All units made plays after poor start.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:Ryan Fitzpatrick bounced back after a poor start. He threw two first half interceptions, the first one wasn't his fault it was deflected. He made a beautiful fade patter pass for a score to Johnson and found a wide open Chandler for a score. Calmly moved the Bills down for winning field goal. Finished 27 of 40 for 369 yards and a rating of 92.6
Grade B+: He overcame early struggles to right the ship.
Fred Jackson was fantastic running very hard averaging 6.2 yards per carry. He was a force in the passing game with a 17.4 yard average on 5 catches. He had a total of 161 yards of offense.
C.J. Spiller had one carry, and one catch for a total of -4 yards.
Grade A: Jackson is having a Pro Bowl season so far.
Stevie Johnson played very well catching everything in his path including a fade pattern for a touchdown. He had eight catches for 94 yards
Donald Jones was one of the players that bounced back after a bad start. He had a pass go off his hands for an interception and couldn't haul in a jump ball downfield late in the first half. He couldn't get the first down on an end around when he was caught from behind. He got hot however and had a huge 48 yard catch on the final drive as he finished with his first 100 yard receiving game.
David Nelson was solid over the middle once again, finishing with 84 yards on six catches.
Brad Smith couldn't haul in the only pass his way.
Scott Chandler got called for a holding penalty but made up for it with a touchdown reception.
Naaman Roosevelt dropped a pass on the final first half possession, the only one that came his way.
Grade B: Great production could have been better if it wasn't for drops.
Demetrius Bell really developing into a solid left tackle.
Andy Levitre opened up nice holes for the running game.
Eric Wood got called for a bad chop block penalty that killed a Bills 1st quarter drive. He then got called for a 2nd quarter holding penalty.
Chad Rinehart played well in his first start.
Grade A: No sacks and solid protection to go along with good holes in the running game.
Kyle Williams very quiet day but there weren't big holes in the running game.
Marcell Dareus made a huge play with his helmet. The ball that went off his helmet was picked off and returned for a score by Florence.
Dwan Edwards quietly had seven tackles.
Spencer Johnson was in on two tackles.
Alex Carrington had a big third down tackle for loss.
Grade B: No pressure but kept running game at bay.
Shawne Merriman was in and out of the lineup again. Did have one QB pressure but did little else.
Chris Kelsay was very quiet with two assists and a pass defensed.
Andra Davis also only had two assists.
Nick Barnett Had 11 tackles but got called for a holding penalty on New England's second TD drive. Had a bad personal foul on the final drive of the first half.
Grade B: Really helped the defense stiffen up in second half.
Leodis McKelvin had a complete turnaround from a week ago. Had a huge interception in the third quarter and a great open field tackle to force the Patriots to settle for a field goal in the third quarter. He also had six tackles
Drayton Florence fell down allowing Wes Welker to get wide open for the Pats first score but made up for it with a touchdown of his own on an interception.
Jairus Byrd had 12 tackles as his run support has improved dramatically this year.
George Wilson had 10 tackles and an interception along with a pass breakup.
Bryan Scott had a beautiful diving interception just before halftime to keep the Pats off the scoreboard.
Aaron Williams was beaten for numerous big plays including three big pass days to Welker on the Pats first two TD drives. He was then beaten by Rob Gronkowski for a 26 yard touchdown pass. He left with a chest injury.
Reggie Corner had a nice pass breakup. Called for illegal block in the back on interception return.
Grade B: Gave up 387 yards passing and four touchdowns but the four picks outweighs that.
Brian Moorman had a 50 yard average on five punts including two inside the 20. Solid day.
Rian Lindell hit both field goals including the game winner.
C.J. Spiller returned one kick for 16 yards and averaged 20 yards on two punt returns.
Chris White was called for an illegal block in the back penalty on a kickoff return.
Coverage Units Allowed four kickoff returns for an averaged of 18.3 yards and a 10.3 yard average on three punt returns.
Grade A: Lindell's two big kicks were the difference.
Chan Gailey question game calling early on two fourth down plays. Brilliant game management at the end of the game. His team never gives up.
George Edwards his unit made some great adjustments after going down 21-0. They held the Pats high powered offense to 10 points in the last two plus quarters.
Bruce DeHaven has his unit playing well. Dealing with kickoff rules very well allowing returns but keep them short.
Grade A: 3-0 and this team is close knit and believes in itself.
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