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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Sometimes, it's the little things that can inspire a football team. Sunday, the Buffalo Bills, fueled by a pregame skirmish involving New England quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the Buffalo secondary, dominated the Patriots 16-0.
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"When I came out, they told me about it and I'm like, 'man, you didn't invite me to the party?'" Bills linebacker Zach Brown said after the convincing win. "I was ready for him. I don't like them.
"Respect was left on the bus when it comes to them. That had me going. I was like, 'oh, DBs already got me fired up and they just don't even know it yet.' So from then, I said, 'I've got to hit him at least once or twice. I've got to get him back for my DBs.'"
Brown delivered the biggest hit of the day on Brissett, starting because he was less injured than Jimmy Garoppolo and playing with a bandaged right thumb. The hit separated the quarterback from the ball at the Buffalo 18 in the second quarter, and that was the Patriots' deepest penetration of the day.
"He's a third-string quarterback," Brown said. "So for us, it was we've got to make him look like a third-string quarterback. It's a great win."
The Bills (2-2) won their second straight since switching offensive coordinators and scored the franchise's first road shutout since Nov. 4, 1990. Buffalo, winning for the third time in the last 33 meetings with New England, handed the Patriots, 3-1 during Tom Brady's four-game Deflategate suspension, their first shutout loss in the 15-year history of Gillette Stadium.
And it came after Brissett and fellow rookie Malcolm Mitchell became involved in a pregame fracas, Buffalo players swinging wildly and perhaps even hitting Patriots assistant coach Brendan Daly.
The Patriots' previous home shutout loss was in 1993 and the last time the team went scoreless was in 2006.
"We just didn't have a very good day today," said New England coach Bill Belichick.
The Bills limited the Patriots, who started Brissett for the second game in a row, to 13 first downs and 1 of 12 on third-down conversions. New England entered Buffalo territory four times, the last time after a last-minute punt.
"God, it feels good to finally win here. Came close, well, about six times," said Buffalo coach Rex Ryan, who improved to 2-7 at Gillette Stadium, his first win with the Bills and first in the regular season. "Perfect ... But I can this for sure. But that was about as good a weekend as you can have.
"It's satisfying. But let's face it: they had a player out. And we had our team (at full strength). We expected to win."
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for 246 yards and a touchdown and ran for 28 yards. Dan Carpenter kicked three field goals, but the story was the Buffalo defense -- and that skirmish.
"We were warming up, doing our normal DB routine, and two Patriot guys are running through our DB drill -- and you could hurt somebody because we're DBs, we're back-pedalling, we don't see," said safety Robert Blanton, who started things by shoving Brissett. "So I'm like, 'hey, don't run through our drills, it's disrespectful.' So they come back and run through our drill again."
Asked if the scuffle affected him, Brissett said, "No, not at all. I mean, that's nothing."
Things got so frustrating for Belichick that in the first quarter he slammed his tablet to the ground. It didn't get any better. The Patriots, coming off of a shutout of the Houston Texans in Week 3, fumbled five times (losing one) and had nine penalties.
Taylor, winning his first NFL game in seven decisions when throwing 30 or more passes, competed 27 of 39, including seven passes for 89 yards to wide receiver Robert Woods. LeSean McCoy ran for 70 yards on 19 carries and caught a 7-yard touchdown pass that opened the scoring on Buffalo's first drive.
Brissett finished 17 of 27 for 205 yards, with tight end Martellus Bennett gaining 109 of those yards on five catches -- the fourth 100-yard game of his career.
Buffalo also held LeGarrette Blount, the AFC Player of the Month for September, to 54 yards on 13 carries.
NOTES: Patriots QB Tom Brady's four-game suspension ends Sunday. He is eligible to practice Monday, his first permitted team activity since Sept. 4. ... Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said the blame for the pregame scuffle "goes back to Rex, (Ryan)" adding, on a pregame radio show, "That's why Rex is Rex and that's why Bill is Bill (Belichick)." ... New England LB Dont'a Hightower returned after being out since suffering a knee injury in the opener. ... TE Rob Gronkowski, who played sparingly in his 2016 debut Sept. 22, had his first reception of the season Sunday. ... The Bills placed WR Sammy Watkins (foot) on injured Saturday, got OT Cordy Glenn back after he missed two games with an ankle injury. CB Ronald Darby (hamstring) also returned, while WR Greg Salas (groin) missed his second straight game. ... Bills RB Reggie Bush was inactive for the first time. He dressed Sept. 25 but did not play.
