Rashad Baker, a rookie defensive back for the Buffalo Bills, learned a hard lesson on Sunday in his third NFL game: You can't give the New England Patriots a second chance.
Four minutes into the fourth quarter with the score tied at 17-17, the Bills had stymied a Patriots drive and New England was prepared to settle for a field goal.
Baker jumped offside on the field-goal attempt, however, giving the Patriots a first down on Buffalo's 9. Two plays later, Tom Brady tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Graham.
After adding a touchdown on a fumble return, the Patriots won, 31-17, in front of 72,698 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The victory was New England's third in a row to open the season, its 15th in succession in the regular season and its 18th straight victory overall, including the postseason.
The Patriots joined four teams with 18 consecutive victories, although the NFL acknowledges only regular-season victories in its record book. That means New England needs two more to match the 1933-1934 Chicago Bears' streak of 17 successive regular-season victories.
The Patriots, who have not lost since Sept. 28, 2003, are host to Miami (0-4) next Sunday and do not play another road game until Oct. 31 at Pittsburgh.
"We've won three games, that's it," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "I don't think there's anything to be caught up in. We don't care anything about a record."
For much of Sunday afternoon, it seemed as if the Bills' defense might find a way to help Buffalo (0-3) win its first game of the season and moot the discussion of New England's streak.
Since the start of the 2003 season, Buffalo has surrendered only three individual 100-yard rushing performances, and on Sunday it held the Patriots' Corey Dillon to 79 yards. And though they did not manage a sack, the Bills repeatedly knocked Brady to the ground a split-second after the ball had left his hand.
"A couple of them, the ball was coming out of his hands really before the receiver was coming out of the break," Bills coach Mike Mularkey said. "He was throwing some timing routes very well."
Brady completed 17 of 30 passes for 298 yards and 2 TDs.
The Patriots' defense put the final stamp on the game. With New England ahead by 24-17, Buffalo faced fourth-and-3 at the New England 18. Mularkey called a play for the slow-footed Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe to fake a handoff to Travis Henry and run himself.
"We figured the last thing they would be expecting at that point would be to fake the run and boot it around the edge," said Bledsoe, who was sacked seven times.
The play crumbled when linebacker Tedy Bruschi came through the middle of the line, forcing Bledsoe to fumble. Defensive end Richard Seymour picked up the ball and lumbered 68 yards for a touchdown.
Dillon of New England scampered up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run to open the scoring five minutes into the game, capping a drive during which Brady lofted a 44-yard pass to wide receiver David Givens on first-and-35 from New England's 24.
After Adam Vinatieri's 42-yard field goal gave New England a 10-3 edge with 1 minute 40 seconds left in the first quarter, the Bills tied the score on the ensuing kickoff.
Terrence McGee caught the ball at his 2, bolted 30 yards up the middle and froze Shawn Mayer, the only Patriots defender with a chance to tackle him, faking a move to the right before juking toward the sideline. It was the first time the Patriots had surrendered a touchdown on a kickoff since Oct. 1, 2000.
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