Buffalo Bills Week 17 Game Recap: Vs New England Patriots

Dec 29, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Thad Lewis (9) throws prior to their game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the final Buffalo Bills game recap of the season, as the Bills are playing their final game of this NFL season against our New England Patriots. Playoffs are out of the question for the Bills, but they do have their pride, and would love to hand the Patriots a loss, and drop them to the number four seed in the playoffs.

The Patriots started the game off hot, running the football down the throats of the Bills, most of the damage being done by LeGarrette Blount, but the drive stalled deep in Bills territory, and the Patriots were forced to settle for a 43 yard field goal, making it 3-0 after the opening drive. The Bills answered back, with some big plays from CJ Spiller and Marquise Goodwin, but a gaffe from Thad Lewis put the Bills nearly out of field goal range, but was saved by Dan Carpenter after he nailed a 51 yard field goal, making it 3-3. The Patriots again drove down field, but stalled again inside the Bills 20, settling for another Gostkowski field goal, this one from 35 out, making it 6-3. The Bills couldn’t do much after another long play downfield, and were forced to punt the ball, pinning the Patriots deep. The Patriots started things off in the second quarter, by continuing to cram the ball down the Bills throats, capped off by a 36 yard run by Blount, 13-3 Patriots. The Bills followed up that defensive letdown, by failing to convert on fourth down at midfield, but the Patriots couldn’t capitalize on it, so it did not hurt them. After the Ryan Allen pinned the Bills deep, they forced to punt again. One last Stephen Gostkowski field goal ended the first half, with the Patriots up 16-3.

The Bills started the second half, but again punted the ball. The Patriots followed that up with a punt of their own. The Bills continued this trend by punting for the third straight possession. The Patriots might have continued this streak of punts, but it was Tom Brady who actually punted the ball! The third punt of his career. After that fun, the Bills proceeded to drive down the field, down into the redzone, and finished it with a short touchdown from Lewis to TJ Graham, cutting the lead to 16-10. What happened next was simply amazing, LeGarrette Blount ran the ball 82 yards off the ensuing kickoff, to put the Patriots in Bills territory immediately. The Patriots took advantage of this, and an encroachment call to score a Brady to Vereen touchdown, and then a Brady to Edelman two point conversion, 24-10 Patriots. With the rain coming down harder than ever, the Bills drove nearly the length of the field, finished by a Fred Jackson touchdown plunge, making this game 24-17, Patriots. LaGarrette Blount continued his amazing game by running the ball back another 62 yards, but this time the Patriots settled for a 35 yard field goal, making it 27-17, halfway through the fourth quarter. The Bills turned the ball over on down their next possession, after Jackson was stopped on a short third down run, and Graham dropped an easy first down on a fourth down throw from Lewis, setting up the Patriots nicely at the 50. The Patriots didn’t capitalize however, as Shane Vereen bobbled a pass himself, which bounced into Manny Lawson’s arms for the interception. The Bills followed with a field goal, but it wouldn’t do much good as Blount capped off his phenomenal game with another long touchdown run, giving him 189 yards rushing, and 334 total yards with two touchdowns, as this game ended with a score of 34-20. The Bills are done for the year at 6-10, and the New England Patriots are off to the playoffs, with a first round bye.