over at their own 25. Richie Incognito was noticeable on the two sacks. The right guard, who was voted the dirtiest player in the NFL, successfully deployed a Statue of Liberty block on Mike Wright before his sack, and then Incognito dove straight at the knees of Tully Banta-Cain on third down. Banta-Cain avoided the cheap shot, but it's something to pay attention to as the game unfolds.
First quarter, 2:40: Here's the difference between the first two series of the game: The Bills showed dedication to the running game, and the Patriots didn't. Tom Brady threw to a double-covered Wes Welker, and he was intercepted by linebacker Paul Posluszny at the Buffalo 39.
Bills 3, Patriots 0. First quarter, 5:36: Impressive drive for the Bills, who made the Patriots look helpless against the run. However, Buffalo had to settle for a 25-yard field goal off of the foot of Rian Lindell after a couple of miscues inside the 10-yard line. I liked what the Patriots did on third-and-goal to confuse Harvard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Pats went old school and had everyone standing up and moving around before the snap, and Fitzy from Harvard had no chance to complete a fade pass to the end zone.
First quarter, 11:00: It's already not a good sign that the Patriots' defensive line is getting smoked by the Bills' offensive line. Buffalo's O-line is one of the worst in football, but it's dominating the Pats' decimated defensive line. If the Patriots aren't going to win the battle at the line, they've got to tackle well, and they're not doing that, either.
First quarter, 14:54: The Bills won the toss, elected to receive the opening kickoff and Fred Jackson returned it to the 24-yard line.
12:27 p.m.: Wide receiver Sam Aiken will play after missing last week's game with a shoulder injury. Defensive lineman Ron Brace will play after missing three consecutive games — two due to an ankle injury and one despite not appearing on the injury report. Offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger will also be active for the third time this season. The rookie has never been on the injury report and is the last offensive lineman on the depth chart. He previously saw action in Week 10 against the Colts and Week 13 against the Dolphins, both of which were road losses.
12:00 p.m.: Vince Wilfork (foot) and Nick Kaczur (shoulder) are each inactive for the first time this season. Ty Warren (ankle) is out for the second time this season, which is fairly surprising because he had a rare conversation with the media last week. While Warren hasn't participated in a full practice since Week 7 due to the ankle, I would have figured he was ready to go against the Bills. Anyway, Myron Pryor (chest) is out for the second straight week and the third time this season. New England's defensive line is going to need a serious effort from Jarvis Green, Mike Wright, Ron Brace and company.
Stephen Neal (ankle) is out for the third consecutive game and fourth overall. Dan Connolly will likely start in his place. Also, Sebastian Vollmer will start at right tackle for Kaczur. Fred Taylor (ankle) is out for the 10th consecutive game. He said last week he is very thankful that Bill Belichick has not put him on injured reserve. Taylor also said he is able to work out more these days, but the days after the workouts are a little more painful on the ankle. Terrence Wheatley is a healthy scratch for the third consecutive week and ninth time this season. If Adalius Thomas was still buried deep in Belichick's doghouse, Thomas would be the healthy scratch this week — not Wheatley.
11:36 a.m.: The Patriots have put the finishing touches on their inactive list, and it's quite the heavy load. They'll go without defensive linemen Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren and Myron Pryor, right guard Stephen Neal, right tackle Nick Kaczur, running back Fred Taylor and cornerback Terrence Wheatley. Also, Isaiah Stanback is listed as the third quarterback, meaning he can play at any point if Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer are both injured and cannot return to the game. Otherwise, Stanback can enter the game in the fourth quarter without consequence. I'll have a more detailed breakdown of the inactive list in a few minutes.
Now would also be the appropriate time to insert my foot into my mouth. Adalius Thomas is active for the game, which goes against my prediction from last week.
9:00 a.m.: Put down your shovels and hold onto your laptops. Sunday's game between the Patriots and Bills should be a tight one, and NESN.com will give you inside analysis throughout the day.
This is a no-doubt-about-it, must-win game for the Patriots if they want to reserve a spot in the playoffs. The Bills know this, which would make revenge much sweeter after falling in the season opener at Gillette Stadium. And don't forget about the story lines within the context of the game — Tom Brady's InjuryGate, Randy Moss' EffortGate and Adalius Thomas' HealthyScratchGate. NESN.com will have it all covered Sunday afternoon.
