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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Devin McCourty was pleased that the New England Patriots did not care for Tom Brady and Co. for the second time.
With the Patriots leaning more on Stephen Gostkowski 's leg than Brady' s arm against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, McCourty stepped up and returned an interception 84 yards to secure a 25-6 victory.
"The last couple of games it was our offense scoring and trying to keep the team out. This was a game where they were moving the ball and could not get into the end zone, "McCourty said. "We had to make sure Buffalo did not get in the end zone, and it was cracked, we had to take advantage of it."
The interception proved to be the turning point in what had been a tightly contested game in which Gottkowski field goals, James White scored on a 1-yard to make it 18-6 with 9:58 left.
The Bills was touched when Jason Croom appeared to make a diving, one-handed catch in the end zone. The 25-yard catch was negated when replays showed Croom never had possession.
Two plays later, McCourty jumped in front of Derek Anderson's Charles Clay over the middle.
"Those are bonus points. It's hard to count on those, "Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "It was a big play for us. They were driving in the red area and it turned it around. "
Buffalo lost its third straight and dropped to 2-6 for its worst start since the 2010 season with eight losses.
The Bills Offended Continued Its Anemic Ways to Be Held Under 7 Points for the Fourth Time Buffalo has scored just two touchdowns in its past five outings, a stretch in which it has been outscored by a margin of 116-37.
Running back LeSean McCoy took the offense personally. Though he had a team-best 82 yard receiving, McCoy finished with just 13 yards.
"I'm 30 years old. I've been playing since high school. This stuff has never happened to me. Yeah it's tough, "he said.
What hurts more is McCoy?
"It's not fair to them," he said. "I did not expect to have no season like this. I'm not really playing well at all. We're not doing much on offense. "
Credit the Bills' defense contre le rôle de la sortie des coupeurs contre la combat contre la combat contre la combat.
"You come out and you hold those guys to one touchdown and still can not get a win. It's tough, man, "Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White said.
Stephen Hauschka accounted for the scoring by hitting field goals from 51 and 47 yards.
"It's clearly not good enough," coach Sean McDermott said of his sputtering offense. "I thought the defense came out and played well at times. Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit there, and just could not get it going enough. "
Anderson finished 22 of 39 for 290 yards and two interceptions.
He was escorted by Kyle Van Noy. He was making his second start in a row of rookie Josh Allen, who's listed on the weekend with a sprained elbow on his throwing arm.
Brady finished 29 of 45 for 324 yards, but was held without a touchdown for the first time this season.
"They made it tough on us," he said. "We could not get anything going in the red zone, not enough positive plays down there."
Brady continued his thong of career-long dominance over the Bills by improving to 29-3, extending the NFL record for most wins by a quarterback against one opponent.
The Patriots beat Buffalo for the seventh straight time and improved to 32-5 in their last 37 meetings under coach Bill Belichick.
HONORING THURMAN
The highlight for Bills is a halftime ceremony in which the retired team Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas' No. 34.
He became the third player in history. Jim Kelly had his No. 12 retired in 2001, and Bruce Smith's No. 78 was retired in 2016.
With the lights turned out at the sold-out stadium, the highlights of Thomas' Hall of Fame were shown on the video scoreboard while two spotlights projected 34s onto the field. "When I look up and see the No. 34 retired under my name, I'll be reminded that it does not belong to me," Thomas said. "It belongs to the Bills fans everywhere."
PRYOR VISIT
The receiver- and quarterback-needy Bills had free agent Terrelle Pryor in for a visit earlier in the day. Pryor is a seventh-year player who was released by the New York Jets on Oct. 20 with an injury settlement after hurting his groin.
INJURIES
Patriots: Sony Rookie RB Michel (left knee) and starting LB Dont'a Hightower (knee) were inactive.
Bills: Rookie starting middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds did not return in the second half after being diagnosed with a concussion.
UP NEXT
Patriots: Prepare for a Brady-vs.-Aaron Rodgers showdown, hosting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Bills: Host the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
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