Given that the first half wasn't yet over and the Pats were only down by a touchdown, it was a little early for that assessment. But a quarter and a half later, it wasn't. Patriots Nation was panicking. They expected fireworks in this opening night cupcake between the Patriots — Tom Brady's, Randy Moss', Wes Welker's Patriots — and the Bills, a team whose starting offense mustered all of three points in five preseason games.
But New England's defense looked terrible. The secondary was getting worked by Trent Edwards in the air, and the line was getting beaten by Fred Jackson on the ground. By the time six minutes stood in between the Patriots and humiliation, they had allowed 24 points to a squad so offensively dormant it would rather pay its offensive coordinator to stay away than keep him around.
But more than that, New England's offense looked confused, lethargic and uninspired — everything that used to be the antithesis of a Patriots offense. Stephen Gostkowski missed a field goal. Moss and Welker were making catches, but not in the end zone. The worst part was that the Patriots dominated the box score but were down 14-10 at the half. Everyone knows that is the kiss of death.
By halftime, New England had 13 first downs to Buffalo's six. New England netted 217 total yards to Buffalo's 111. And New England's time of possession was 19:53 to Buffalo's 10:07.
But the number on the scoreboard was all that mattered. That, and the fact that Brady had one interception and zero touchdowns to his name.
Beforehand, Patriots fans were amped for this game. Some were doubtlessly expecting Brady and Moss to pick up right where they left off in 2007. What they didn't expect was offensive futility against a terrible team. They didn't expect a defense that looked like it could possibly give Northeastern University a run for its money on a good day — Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour or not.
What they did expect, though, were fourth-quarter heroics. And they got them.
Brady didn't quite look himself during the first three quarters of Monday's game, and for someone who hasn't played in a real contest for a year, that's to be expected. There's bound to be a learning curve for him as he continues to rediscover his feel — a learning curve that no amount of preseason training against scout teams and third-stringers can provide.
But one thing Brady needed no time to rediscover was his knack for clutchness. It was like a switch went off in his head when he looked up at the scoreboard with five and a half minutes remaining and saw his team down by 11. He became a robot: Engineer one unbelievable drive and cap it off with an 18-yard laser to Ben Watson. Pray for a turnover. March back onto the field and connect with Watson again for the game-winner with 50 seconds left on the clock. It was the kind of drive that Patriots fans hoped Matt Cassel could pull off all of last season but never really, truly had faith that he could.
Game over.
Even as he stood on the sidelines as Buffalo made one last bid for brilliance, Brady looked programmed. As Randy Moss jumped and danced and cackled and unintentionally physically assaulted his teammates, Brady remained stoic. At the end of the game, he didn't smile. He evaded an interview and retreated to the locker room. It was just another day at work for him. Another unbelievable comeback drive. No big deal.
Bill Belichick obviously has his work cut out for him. His defense needs some major time in the tape room. His offense could use some, too. But here's the thing: You can buy better players. You can buy another Richard Seymour or Tedy Bruschi or even Randy Moss.
But you can't buy clutchness. That's something you either have or you don't. And now that Brady's back, the Patriots will always have a shot, no matter what the scoreboard says with five minutes left.
