Back before there were stories about Tom Brady wanting to leave New England or Malcolm Butler being benched in the Super Bowl, the Patriots beat up teams rather regularly, especially those in their division.
Bill Belichick’s team was coming off of back-to-back losses to Arizona and Baltimore after beating Tenessee in the opener, so it was essentially guaranteed that Tom Brady and the rest of the team would be showing up and showing out.
Despite having fumbles from both Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker and two missed field goals from Stephen Gostkowski that put them down 21-7, the Patriots did just that.
Brady was his normal self, commanding the offense while throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns and running for another. The most memorable of his touchdowns this afternoon gave Brandon Lloyd his biggest Patriots’ highlight, a diving 25-yard beauty.
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What may have been even more impressive was New England’s run game. Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden totaled 38 carries for 243 yards and three touchdowns including one where Bolden powered through future Patriot Stephon Gilmore.
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Devin McCourty, still playing cornerback at the time, also walked away with two interceptions. The second came on a nice play where the former first-round pick showed off his timing to jump in front of Stevie Johnson, make a play, and run it back 34 yards.
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When it was all over, Belichick’s Patriots defeated Chan Gailey’s Bills 52-28. New England finished their 2012 12-4 before losing in the AFC Championship to the Ravens while Buffalo went just 6-10 and fired their head coach.
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