Buffalo (5-11) at New England (10-6)

 

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Brady Not Happy with Team Performance

SCOUTING REPORT

Patriots have questions to answerThis would seem to be a lopsided opener for the Patriots, but there are always several question marks to be answered in a team's first game. If Tedy Bruschi is suited up how will he perform not participating in any of the preseason games? How will the loss of Willie McGinest affect the defense? Who will be the go-to guy in the passing game without the presence of Deion Branch? How much will each back (Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney) carry the mail? There are few things to watch if you're a Patriot fan. Bills fans have to be a bit nervous going into Foxborough with a new coaching staff and a young unproven quarterback. How will J.P. Losman react on the road in front of a hostile crowd? Can the Bills establish any kind of a running game vs. one of the best defensive lines in the league? How will the change in the defensive philosophy (going smaller and quicker up front) affect the Bills' ability to stop the running game? There are a lot of good reasons to watch this game if you're a fan of either team.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
BUF	7-9	300	311	4-4	3-5	3-3	5-7
NWE	12-4	385	237	5-3	7-1	4-2	8-4
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Buffalo Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Edward... 60.2 1170 6 7 Fitzpa... 51.9 659 3 6

New England Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Brady 66.4 3049 20 6 Hoyer 81.8 52 0 0

Buffalo Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jackso... 129 528 4.1 0 Lynch 87 272 3.1 1

New England Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Marone... 116 455 3.9 6 Taylor 45 201 4.5 2

Buffalo Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Owens 35 563 16.1 2 Evans 28 396 14.1 5

New England Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Moss 63 925 14.7 8 Welker 79 854 10.8 4

Full Player Stats: Buffalo | New England

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	BUF	258.0
	NWE	352.0
Yards Passing	BUF	157.2
	NWE	257.5
Yards Rushing	BUF	100.4
	NWE	94.5
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	BUF	343.5
	NWE	330.2
Pass Yds Allowed	BUF	205.7
	NWE	231.4
Rush Yds Allowed	BUF	137.8
	NWE	98.8

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
New England leads 11-1
Dec 11, 2005	BUF 7, @NWE 35
Oct 30, 2005	BUF 16, NWE 21
Nov 14, 2004	BUF 6, NWE 29
Oct 3, 2004	BUF 17, @NWE 31
Dec 27, 2003	BUF 0, NWE 31
Sep 7, 2003	BUF 31, @NWE 0
Dec 8, 2002	BUF 17, NWE 27
Nov 3, 2002	BUF 7, @NWE 38
Dec 16, 2001	BUF 9, @NWE 12
Nov 11, 2001	BUF 11, NWE 21

Buffalo (5-11) at New England (10-6) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Tom Brady will not have his favorite receiver Deion Branch, but he probably doesn't need him on Sunday when the New England Patriots host the Buffalo Bills in a battle of AFC East rivals.

Brady is 9-1 in his career against the Bills, including a sweep last season.

The three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback completed 29-of-38 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots' 35-7 win at Buffalo last December 11. It was Buffalo's worst home loss since a 38-7 setback to New England on November 3, 2002.

J.P. Losman was completely flustered by Bill Belichick's defensive scheme, completing just 9-of-26 passes. Losman hooked up with Lee Evans on a 58-yard play in the first quarter and with Josh Reed on a 51-yard TD with 2:14 left in the game.

And the Pats completely bottled up Willis McGahee, who was limited to three yards on eight carries.

It was quite a contrast from the October meeting here between the teams when McGahee rushed for 136 yards on 31 carries in a 21-16 victory for the Patriots.

But both teams have undergone some major changes. Brady lost his starting receivers from last year - Branch remains a holdout and David Givens signed with Tennessee.

The defense lost outside linebacker Willie McGinest, who signed with Cleveland, and safety Rodney Harrison returns after suffering a torn ACL last season. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi missed most of the preseason with a broken wrist and may not be ready to return for the opener.

