2001 Week 14 · Sun, Dec 16, 2001 · Ralph Wilson Stadium
New England PatriotsWinner
12
at
Buffalo Bills
9
NE -4 no coverU 38 ✓
New England Patriots 12–9 — decided on the final possessions.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Full stat lines
Box score
New England Patriots
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | 19/35 | 237 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -6.3 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antowain Smith | 20 | 95 | 4.8 | 0 | -3.1 |
| Tom Brady | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | -1.3 |
| Kevin Faulk | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | -0.2 |
| Troy Brown | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.6 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Patten | 3 | 7 | 65 | 0 | 21% | 2.4 |
| Troy Brown | 5 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 24% | 2.6 |
| J.R. Redmond | 3 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 12% | 2.2 |
| Terry Glenn | 3 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 18% | -2.9 |
| Jermaine Wiggins | 1 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 6% | 1.3 |
| Patrick Pass | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 3% | -0.3 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9% | -1.3 |
| Kevin Faulk | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3% | -1.3 |
| Rod Rutledge | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -0.7 |
| Antowain Smith | 1 | 1 | -5 | 0 | 3% | -1.3 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Vrabel | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tebucky Jones | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawyer Milloy | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Otis Smith | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tedy Bruschi | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Phifer | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Hamilton | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anthony Pleasant | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Stevens | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrell Buckley | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
Buffalo Bills
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Van Pelt | 22/44 | 219 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3.9 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Henry | 12 | 54 | 4.5 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Shawn Bryson | 14 | 38 | 2.7 | 0 | -5.2 |
| Alex Van Pelt | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | -1.6 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peerless Price | 4 | 10 | 67 | 0 | 23% | 0.2 |
| Eric Moulds | 6 | 15 | 50 | 0 | 34% | -1.3 |
| Jay Riemersma | 4 | 6 | 36 | 0 | 14% | -1.7 |
| Larry Centers | 2 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 11% | -0.8 |
| Travis Henry | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2% | 0.9 |
| Shawn Bryson | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 7% | -0.4 |
| Sammy Morris | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2% | 0.9 |
| Reggie Germany | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5% | -1.7 |
| Avion Black | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2% | -0.4 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Foreman | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Winfield | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Newman | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Schobel | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Raion Hill | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| DaShon Polk | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keion Carpenter | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Hansen | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Watson | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
| Tyrone Robertson | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- NE -4
- Closing total
- 38
- NE moneyline
- —
- BUF moneyline
- —
Patriots closed -4, won by 3 — but didn't cover.
Total closed 38; the game landed 21 — under by 17.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Ralph Wilson Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · astroturf
- Kickoff weather
- 34°F, wind 0 mph
- Referee
- Mike Carey
- Rest
- NE 7 days · BUF 7 days
- Coaches
- Bill Belichick vs Gregg Williams
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.