Not much of a rematch....

New England Patriots (9-0) v. Buffalo Bills (5-4)

@ Ralph Wilson Stadium Orchard Park, NY

9-0-0

1st, AFC East Standing 2nd, AFC East 428.7 ypg (1st) Offense 268.3 ypg (31st) 296.3 ypg (2nd) Passing 163.8 ypg (28th) 132.3 ypg (7th) Rushing 104.6 ypg (17th) 275.2 ypg (4th) Defense 359.7 ypg (28th) Won 9 Streaks Won 4

5-4-0

Last Time They Met: September 23, 2007 Pats Won 38-7

The Patriots jumped out to 3-0 on a 24-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. But after a late hit by Vince Wilfork on Bills quarterback J.P. Losman, the Bills responded with a Marshawn Lynch 8-yard touchdown run. The Bills had the lead for the first quarter of the game but during their second possession of the second quarter, the Bills had their backs pinned against their own end zone. The Pats defense forced the Bills to punt from their own 1 yard line, giving the Patriots good field position at Buffalo’s 47. Six plays later Tom Brady found Tight End Benjamin Watson alone in the end zone for an eight yard score and the Patriots never turned back. Brady threw to Randy Moss for two scores, including a 45-yard touchdown pass that had Bills cornerback Jabari Greer commenting “I got Mossed,” after the game. Moss finished the game with 115 yards with five catches while Laurence Maroney rushed for 103 yards on 19 attempts, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt.

On defense, the Bills sacked Brady only once while Asante Samuel intercepted Losman’s replacement Trent Edwards for 42 yards. Defensive lineman Jarvis Green and Cornerback Ellis Hobbs both had 1.0 sack for losses of 9 yards each.

This week’s game:

When they met the last time, they looked like two teams heading in two different directions. The Bills lost two games to the Broncos and Steelers while the Patriots were coming of two victories against the Jets and Chargers, and highly motivated. As we sit here in November, the Bills are 5-4, in second place in the AFC East and have a four-game win streak on the line. If it was not for Buffalo, the Patriots could have clinched the AFC East before Thanksgiving. The Bills are a different team than they were in September. They are upbeat and have momentum coming off four wins in four games. But the Patriots are still bigger and more physical on the line so it is likely the Bills are not going to be giving the Pats their first loss of the season. In addition the Bills Defensive Backs got burned by Brady and Moss in the first game, it probably will happen again tomorrow. Bills DBs will be overmatched by the Pats receiving corps, mainly Moss but also Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth.

Match-Ups

Quarterbacks

Patriots: Tom Brady

Bills: J.P. Losman

EDGE: Patriots

Brady is leading the league in touchdowns (33), completion percentage(73.2%) and QB rating (131.8). The closest Quarterback to Brady in QB rating is Ben Roethlisberger at 110.2, 21.6 less than Brady. Between Brady and Losman it’s not even a choice.

Running Backs

Patriots: Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk

Bills: Marshawn Lynch and Anthony Thomas

EDGE: Bills

Wide Receivers

Patriots: Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and Kelley Washington

Bills: Lee Evans, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, Justin Jenkins and Sam Aiken

EDGE: Patriots

Do you really see Jabari Greer or Terrance McGee or both defending Randy Moss? They could barely do it last time what makes this time any better? Greer has two interceptions this season (Chad Pennington and Tony Romo), that’s two more than he had in his career coming into the season. Patriots receivers get all the credit here.

Offensive Linemen

Patriots: Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur

Bills: Jason Peters, Derrick Dockery, Melvin Fouler, Brad Butler and Langston Walker

EDGE: Patriots

Defensive Linemen

Patriots: Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green

Bills: Chris Kelsay, Aaron Schobel, Larry Triplett, Kyle Williams, Ryan Denney, Copeland Bryan, John McCargo and Jason Jefferson

EDGE: Patriots

With Wilfork at Nose Tackle and Seymour on the End, the Pats are bigger than Buffalo’s offensive line.

Linebackers:

Patriots: Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas, Tedy Bruschi, Rosevelt Colvin and Junior Seau

Bills: Angelo Crowell, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison, Mario Haggan, Coy Wire

EDGE: Patriots

At the Linebacker position the Patriots starters all have five plus years of experience that alone gives them a one up on the Bills starting linebackers. Crowell is the only one who has more than two years in the league.

Defensive Backs:

Patriots: Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Randall Gay, Brandon Meriweather, Rodney Harrison, James Sanders, Eugene Wilson and Willie Andrews

Bills: Terrance McGee, Jabari Greer, Donte Whitner, George Wilson, Kiwaukee Thomas, Aston Youboty, John Wendling and Jim Leonhard

EDGE: Patriots
See Wide Receivers.

Special Teams:

Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski (K), Chris Hanson (P), Ellis Hobbs (KR), Wes Welker (PR), Larry Izzo and Lonie Paxton (LS).

Bills: Rian Lindell (K), Brian Moorman (P), Terrance McGee (KR), Roscoe Parrish (PR) and Ryan Neill (LS)

EDGE: Even

Bills Punt Return Parrish is averaging 19.4 yards on his punt returns. But Gostkowski is 11-for-12 in field goals. The only miss was a botched hold by back up Quarterback Matt Cassel. On the season Gostkowski has 79 points on the season with 46 extra point attempts, all made.

FINAL SCORE:
PATRIOTS 33
BILLS 10