Izzo picks perfect time for big play

The Bills, who opened the season with a 31-0 romp over the Patriots in the Sept. 7 opener in Buffalo, threatened to ruin New England's bid for a third home shutout this season -- to go with the pair of 12-0 blankings the Patriots pitched against Dallas Nov. 16 and Miami Dec. 7 -- when backup quarterback Travis Brown completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Dave Moore to the New England 1. Brown made a play-action fake to Sammy Morris and then threw to Moore in the left corner of the end zone.

Izzo, who made a perfect read on the play and didn't bite on the fake, was there to make the first interception of his career.

"It meant a lot," said Izzo. "I know all 53 guys on this team wanted to keep that zero on that scoreboard. It was nice to be able to make the play and contribute to the shutout. But you've got to give credit to everyone in this locker room because it wasn't just one play. It was 60 minutes of football. I feel really happy that we were able to get it done for the defense."

It enabled the Patriots to preserve not only their third shutout of the season, all coming at home, where they are 8-0, but also helped the defense set a franchise record for turnover differential (plus 17) after coming up with a pair of interceptions (Mike Vrabel and Izzo) and fumble recoveries (by Tedy Bruschi and Matt Chatham).

"We got a good defense, good players in this locker room, and good coaches," Izzo said. "I think we've played tough at home and I think we're going to need to continue to do so if we're going to be successful in the playoffs."

The Patriots closed out the 2003 regular-season campaign with a brilliant stretch of defense over their last six home games -- something that no doubt will bode well for New England now that it has clinched the home-field advantage for the playoffs -- by allowing just 22 points, including just one touchdown, over the last 24 quarters at Gillette Stadium.

That lone touchdown came in a 27-13 victory over Jacksonville when Jaguars QB Bryon Leftwich connected with Kevin Johnson on a 10-yard pass in garbage time.

Yesterday, though, Izzo was determined not to allow the Bills to do the same, coming up with an interception that trumped his highlight-reel lick of Josh Reed after an 18-yard catch 10 plays earlier.

"Oh yeah, it had to be the interception," Bruschi said, when asked what ranked as Izzo's biggest play. "To preserve a shutout, especially a guy that doesn't play a lot of defense, but he still knows what to do and he still knows to get the read. I've been saying this all year, `Football players are in here for a reason; they're all good football players.' I was harping on that when times were tough and guys were injured, but Larry showed why we were able to overcome a lot of adversity this year."

The other play? It came on a first-and-10 running play from Buffalo's 33 with 1:14 left in the third quarter when Drew Bledsoe, Buffalo's beleaguered quarterback, handed off to Travis Henry, the Bills' fireplug of a tailback.

Henry started left, lowered his head and tried to burrow through a pile. Finding no room, he bounced it toward the middle of the field but found it clogged up by Ted Washington's ample girth. Spying a sliver of daylight on the right side, Henry churned his legs, bounced off several tacklers and tried to take it outside where he was smothered for a 3-yard loss by Rodney Harrison and Bruschi.

No matter where he tried to go -- to the left, up the middle, to the right -- Henry was met at every point by a stiff Patriot resistance.

"That's just how we've been playing lately, defensively," said Bruschi. "You miss 'em, get up. You miss 'em again, get up. Keep chasing the ball, keep chasing the ball. A big advocate of that this year has been Rodney Harrison. All he does is run to the ball -- in practice, in walkthroughs, whatever. That's just sort of contagious when guys run to the ball like that."

Said Harrison, "I don't know what it says about them, but what it says about us is that we're a relentless team. We're going to keep running after you and when we catch up to you, we're going to hit you."