After three quarters of play, the New England Patriots' offense looked superb, posting 31 points and beginning another successful drive at the end of the third. However, poor play from the defensive secondary, which is nothing out of the ordinary for this team, has allowed the visiting Buffalo Bills to stay close with 24 points of their own.
New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski was able to extend his team's lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter with a 48-yard field goal.
The Bills would drive the ball down the field once again, 93 yards and down inside the Patriots' 5-yard-line. However, a costly fumble by running back Fred Jackson would turn the ball back over to New England at the 1-yard-line.
The Patriots were unable to move the ball out from underneath the shadow of their own goal posts and were forced to punt it back to the Bills. Ryan Fitzpatrick would take advantage of great starting field position, as well as a couple of Patriots' penalties, to drive his team back for another touchdown. Donald Jones made the catch for the score on third and goal to cut the Buffalo deficit to 34-31.
With a touchdown drive, the Patriots could have sealed the game in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Tom Brady was not able to get the job done, throwing a pair of incompletions from inside the red-zone to allow the Bills a chance with more than two minutes to go in the game. Gostkowski's field goal would make the score 37-31.
The Bills made a valiant comeback effort, driving the ball into the red-zone with a chance to win the game on a touchdown. However, in classic Buffalo fashion, Fitzpatrick would throw one right into the arms of Patriots' defensive back Devin McCourty with just twenty seconds left on the clock to seal the New England victory.
It wasn't pretty, but the Patriots were able to survive and hang on for a 37-31 win over the visiting Buffalo Bills.