A FIRED-UP Tom Brady notched another milestone NFL win on Sunday as the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots powered past the Buffalo Bills 23-3.
Brady connected on 21 of 30 passes for 258 yards as he notched his 27th career victory over the Bills. He broke Brett Favre’s league record for most quarterback wins against a single opponent.
Brady also joined Favre, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees as the only NFL quarterbacks with at least 65,000 career passing yards.
The Patriots improved to 10-2 — their 15th straight seasons with at least 10 wins — but it wasn’t always pretty.
New England didn’t score a touchdown in the first half for the first time this season and Brady’s frustration boiled over with some choice words for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels after the Pats’ first field goal.
Rex Burkhead rushed for two touchdowns. Tight end Rob Gronkowski caught nine passes for 147 yards but delivered an ugly late hit on Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White with the game well in hand in the fourth quarter.
White was evaluated for a head injury after intercepting Brady late in the fourth. Gronkowski drove his shoulder into White as he lay face down on the turf after the whistle.
“There is no room in this league for that type of crap,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said, and Gronkowski himself was apologetic after the game.
“I was just really frustrated at that moment,” Gronkowski said. “I don’t really believe in those type of shots.”
The Bills lost for the fourth time in five games. Making matters worse, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was carted to the locker room with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter.
The Minnesota Vikings also notched an eighth straight win, downing the Falcons 14-9 in Atlanta.
The Ravens notched a big win in Baltimore, where Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and Alex Collins ran for a two scores in a 44-20 victory over the Detroit Lions.
The Ravens boosted their playoff hopes with a third straight win, but will make their stretch run without cornerback Jimmy Smith, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, making his third career start and first for the 49ers, came away with a 15-14 victory over the Chicago Bears after veteran kicker Robbie Gould booted his fifth field goal of the game with four seconds remaining.
The field goal capped a 14-play, 86-yard drive directed by Garoppolo and gave the 49ers their first away win of the season.
In Green Bay, Aaron Jones rushed for a 20-yard touchdown with 5:59 left in overtime to lift the Packers to a 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The New York Jets beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-31 on Josh McCown’s touchdown plunge from a yard out with 2:10 left to play.
The Chiefs lost for the sixth time in seven games and are now tied atop the AFC West with the surprising Los Angeles Chargers, who beat the Cleveland Browns 19-10.
- © AFP 2017
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