Patriots Rout Bills, Improve to 10-0

Patriots 56, Bills 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y., Nov. 18 -- There was, maybe, a kink or two for the New England Patriots to work out as they returned from their bye week. They dropped a couple of passes. They might have missed a tackle. There seemed to be a smudge on quarterback Tom Brady's jersey at one point.

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But mostly, they were the same overwhelming team that they'd been before their short respite, perhaps even more imposingly so. Brady threw five touchdown passes, four of them to wide receiver Randy Moss, and the Patriots tied their single-game franchise scoring record by rolling to a 56-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills here Sunday night to improve their record to 10-0.

"That was not a pleasant way to spend an evening," Bills Coach Dick Jauron said. "We ran into a buzz saw and we didn't do a whole lot to slow it down. We knew they were awfully talented and it could get out of hand."

The Patriots' pursuit of history and the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the NFL's only unbeaten team over an entire season, has taken on an air of inevitability. In their six remaining regular season games, the Patriots face only two clubs that currently have winning records, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.

The Bills (5-5) managed little resistance. The Patriots scored touchdowns on each of their first seven offensive possessions, including all five of their first-half drives. Brady and Moss teamed for four touchdowns in the first half alone and the Patriots led, 35-7, at the break.

New England prompted boos and profanely derisive chants by the home crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium for leaving its offense on the field on a pair of fourth downs in the third quarter. The Patriots converted both. Brady threw a touchdown pass to tight end Benjamin Watson on the first and completed a pass to Moss on the second to set up a running touchdown. A touchdown by cornerback Ellis Hobbs on a fumble recovery made it 56-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Brady exited the game at that point and finished with 373 passing yards on 31-for-39 throwing accuracy. He didn't throw an interception, leaving his totals for the season at 38 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Moss had 10 catches for 128 yards, and emerged with 16 touchdown receptions for the season.

"The offensive line set the tone," Brady said. "They gave me plenty of time to get the ball to Randy and that crew. It was a good performance."

The Patriots last had played two weeks before in Indianapolis, scoring two late touchdowns to overcome a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Colts. Patriots players said after this game that Coach Bill Belichick spent much of the time off reminding them that they were far from perfect.

"He put that humble pie on us," Moss said. "He wasn't letting us get too far ahead of ourselves."

The Patriots returned to play a Bills team that had won four straight games after a 1-4 start to the season but was limited on offense without injured tailback Marshawn Lynch, the fifth-leading rusher in the NFL entering the weekend who was on the inactive list because of a sprained ankle.

The night began with an emotional lift for the Bills when Kevin Everett, their reserve tight end who suffered a life-threatening spinal cord injury making a tackle on a kickoff during the opening game of the season, addressed the crowd in a taped message shown on the scoreboard video screen just before kickoff. Everett has been rehabilitating in Houston, his home town, and has made significant progress since being told originally by doctors that he was unlikely to walk again. Everett thanked his teammates and fans for their support, and finished by urging: "Let's beat New England."

The Bills, however, found themselves down two touchdowns practically before they knew it. Quarterback J.P. Losman completed his first pass but threw an interception to end the Bills' opening drive. The Patriots began their first possession at Buffalo's 13-yard line and needed two plays to score. On second down from the 6, tailback Laurence Maroney eased into the end zone. The Bills punted and the Patriots had to overcome -- gasp -- two dropped passes but still scored. The Bills dropped nine defenders into pass coverage on a third-and-12 play at the Buffalo 43. Yet they inexplicably neglected to cover Moss, who got behind safety George Wilson and hauled in Brady's throw for his first touchdown of the evening.

The Bills drew to within a touchdown on a 47-yard scoring strike from Losman to wideout Roscoe Parrish. No matter. The Patriots went right back to work and got Brady's 16-yard touchdown to Moss on the opening play of the second quarter. Moss caught a short pass on a slant pattern and stepped around cornerback Terrence McGee to reach the end zone.

The Bills punted and the Patriots crafted what was, by their standards, a methodical touchdown drive, requiring 10 plays. Brady scrambled for five yards to set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Moss. In the final seconds of the first half, Brady missed an open Moss in the end zone but came back to combine with Moss for a 17-yard touchdown on the next play.