Another TD gets overturned, leaving Patriots and Bills tied at half

Getty Images

The Bills are doing their best to keep themselves in the thick of the Wild Card race in the AFC and the Patriots keep getting the benefit of replay reviews.

Tyrod Taylor hit Kelvin Benjamin for what looked like a four-yard touchdown with two seconds left to play in the first half in New England. The play was reversed after a review that found Benjamin didn’t get both feet in. It looked enough like Benjamin’s toe dragged in the end zone while he had full control of the ball that it seemed like a hard call to overturn, but plenty of people thought Jesse James scored last weekend as well.

Steven Hauschka kicked a field goal as time expired instead. The score ended a 10-point streak by the Patriots and pushed the Bills to a 13-13 tie heading into the break.

New England got the lead by finding some offensive success after Jordan Poyer‘s pick-six put the Bills up 10-3 early in the second quarter. The first score came on a 17-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was able to snag the ball with one hand while being covered by Bills safety Micah Hyde.

Hyde was penalized for pass interference on a deep shot to Brandin Cooks on the next drive and the 44-yard gain helped set up Stephen Gostkowski‘s second field goal of the day. The Patriots initially lined up to go for a first down on fourth-and-one near the Buffalo 20-yard-line, but changed their mind after the two-minute warning, a Bills timeout and a timeout of their own.

The Bills did go for a fourth down just before Poyer’s interception, but it didn’t work out as they put the ball in Tyrod Taylor’s hands and his attempt to scramble out of trouble ended with a Marquis Flowers sack. Taylor also missed an open Charles Clay on third down in between the two Patriots scores, but turned things around with big completions to Benjamin and Deonte Thompson before the apparent touchdown catch.

Let's block ads! (Why?)