Bill Parcells didn't believe the Patriots would have been finished if they'd lost to Buffalo, and he doesn't think their season is saved now that they've won.
"I think we played a little bit better. I by no means think that we've turned any corners or anything," he said Monday night after New England snapped a five-game losing streak with a 27-14 victory over the Bills."I just think we finally got a win," he said. "We needed it."
Rookie Curtis Martin ran for 127 yards and a touchdown and Drew Bledsoe threw for 262 to end the Bills' five-game winning streak and spoil the head coaching debut of Elijah Pitts, who is filling in while Marv Levy recovers from prostate surgery.
"I'm disappointed for Eli. Eli deserves a better game from us," Bills receiver Steve Tasker said. "I know the most disappointing thing for all these guys is we didn't win it for him and for Marv. Both guys mean an awful lot to us."
Losing Levy, who delegates much of his gameday authority anyway, wasn't necessarily devastating for Buffalo (5-2). But the Bills, who were already absent receiver Andre Reed, couldn't recover from the loss of running back Thurman Thomas six minutes into the game.
"It pretty much screwed up what we wanted to do," quarterback Jim Kelly said. "Andre went out. That's two key players right there. It's definitely not a plus for our offense."
After winning their final seven regular-season games last season, including a 41-17 victory over the Bills that eliminated the four-time AFC champions from playoff consideration, the Patriots came into this season with high expectations. With an opening day victory over Cleveland, the hopes got even higher.
But New England (2-5) went on to lose its next five games. Bledsoe went into Week 6 as the only starting quarterback without a touchdown pass. The team managed just a field goal in three of four games.
They were supposed to be on their way out. And, after last year's brief interruption, the Bills were supposed to be resuming their AFC dynasty.
So what happened?
"The guys were just tired of losing," Patriots defensive lineman Willie McGinest said.
Martin rushed 36 times, two fewer than Jim Nance's team record, and scored on a 20-yard run. He rushed for 102 yards in his pro debut, but only 186 in his next five games.
"This game we got to use our whole offense," he said. "Before, we fell behind and had to go to our passing game. Getting the lead and keeping it allowed us to do more offensively."
New England also did more defensively. The Patriots recovered three fumbles and had four sacks against Buffalo, which had lost just three fumbles and allowed seven sacks all season.
Thomas' fumble on his first carry led to Martin's touchdown. Bledsoe hit Vincent Brisby for New England's second touchdown, and Dave Meggett's 3-yard run made it 21-6 with 1:57 left in the half.
But Kelly and Bill Brooks hooked up on a 45-yard touchdown pass play 33 seconds before halftime. Kelly found Carwell Gardner wide open for a two-point conversion - Buffalo's first since the rule was implemented last season - drawing the Bills to 21-14 at halftime.
"It almost seemed like it was one of the Super Bowls," said Buffalo center Kent Hull, who has lost four. "Everybody was so geared up. It almost seems like the harder we tried, the worse we got."