2014 Week 17 · Sun, Dec 28, 2014 · Gillette Stadium
Buffalo BillsWinner
17
at
New England Patriots
9
NE -4.5 upsetU 43.5 ✓
Buffalo Bills 17–9.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · BUF
16/23, 176 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
2.4 expected points added · +2.6% completion over expected
Passing · NE
10/17, 90 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
-10.0 expected points added · -8.0% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
Buffalo Bills
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Orton | 16/23 | 176 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.4 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Jackson | 18 | 58 | 3.2 | 0 | -2.0 |
| Anthony Dixon | 7 | 27 | 3.9 | 1 | 0.2 |
| C.J. Spiller | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Sammy Watkins | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| Kyle Orton | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | -2.1 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Watkins | 3 | 5 | 57 | 0 | 22% | 1.8 |
| Robert Woods | 4 | 4 | 39 | 1 | 17% | 4.6 |
| MarQueis Gray | 3 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 13% | 2.0 |
| Scott Chandler | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 4% | 2.0 |
| Lee Smith | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 4% | 1.8 |
| Anthony Dixon | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4% | 0.8 |
| Fred Jackson | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13% | -1.7 |
| Chris Hogan | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13% | -0.9 |
| C.J. Spiller | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9% | -0.8 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Brooks | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Da'Norris Searcy | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Graham | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nickell Robey | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Preston Brown | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Williams | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nigel Bradham | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Hughes | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarius Wynn | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Williams | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
New England Patriots
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 10/17 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -10.0 |
| Tom Brady | 8/16 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1.9 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeGarrette Blount | 10 | 62 | 6.2 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | -1.3 |
| Brandon Bolden | 5 | 15 | 3.0 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Brandon LaFell | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Tom Brady | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | -0.1 |
| Shane Vereen | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | -1.2 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon LaFell | 4 | 6 | 70 | 0 | 19% | 3.1 |
| Brian Tyms | 4 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 19% | 1.4 |
| Danny Amendola | 4 | 7 | 24 | 0 | 22% | -4.0 |
| Timothy Wright | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 9% | -2.2 |
| Shane Vereen | 3 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 13% | 0.0 |
| James White | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6% | -0.5 |
| Brandon Bolden | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6% | -2.4 |
| Steve Maneri | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -0.4 |
| Michael Hoomanawanui | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -0.6 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Casillas | 4 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darius Fleming | 1 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sealver Siliga | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tavon Wilson | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chandler Jones | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Logan Ryan | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Collins | 1 | 4 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malcolm Butler | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin McCourty | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Ninkovich | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- NE -4.5
- Closing total
- 43.5
- BUF moneyline
- +195
- NE moneyline
- -218
Patriots closed -4.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 43.5; the game landed 26 — under by 17.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Gillette Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- 49°F, wind 9 mph
- Referee
- Terry McAulay
- Rest
- BUF 7 days · NE 7 days
- Coaches
- Doug Marrone vs Bill Belichick
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.