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Brady, Patriots defeat Bills for seventh straight time

Oct 22, 2006 - 7:51 PM ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- The New England Patriots needed no second-half heroics this time around.

Corey Dillon ran for two early touchdowns and Tom Brady threw a pair of scores as the Patriots coasted to a 28-6 triumph over the Buffalo Bills.

New England has won five of its first six games this season, a stretch bookended by a pair of victories over Buffalo. In all, the Patriots have won seven straight matchups with their AFC East rivals and Brady is 11-1 against the Bills in his career.

In a 19-17 victory in Week One, Brady threw two touchdown passes and defensive end Ty Warren sacked J.P. Losman in the end zone for the go-ahead safety midway through the fourth quarter.

That contest got off to a horrible start for New England as Brady lost a fumble on the first play of the game and linebacker London Fletcher-Baker returned it 12 yards for a score.

But the Patriots endured no such issues in the first quarter Sunday as they took the opening kickoff and drove 71 yards in 14 plays, capped by Dillon's eight-yard TD run.

"It was certainly a lot easier playing them from 11 points ahead than 10 points behind," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Brady converted three third downs on the drive. He found Reche Caldwell for a six-yard pass on 3rd-and-4 and later hooked up with Troy Brown for a nine-yard gain on 3rd-and-8. In between, Brady ran for three yards on 3rd-and-1 to keep alive the drive.

"We played better today (than in the first matchup)," Brady said. "(Buffalo) is a good football team. Their defense plays hard and they have quality players. It's always tough playing here."

Buffalo countered with a field goal on its first possession, but New England rookie Laurence Maroney returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards to the Bills 21. Three plays later, Brady was sacked by defensive end Chris Kelsay, who was called for unnecessary roughness, setting up Dillon's 12-yard TD run on the next play.

Dillon finished with 14 carries for 47 yards. He has yet to surpass 80 yards in a game this season, but does have four touchdowns in six contests.

Brady made it 21-3 late in the third quarter when he hooked up with rookie Chad Jackson on a 35-yard touchdown pass. The second-round pick out of Florida got open in the back right corner of the end zone and Brady hit him in stride to basically put the game out of reach.

Brady added a five-yard TD strike to Doug Gabriel midway through the fourth to cap the scoring.

"Our receivers are doing a great job," Brady said. "They're working hard to get there. ... You have to get to know guys, but we're making an improvement. Like I said, if we keep doing that, we're going to be better."

After completing less than 50 percent of his passes in the season opener against the Bills, Brady was 18-of-27 for 195 yards in this one en route to a season-best 112.4 passer rating. The two-time Super Bowl MVP has 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 12 career games vs. Buffalo.

The Patriots only outgained the Bills, 265-256, but made the necessary plays when they had to. New England limited Buffalo to just 4-of-13 third-down conversions, including just 1-of-7 in the second half.

"Our emphasis all week was to start fast," Pats safety Rodney Harrison said. "That was the emphasis, we worked hard on it."

Losman went just 16-of-25 for 193 yards, threw an interception, fumbled two times and was sacked twice. He did not get a ton of help from Willis McGahee, who carried 20 times for just 59 yards and did not have a run longer than eight yards.

"I'm fine," Losman said. "I don't want anybody to think that for one second, my head is down. You have to look at the big picture and the long run. I'm not looking to have a great season and just end it right there. I know it's a process."

Rian Lindell kicked field goals of 40 and 46 yards for the Bills (2-5), who have lost three straight.

"It's embarrassing, but we still have to go out there and correct it," McGahee said.

Buffalo had only three drives of more than 17 yards, and one of those ended when Losman was intercepted by cornerback Asante Samuel at the New England 13 late in the second quarter.

"It was a long day," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "We continued to make foolish errors that really don't give us much of a chance to win the game, especially against good opponents."