Sunday night in New England, the Bills did serve up a strong effort, but it went for naught as they couldn't capitalize on complete domination of the clock in the first half and only got a field goal. While they did get a touchdown on a 55-yard pass from Kelly Holcomb to Eric Moulds, it just wasn't enough. The Bills held a 16-7 lead at one point in the third quarter, but anyone with some football sense knew the Bills were going to find a way to lose this one and they did.

The New England Patriots took advantage of mistakes and staged a comeback that put them alone on top in the AFC East by beating the Bills 21-16.

The fumble by Holcomb was the straw that broke the Buffalos back in the fourth quarter. It is a shame as the Bills were making a statement throughout most of the game that they could compete with the Super Bowl champions.

Bills offensive left guard Bennie Anderson let Pats’ linebacker Rosevelt Colvin get around him and Covin stripped the ball from Holcomb, where New England recovered at Buffalo’s 23-yard line. That resulted in the Patriots scoring the winning touchdown and the Bills were never able to stage their own comeback.

"Whenever you can get the ball at the 20-yard line, yeah, that's the play that changed the game," acknowledged Anderson. "It shouldn't have happened. They shifted right at the snap and that kind of threw us off a little, but it was a mistake that shouldn't have happened."

"The fumble was the game," Holcomb admitted. When you fumble and leave them that short of a field, they are the world champions, they're going to make plays."

The Bills completely controlled the clock in the first half, with Willis McGahee getting tons of yardage. McGahee finished with 136 yards on 31 carries. Moulds had his best day in years, 9 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. The TD hookup was a beauty as it went for 55 yards and Moulds looked like the receiver from 4 years ago.

That touchdown came on the Bills first drive of the second half, following the Pats 33-yard touchdown from Tom Brady to Deion Branch.

Buffalo actually seemed to get added energy after the Moulds touchdown. They stormed down the field on two other drives, but each drive came to a halt and they were forced to kick field goals.

After the fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, Brady and Branch hooked up for a 22 yard play and then Corey Dillon slammed into the endzone with just over 5 minutes left. The Bills couldn’t answer.

My view is getting more sour by the week. Now the Bills are 3-5 and I have to ask just what are the Bills accomplishing if they continue to start Holcomb? He’s an average quarterback that would be No. 3 on most teams. Now is the time to bring back J.P. Losman after the bye and get him the playing experience he needs. The longer he sits on the bench, the longer it will take to get him ready for Prime Time.

It is clear that the Bills blew a chance to overtake the Patriots, at least for a week. By losing a game that they had in the coffer, it is evident that things will go south from here on out

The coaching still leaves a lot to be desired. Mike Mularkey wasted a time out when he challenged a call at the 2 minute warning before the first half. He had plenty of time to get his staff upstairs to examine a pass reception that the Bills felt had hit the ground. The replays clearly indicated the Bills had no chance on getting a reversal. At the end of the game, the Bills were using Moulds more as a decoy rather as the prime receiver. With Moulds having his best game in years, they should have gone to him when they needed him the most.

Copyright © 2005 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.