FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Buffalo took advantage of sloppy, Tom Brady-less New England to hand the Patriots their first home shutout at Gillette Stadium, winning 16-0 Sunday.
It was the first loss of the season for New England (3-1), which was playing its final game before Brady returns from his four-game "Deflategate" suspension. The Patriots, who moved into Gillette Stadium in 2002, were last blanked at home 6-0 by the New York Jets in 1993 at Foxboro Stadium.
Tyrod Taylor connected with LeSean McCoy for a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, Dan Carpenter added three field goals for Buffalo (2-2).
It was Buffalo's second win in its last 16 visits to Foxborough. Including his tenure with the New York Jets, it gave Bills coach Rex Ryan his first regular-season road victory over Bill Belichick in eight tries. The last Bills' shutout win away From Orchard Park was 23-0 over Washington in a Buffalo "home" game at Toronto on Oct. 30, 2011.
After struggling to maintain drives and finding a run-pass balance, Taylor was spot-on Sunday. He finished 27 for 39 for 246 yards, and directed a unit that was 7 for 15 on third downs. The Bills had been 10 of 36 combined in the first three games.
Buffalo's defense also carried over its dominant effort from its 33-18 win over Arizona, sacking rookie Jacoby Brissett three times.
Brissett made his second consecutive start in place of Jimmy Garoppolo (sore right shoulder). But Brissett, playing a week after injuring his right thumb, struggled to find the command he had in leading the Patriots to a 27-0 win over the Texans. New England finished 1 for 12 on third downs and managed just 277 total yards.
After managing to reach the red zone with four drives in their first three games, the Bills did it on their first two series Sunday.
Their first possession, a 12-play, 65-yard drive, ended in Taylor's touchdown strike to McCoy. The second stretched 52 yards over 10 plays and was capped by the first of two first-half field goals by Dan Carpenter.
Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press
