The Patriots earned another impressive win yesterday against the Buffalo Bills -- but it came at a price. Jerod Mayo, Dan Connolly, and Stevan Ridley all left the game with injuries. Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweeted that the Patriots fear Ridley tore his ACL, but they will not know for sure until he has an MRI. According to Josh Aper of NBC Sports, the initial reports are that both Ridley and Mayo suffered serious injuries and could miss the remainder of the season.
Furthermore, ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss says that Jerod Mayo left Ralph Wilson Stadium using crutches and a compression sleeve on his knee. Stevan Ridley did not need crutches, but had a brace over his right knee and needed a cane to help him walk.
"Receiver Julian Edelman talked about how losing Mayo was like the team losing parts of its soul, while cornerback Darrelle Revis used the word 'tragic' to sum up his feelings," wrote Mike Reiss.
The New England Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, October 12, 2014.
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) attempts to catch a pass as he is defended by Buffalo Bills' Corey Graham (20) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Orchard Park, N.Y. Gronkowski was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
To make matters worse, Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet reported that Tom Brady's ankle injury is significant and that he needed a lot of therapy in order to play Sunday. According to the report, Brady rolled his ankle on an offensive lineman's foot during Friday's practice. Whether the injury is serious or not, Brady didn't seemed to be too bothered by his ankle on Sunday. He had his best game of the year, completing 73% of his passes for 361 yards and 4 touchdowns.
With all the injuries, the Patriots had to dig deep to pull out the win in Buffalo. Mike Reiss says it was a character-defining win for the team and another impressive performance for Tom Brady. The Patriots quarterback put all his doubters to shame by completing 15 of 17 passes in the second half for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"A blow to the soul. A still-great quarterback recapturing the magic as players rose up to the challenge around him on offense, defense and special teams. Those were the key ingredients that mixed together to make Sunday an unforgettable day for the Patriots," said Reiss. "No other way to say it, this was a character-defining win."
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CSNNE.com*'s Jimmy Toscano highlighted the best and worst moments from yesterday's game. Bryan Tyms caught his first touchdown as a Patriot on a 43-yard pass from Tom Brady mid-way through the third quarter. After getting into the endzone, Tyms celebrated using Randy Moss' signature move, thus earning him the 'best Randy Moss impression' award.
"Tom Brady basically threw it into triple coverage and Tyms somehow held on," explains Toscano. "He did a Moss-like celebration after the TD and before Brady came charging down the field to celebrate with him."
Unfortunately, the Patriots don't have much time to enjoy their fourth win of the season because the Jets are coming to town on Thursday night. So far this season, players around the league have vocalized their disapproval of the NFL's new Thursday Night Football package. But as Phil Perry explains on CSNNE.com, Tom Brady is not one of those players. He says's that he actually enjoys playing on Thursday night...and why wouldn't he? Since 2001, Tom Brady and the Patriots have a 5-1 record when playing on Thursdays.
"It's a great opportunity if you use it the right way," said Brady on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan Show. "Hopefully we go out there and win. If you win, on the back end, you get a great 10-day break of, really, time to recover and let some of the minor bumps and bruises that accumulate over the course of the season start to heal."
