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Patriots look to complete season sweep of Bills

Oct 17, 2006 - 11:46 PM New England (4-1) at Buffalo (2-4) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- The New England Patriots were fortunate to escape with a victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week One.

On Sunday, the Patriots look for their seventh straight win over their AFC East rivals.

In the first meeting between the teams on September 10, the Patriots rallied from 10-point halftime deficit for a 19-17 victory.

Defensive end Ty Warren sacked J.P. Losman in the end zone for the go-ahead safety with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter to snap a 17-17 tie.

Three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady threw for a pair of touchdowns to improve to 10-1 in his career against the Bills. He completed just 11-of-23 passes for 163 yards and lost a fumble on the game's first play from scrimmage that was returned 12 yards for a touchdown by linebacker London Fletcher-Baker.

Bills coach Dick Jauron also made a critical decision in the third quarter that helped turn the momentum of the game. The Bills held a 17-7 lead and had possession at the New England 7. But on a 4th-and-1 play, Jauron opted to go for the first down instead of attempting a field goal and Willis McGahee was stopped for no gain.

Brady then directed a 93-yard scoring drive that he capped with a 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Kevin Faulk with 2:52 left in the third quarter, pulling the Patriots within 17-14.

The Patriots rolled to a 35-7 victory over the Bills here last December 11. Brady ran for one touchdown and threw for two more in gradually intensifying snow to pace the Patriots.

Brady's only loss to the Bills came here in the 2003 season opener, a 31-0 setback. He threw for just 123 yards and was intercepted four times.

New England enters this contest off its bye following an impressive 38-13 victory at Cincinnati two weeks ago. Rookie Laurence Maroney rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns and Corey Dillon gained 67 with a score as the Patriots piled up 236 yards on the ground.

The Bills endured their second straight loss last week, a 20-17 setback at Detroit. Buffalo committed four turnovers and McGahee, who leads the AFC in rushing with 505 yards, was limited to 66 on 17 carries.

Losman will be looking to get the ball to wide receiver Lee Evans, who will be matched against Asante Samuel. In his last three games, Evans has 24 receptions for 268 yards. He had just two receptions for 25 yards in the first meeting against the Patriots.