Game Notes: Bills Snap Patriots Home Winning Streak, Down Patriots 17-9.

Aside for pride, this was for all intents and purposes, a nothing game based on the inactive list alone. Nevertheless, showing off one of the best defenses in the league combined with the Patriots sitting their best receivers, the Bills walked away with a 17-9 win over the Patriots, giving Buffalo their first win at Gillette Stadium in franchise history and breaking the Patriots’ 35-game win streak against AFC opponents at home.

“I think we tried to go out there and give a great effort. They’re a good team. They make it tough on you. They made it tough on us down there when we played them and they made it tough today. They’ve got a good team, but we’re looking forward. It’s tough – we always hate losing, absolutely. We didn’t make enough plays to win, but hopefully we make them in a couple weeks,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said.

The Bills finish the season with a 9-7 record, their first winning season since 2004 while the Patriots go into the playoffs with a 12-4 record.

The Bills took the lead only minutes into the first quarter with Kyle Orton’s 43-yard pass to Robert Woods placing Buffalo in scoring position at the New England 10-yard line.

A four-yard run by Fred Jackson was followed up by a six-yard pass to Woods for a touchdown with 11:59 to play in the quarter.

After exchanging punts, the Patriots opened up their second drive with an 18-yard pass from Tom Brady to Brian Tyms. Brandon LaFell got the Patriots down to the Bills 35, crossing over the middle at his own 45 before running down the right sideline. The effort led to a Stephen Gosktowski field goal from 24 yards away.

Tyms’ four reception for 39 yards was good enough for a three way tie for the most catches on the team with LaFell and Danny Amendola. LaFell led the team in reception yards with 70.

“It always feels good to be out there. I just tried to take advantage of every opportunity, I missed some opportunities and I have to go back and watch the film later tonight and go over that so I don’t make the same mistakes when we come into practice,” Tyms said.

A second 44-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the second represented the remaining offensive production from the Patriots during the first half with Buffalo taking a 17-6 lead into the half thanks to a Boobie Dixon touchdown run and a Dan Carpenter 48-year field goal in the second.

As speculated during the week, Brady sat out the second half in favor of rookie Jimmy Garoppolo. The first year quarterback went 10-17 with 90 yards passing and most notably hit LaFell across the Buffalo 24 for a 20-yard bullet in the third quarter. The pass helped set up a 3-yard field goal with 37 seconds left in the third quarter, the third kick of the game for New England.

“He competed well. He’s under some pressure but some things were good but other things could have been better. I thought he competed well and some of the opportunities he had to make plays he made them so there are some positives there and things to build on,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said,

With a weak and depleted offensive line, Garoppolo found himself scrambling away from the blitzing Buffalo defense. During the second half, the Bills were able to sack Garoppolo three times and hit Brady once in the first half.

In the fourth quarter, the Patriots showed some promise before fizzling out in their own territory. A pass to LaFell allowed New England to pick up a quick first down followed by a scramble by Garoppolo for nine yards on third and six to bring the Patriots up to the New England 44. The Patriots would get down to the Bills’ 30 before a sack and a penalty forced New England back to their own 44 to punt.

New England’s final drive with 1:50 left to play went nowhere, with the team turning the ball over on downs.

The Patriots will now enjoy a bye week before returning to action during the NFL Playoffs divisional round on Dec. 10-11.

Below are game notes provided by Patriots Media Relations:

TEAM NOTES

PATRIOTS FINISH SEASON WITH 468 POINTS AND 52 TOUCHDOWNS

The Patriots finished the 2014 season with 52 touchdowns, marking the eighth time in franchise history that New England has scored at least 50 touchdowns in a season. New England totaled 468 points in 2014, a total that ranks fifth in team history.

PATRIOTS SNAP 17-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK AGAINST THE AFC EAST

Prior to the loss to Buffalo, the Patriots had won their last 17 consecutive home games against AFC East opposition. Before the loss to Buffalo, the last time the Patriots lost a home game against an AFC East opponent was on Nov. 13, 2008, when the New York Jets left Gillette Stadium with a 34-31 overtime win. The Patriots’ 17-game streak ties Buffalo’s 17 straight home divisional wins from 1988-92 for the second longest since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Green Bay Packers (1994-98) own the record with 18 straight home wins against division opponents.

The most consecutive home wins against division opponents since 1970:

Team Years Streak

Green Bay 1994-98 18

Patriots 2009-14 17

Buffalo 1988-92 17

Dallas 1991-95 16

Miami 19971-75 16

PATRIOTS SNAP STREAK OF 16 STRAIGHT HOME WINS

The Patriots ended their streak of 16 consecutive regular-season victories at home. Prior to the Buffalo loss, the Patriots had not lost a regular-season home game since December 16, 2012, when San Francisco left Foxborough with a 41-34 win.

LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK/PATRIOTS HISTORY (REG. SEASON)

Streak First Win Last Win

20 Dec. 12, 2008 Oct. 16, 2011

18 Dec. 29, 2002 Sept. 8, 2005

16 Dec. 30, 2012 Dec. 14, 2014

12 Nov. 26, 2006 Sept. 7, 2008

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

TOM BRADY ENDS STREAK OF 43 STRAIGHT HOME WINS AGAINST AFC

Tom Brady ended a streak of 43 straight regular-season home victories as a starting quarterback against AFC opposition. Brady is now 69-9 in his career as a starting quarterback against AFC teams at home. Prior to the loss to Buffalo, the last time that Brady lost a home regular season game to an AFC opponent was on Nov. 12, 2006 when the Patriots lost to the New York Jets, 17-14.

BRADY FINISHES SEASON WITH 4,109 PASSING YARDS

Tom Brady finished the 2014 season with 4,109 passing yards, marking his fourth straight 4,000-yard season and his seventh 4,000-yard season of his career. Brady owns seven of the nine 4,000-yard passing seasons in Patriots history.

Patriots Top Passing Yards/Season

Yards Player Year

5,235 Tom Brady 2011

4,827 Tom Brady 2012

4,806 Tom Brady 2007

4,555 Drew Bledsoe 1994

4,398 Tom Brady 2009

4,343 Tom Brady 2013

4,110 Tom Brady 2005

4,109 Tom Brady 2014

4,086 Drew Bledsoe 1996

LB JAMIE COLLINS FORCES AND RECOVERS A FUMBLE ON A 6-YARD SACK

LB Jamie Collins forced and recovered a fumble on a 6-yard sack of QB Kyle Orton in the second quarter. He has a team-leading four forced fumbles. It was his second fumble recovery of the season, also a team high.

GOSTKOWSKI SETS PATRIOTS TEAM RECORD FOR FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Stephen Gostkowski made 94.6 percent of his field goals in 2014 (35-for-37), setting a new team record for field goal percentage.

PATRIOTS BEST FIELD GOAL PCT./SEASON

Player Year FGM FGA PCT.

Stephen Gostkowski 2014 35 37 .946

Adam Vinatieri 2004 31 33 .939

Stephen Gostkowski 2013 38 41 .927

Stephen Gostkowski 2008 36 40 .900

Adam Vinatieri 2002 27 30 .900

GOSTKOWSKI FINISHES SEASON WITH 156 POINTS; SECOND MOST IN TEAM HISTORY

Stephen Gostkowski finished the 2014 season with 156 points (35 FG, 51 PAT). His 156 points rank second in team history, trailing only his 158 points in 2013. Gostkowski’s 156 total points are seventh all-time for most kicking points in a season. He is the only kicker with three of the top eight kicking point seasons.

PATRIOTS RECORD FOR MOST POINTS IN A SEASON

158 Stephen Gostkowski, 2013

156 Stephen Gostkowski, 2014

155 Gino Cappelletti, 1964 (includes 7 Tds)

153 Stephen Gostkowski, 2012

148 Stephen Gostkowski, 2008

147 Gino Cappelletti, 1961

143 Stephen Gostkowski, 2011

NFL RECORD FOR MOST POINTS BY A KICKER

166 David Akers (SF) in 2011

164 Gary Anderson (MIN) in 1998

163 Jeff Wilkins (STL) in 2003

161 Mark Mosley (WAS) in 1983

158 Stephen Gostkowski (NE) in 2013

157 Mike Vanderjagt (IND) in 2003

156 Stephen Gostkowski (NE) in 2014

153 Stephen Gostkowski (NE) in 2012

VEREEN FINISHES WITH 52 CATCHES, MOST BY A PATRIOTS RB SINCE 2008

Shane Vereen finished the 2014 season with 52 receptions for 447 yards. His 52 catches were the most by a Patriots running back since Kevin Faulk had 58 receptions in 2008. Vereen joins Faulk, Tony Collins, Leroy Thompson, Dave Meggett and Kevin Turner as the only running backs in Patriots history to have 50 or more receptions in a season.

ALLEN FINISHES SECOND IN TEAM HISTORY IN PUNTING AVERAGE

Ryan Allen finished the season with 66 punts for 3,060 yards, and his average of 46.36 yards per punt ranks second in team history. Zoltan Mesko holds the franchise record with an average of 46.46 yards per punt in 2011 (57 punts for 2,648 yards). As a rookie in 2013, Allen averaged 45.9 yards per punt, a total that now ranks third in team history. Allen’s two seasons with the Patriots have produced two of the top three single-season punting averages in franchise history.

Photo Credit: New England Patriots