Bills 31, Patriots 0
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) _ Defensive tackle Pat Williams spent all of training camp telling Drew Bledsoe how much better the Buffalo Bills defense was going to be this season.
After Sunday�s season-opening 31-0 victory over New England, and with the 11th-hour addition of four-time Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy, the quarterback is now a believer.
"He said that, �We are going to shut them down, just give us 13-14 points and it�s over,"" Bledsoe said of Williams. "He put some action behind his words today. And it was great to see."
In truth, Bledsoe might not have needed to show up.
Defensive tackle Sam Adams� 37-yard interception return for a touchdown would have been enough.
It was Buffalo�s first shutout win in 65 games, and an impressive showing for a revamped defense that was much-maligned last year for allowing an average of 25 points per game.
After forcing a league-low 19 turnovers last season, the Bills managed four - all interceptions - against the Patriots.
"I practiced against them all the way through training camp, but I didn�t know they were going to play like that," Bledsoe said of his defense.
Besides snapping a five-game losing streak against their AFC East rivals, the victory capped a hectic and emotional week.
Bledsoe won his first so-called "Bledsoe Bowl" in three tries since the Patriots traded him to Buffalo in April 2002.
And then there was Milloy, whom the Bills snagged on Wednesday, a day after he was released by the Patriots for salary cap reasons.
Despite getting in just one practice and a walk-through, Milloy made a big impact _ forcing an interception, recording a sack and getting in on five tackles.
Even Milloy was impressed by his new team, acknowledging that he didn�t take time to notice the talent around him as he was too preoccupied with learning the playbook.
"What I realized today, which I didn�t really have a chance to realize in the one practice I had here and not getting to know the guys here, is that I�m on a good team," Milloy said.
And the victory was sweeter than usual.
"It feels good," said Milloy. "But it feels good in a positive way, not in a personal vendetta way. I could be sitting up here and throwing out names and sticking it to them, but they know.
Bledsoe engineered scoring drives of 80 and 90 yards on his first two possessions and finished 17-of-28 for 230 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Travis Henry finished with 86 yards rushing and two touchdowns and Dave Moore caught a 7-yard touchdown pass.
The game was effectively over when the Bills went up 21-0 with 10:14 left in the second quarter, capped by Adams� 37-yard interception return.
The Patriots had no response, looking nothing like the team that outscored Buffalo by a combined 65-24 in two games last season.
New England�s offense managed a mere 51 yards in the first half and 238 all game. Things went so poorly that the Patriots twice had drives stall after they got within the Bills 2.
"From the first play on, it was Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "There was nothing good that came out of that game."
Brady finished 14-of-29 for 123 yards. His four interceptions matched a career high, last happening against Denver in 2001.
If Milloy�s loss was a factor, Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn�t saying.
"We didn�t play well," Belichick said, a pat response to the three times Milloy�s name was mentioned.
Notes: Linebacker Takeo Spikes had two interceptions in his Bills debut, and cornerback Nate Clements one. ... The Bills got creative on defense, inserting mammoth offensive tackle Mike Williams as an additional defensive lineman during a goal-line series. ... Rian Lindell rounded out the Bills� scoring with a 44-yard field goal. ... The Patriots were last shut out in a 6-0 loss to the New York Jets on Nov. 28, 1993.
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