But the biggest loss of all may be kicker Adam Vinatieri. The folks in New England still are wondering how vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli and Belichick let Vinatieri get away.

Vinatieri made every clutch kick for the Patriots, helping them become the second team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span (2001-04). He kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Patriots a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI and drilled a 41-yarder with four seconds left in a 32-29 win over Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

And now his shoes will be filled by rookie Stephen Gostkowski, a fourth-round pick out of Memphis.

The Bills stunned the football world by hiring Marv Levy, the only coach to guide a team to four straight Super Bowls, as their general manager.

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, the 81-year-old Levy didn't exactly soothe the angst in the upstate New York region with his hiring of Dick Jauron as coach.

Jauron, 55, served as interim coach of the Detroit Lions after Steve Mariucci was fired last November. Jauron was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2001, guiding the Chicago Bears to a 13-3 record and a division title. But they were 22-43 in his four other years as coach.

The Bills have not reached the playoffs since 1999 and last won a playoff game in 1995 when Levy was the coach.

Losman, a first-round pick in 2004, was only 1-7 as a starter last season. But he held off the challenge of veteran Kelly Holcomb in the preseason.

Most of Buffalo's offseason additions were to help a defense which ranked 29th in the league last season. Safety Donte Whitner and defensive tackle John McCargo were selected in the first round and three other rookies - nickel back Ashton Youboty, safety Ko Simpson and defensive tackle Kyle Williams - are also expected to contribute.

Defensive tackle Larry Tripplett was signed as a free agent to replace Sam Adams, who was released.

Bills sign Simmons to help injury-ridden line

The Buffalo Bills began reinforcing their injury-depleted offensive line by signing veteran guard Kendall Simmons.

Vikings-Cards Dec. 6 game flexed to nighttime

The NFL has moved the Minnesota at Arizona game to the night slot on Dec. 6 under its flexible scheduling policy.

2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 12

Week 12 of the latest ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings reveals a matchup of the Nos. 1 and 4 teams.

Mel Kiper Jr.: New Big Board (Nov. 25)

ESPN NFL draft Insider Mel Kiper ranks the top 25 pro prospects on November 25, 2009. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh remains No. 1.

Kim brings new tips to Bills' defenders

The Buffalo Bills have a martial arts expert working with their players this week.

Bills' Maybin offers path to success

Buffalo Bills rookie defensive end Aaron Maybin asked a question of about 180 high school football players getting ready to practice at the team's fieldhouse Tuesday evening.

BILLS: Road back for Bowen nearly complete

The road has always been long for Alvin Bowen. Originally, Bowen's football odyssey took him from New Jersey to a Kansas junior college, then later to Iowa State - a long way from a New York City suburb.

BILLS: Corner not afraid of competition

Good thing Reggie Corner isn't afraid to come back clawing and scratching after getting picked on.

To Help at Receiver, Buffalo Adds Fire to Ice

Count Lee Evans as a fan of Terrell Owens . With teams preparing for the coming season, keep up with all the off-season news on the Times's pro football blog.

Rodney Harrison set to tackle NBC gig

Rodney Harrison [ stats ] is ready to begin the next phase of his life. One of the most storied players in Patriots [ team stats ] history, Harrison will be introduced as the newest member of NBC's broadcast team during a conference call tomorrow, according to a source with knowledge of Harrison's plans.

Jim Donaldson: It's okay to to be optimistic about the 2009 Pats' offense, but let's be realistic

They are more than merely workouts, these sessions in which the Patriots are participating on the grass field in the southern shadow of Gillette Stadium.

Vince Wilfork a no-show again

Patriots [ team stats ] nose tackle Vince Wilfork [ stats ] is scheduled to appear at an event in support of his diabetes charity tomorrow.

Patriots.com News Blitz

Maroney talks about being healthy and Crable and Springs reflect on being back in action.

Patriots re-sign punter Tom Malone

The Patriots announced that they have re-signed punter Tom Malone today. Malone joins veteran Chris Hanson on the roster at the punter spot.