The Patriots (6-3) did their regional pigskin predecessor proud Sunday, in their 20-10 win over Buffalo (5-4 and fading fast).
The victory was punctuated by one of the great steam-rolling drives of the 2008 season: a crushing 92-yard, 19-play fourth-quarter mechanical monster in which the Patriots tore the perpetually scarred hearts out of every football fan in Western New York, munched on the meaty chambers and then spit out and flattened the indigestible sinews.
The victory kept Tom Brady-less New England in a familiar spot: atop the AFC East. Both the Patriots and Jets are 6-3, but New England has the edge by virtue of their head-to-head victory back in September. (The Patriots host the Jets Thursday night.) It's hard to see New England doing much damage in the playoffs, but it looks more and more like they'll at least get in a good punch or two come January.
New England held a 13-3 lead over Buffalo early in the fourth quarter and had more or less controlled the game. But it was hardly over when the Patriots took over the ball at their own 8 yard line with more than 11 minutes to play.
After 19 consecutive offensive snaps, they sported an insurmountable 20-3 lead with fewer than 2 minutes to play.
It was the longest drive (by number of plays) in Patriots franchise history (tying a record the team set against the Jets in Sept. 2002) – no small feat considering New England boasted the most prolific offense in NFL history last year. It also highlights a remarkable metamorphosis from the high-powered scoring juggernaut of 2007 to the much less impressive but much more methodical offense of 2008.
Here are some of the highlights of a drive that ground the Bills defense into dust and proved that the Patriots still have a lot of gas left in the tank. (The drive play-by-play list can see below.)
ONE: Nearly the entire offense got in on the act
Eight different players touched the ball on the one drive alone, including four receivers (Sam Aiken, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney), three running backs (Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans, BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and, of course, quarterback Matt Cassel, who ran twice and attempted seven passes.
TWO: But one player shouldered the load
Running back Green-Ellis, an undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss who's quickly emerging as a force in New England's depleted offensive backfield, did the bulk of the work on the drive. He carried eight times for 29 yards, including the 1-yard TD plunge that ended the possession.
THREE: More players could have touched the ball
Just about the only eligible offensive player that didn't get his hands on the ball was linebacker and part-time TD maker Mike Vrabel. He came in as an eligible receiver on the last play of the drive, but was there merely to make the Bills think twice and blocked for the Green-Ellis TD run.
FOUR: Two Patriots passed the century mark on the drive
Welker hauled in a 12-yard pass during the drive, to surpass the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time this year. He ended the day with 10 catches for 107 yards. Green-Ellis, meanwhile, crossed the 100-yard rushing mark for first time in his career with a 2-yard carry from the Buffalo 9. He ended the game with 26 carries for 106 yards.
FIVE: New England milked the clock like a dairy cow
The Patriots ran more than 2 minutes off the clock just inside the Buffalo 10 alone. They had a first and goal at the Bills 9 with 4:09 left to play and, thanks to a defensive holding penalty on Buffalo's Marcus Stroud, ran five plays before scoring, running the clock down to 2 minutes in the process.
SIX: Cassel was clutch
New England's quarterback was, of course, the team's biggest question mark of the year, after he came into replace injured future Hall of Famer Tom Brady in the first game of the year. He's become a sure and steady if unspectacular force, and was on this drive, too. He completed 5 of 7 passes for 57 yards.
SEVEN: Long drives are a hallmark of the 2008 Patriots
New England has completely transformed itself from the explosive, score-from-anywhere, point-a-minute offense that defined the 2007 team and replaced it with this slow and steady steam roller. The 19-play possession was New England's 22nd drive of the year that went for 10 plays or more, the most in the NFL.
EIGHT: Mistake-free football was the key
The Patriots are the least penalized team in football this year, and they were not flagged once on the 19 play drive. It might not seem impressive until you consider that 19 plays is roughly one quarter of the number of snaps an offense might take in a given game. The Patriots were flagged just twice the entire game (for 15 yards) – two weeks after a game against St. Louis when the Patriots played a penalty-free game for the first time in franchise history. The Patriots have been penalized just four times for 35 yards over the last three games.
NINE: The Patriots lived and breathed situational football
New England coach Bill Belichick lives and dies with the mantra of situational football. The Patriots displayed a textbook example of it on this drive, converting all five third downs on the drive: two via pass, two via run, and one thanks to Stroud's penalty.
The drive (play by play)
1st and 10 (own 8) – Kevin Faulk carries for 1 yard
2nd and 9 (own 9) – Matt Cassel throws deep to Randy Moss, incomplete
3rd and 9 (own 9) – Cassel connects with Sam Aiken for 19 yards
1st and 10 (own 28) – BenJarvus Green-Ellis carries for 6 yards
2nd and 4 (own 34) – Cassel passes to Wes Welker for 8 yards
1st and 10 (own 42) – Green-Ellis runs for 1 yard
2nd and 9 (own 43) – Cassel passes to Jabar Gaffney for 8 yards
3rd and 1 (Bills 49) – Heath Evans runs for 3 yards
1st and 10 (Bills 46) – Green-Ellis runs for 13 yards
1st and 10 (Bills 33) – Cassel pass is incomplete
2nd and 10 (Bills 33) – Cassel passes to Welker for 12 yards
1st and 10 (Bills 21) – Green-Ellis runs for 1 yard
2nd and 9 (Bills 20) – Green Ellis runs for 1 yard
3rd and 8 (Bills 19) – Cassel passes to Gaffney for 10 yards
1st and goal (Bills 9) – Green-Ellis runs for 2 yards
2nd and goal (Bills 7) – Green-Ellis runs for 4 yards
3rd and goal (Bills 3) – Bills DT Marcus stroud called for defensive holding
1st and goal (Bills 1) – Cassel sneak for no gain
2nd and goal (Bills 1) – Cassel not-so-sneak for no gain
3rd and goal (Bills 1) – Green-Ellis runs off left tackle for TD
