Patriots Bring Down Kelly and Take Bills Along for Ride, 23-3

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Winter hasn’t even set in yet, and already Jim Kelly has to wonder what he’s doing in Buffalo.

The New England Patriots sacked Kelly five times and intercepted four Buffalo passes Sunday while pounding out a 23-3 victory over the Bills.

“Our bread and butter is our defense,” said New England linebacker Andre Tippett, who helped harass Kelly until the Bills (2-6) replaced him with Frank Reich in the final quarter.

New England, which entered the game with the third-ranked defense in the NFL, smothered the Bills’ receivers with man-to-man coverage, sometimes sending seven pass rushers at Kelly.

Two Buffalo scoring drives ended near the New England end zone when Kelly threw interceptions. Reich had two more passes picked off.

“The Patriots definitely have a very good defense,” Kelly said after completing 13 of 26 passes for 166 yards. “Probably the best one I’ve seen this year.

“They put a lot of pressure on me. As a quarterback, you try not to look at the guys coming at you. Today, it looked like they were coming all day long.”

While the Patriots (5-3) were able to keep Kelly in the pocket, New England quarterback Tony Eason found a lot of running room when his receivers were covered.

Eason scrambled for a career-high 55 yards, and two of his four runs gave the Patriots first downs during a drive that produced New England’s first touchdown, a two-yard run by Craig James.

“We kept them away from the big play, but he’d scramble and keep the drive alive,” said Bills’ linebacker Eugene Marve.

The Patriots built a 17-0 halftime lead as Robert Weathers added a 16-yard scoring run and Tony Franklin kicked a 31-yard field goal.

Franklin added a 27-yard field goal with six seconds left in the third quarter and a 26-yard field goal as the game ended. The Bills scored on a 26-yard field goal by Scott Norwood in the third quarter.

Buffalo twice missed legitimate scoring chances in the second quarter. Ronnie Harmon fumbled Kelly’s pass into the New England end zone, but the Bills kept the ball because the Patriots’ Roland James held Harmon as he tried to recover the fumble.

Two plays later, Kelly threw an interception to Johnny Rembert at the New England four. Rembert returned the ball 37 yards, then lateraled to Andre Tippett, who who ran 32 yards to the Bills’ 27, setting up Weathers’ touchdown.