ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady asserted his on-field ownership of the Buffalo Bills again Sunday, matching an NFL record in beating them for the 26th time.
Brady went 22 of 33 for 315 yards and four touchdowns in leading New England to a 41-25 win. He improved to 26-3 against Buffalo and equaled a record set by Brett Favre, who went 26-9 against Detroit.
Best of all, Brady’s performance had Bills fans heading for the exits early in the fourth quarter, while Patriots fans remained as the clock wound down.
“We’ve had a lot of experiences where there’s 70,000 people against you,” Brady said. “And at the end there’s 5,000 Patriots (fans) on the road that are cheering for us. … To be so far ahead you can run out the clock, it’s a great feeling.”
The Patriots (7-1) have won four straight since Brady returned after opening the season serving a four-game suspension. His absence included New England’s only blemish, a 16-0 home loss to Buffalo on Oct. 2, the first time the Patriots were shut out at home since 1993.
And don’t think that loss didn’t still sting.
“You know, they like to talk all that. They got that win,” said tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had 109 yards receiving and a touchdown. “I’m so glad we came in here and showed them what we’re really about.”
After a Bills field goal, Brady threw touchdowns passes on his first two drives. They included a 53-yarder to former Bills receiver Chris Hogan, who beat cornerback Stephon Gilmore up the left sideline.
The Patriots then broke the game open by scoring 27 points over five consecutive possessions. The surge began with Brady’s 53-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski with 4:18 left in the second quarter, and ended when Brady took a seat and was replaced by backup Jimmy Garoppolo with 4:29 left.
The Bills (4-4) sputtered without their top offensive threat, running back LeSean McCoy, who is sidelined by an injury to his left hamstring. And their defense was unable to keep the Patriots in check despite star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus making his season debut.
Dareus missed the previous three games because a hamstring injury after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
“Obviously, we weren’t good enough,” Bills Coach Rex Ryan said. “We made way too many mistakes, mistakes that we haven’t made all season. And against a guy like Brady, he makes you pay.”
The Patriots punted just three times and converted nine of 13 third-down opportunities.
Backup running back Mike Gillislee scored on a 3-yard run, and Taylor scrambled for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth down in the third quarter. Jonathan Williams scored on a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left.
For the Patriots, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman each caught a touchdown pass and LeGarrette Blount scored on a 1-yard run – his ninth touchdown of the season.
It was Brady’s first four-TD outing since a 36-7 win over Miami last October. And it was the most he’s had on the road since throwing four in a 37-22 win at Buffalo on Oct. 12, 2014.
Of his 20 regular-season games with four touchdowns passing or more, six have been against Buffalo.
GRONK MILESTONE
Gronkowski, who grew up in Buffalo, set two franchise records with his 53-yard touchdown catch. It was his 69th touchdown overall and 68th TD receiving, moving him one ahead of Stanley Morgan in both categories.
After spiking the ball, Gronkowski spun and took a bow.
He said he bowed in tribute to his mother, Diane, who met with Gronkowski at the team hotel Saturday and told him how proud she would be for him to break the record.
“I was like, I’ve got to give her a shoutout for letting me know she’s super proud of me,” he said. “Hi mom, and thank you.”
SACK ATTACK
The Bills had five sacks, upping their season total to 26 – five more than all last season. Veteran defensive tackle Kyle Williams got the 38th sack of his career, moving into eighth on the franchise list, one ahead of Sherman White.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PATRIOTS: Amendola’s 73-yard kickoff return to open the second half led to Brady’s 12-yard TD pass to Edelman that put New England up 31-10.
BILLS: Bills punter Colton Schmidt mishandled a snap while facing fourth-and-15 at his own 20. He quickly scooped it up and broke up the right sideline for a 16-yard gain. Buffalo eventually went on to score on Taylor’s 26-yard run to cut the Patriots lead to 31-17 midway through the third quarter.
INJURIES
BILLS: Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander did not return after hurting one of his hamstrings during a punt return in the second quarter. Receiver Brandon Tate (concussion protocol) did not return after being tackled by Devin McCourty in the third quarter.
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