Hooking up for victory

FOXBOROUGH -- Tom Brady to Deion Branch for 33 yards. Touchdown.

Tom Brady to Deion Branch for 37 yards. Five plays later -- a 1-yard touchdown run by Corey Dillon.

Tom Brady to Deion Branch for 22 yards. Next play -- a 1-yard touchdown run by Dillon.

Those, folks, were the highlights from the Patriots' otherwise inconsistent offensive performance last night. The common thread, of course, was the Brady-to-Branch hookups.

''I'm never shocked at anything Deion does," Brady said. ''He made three of the most critical plays in the game."

Added center Dan Koppen: ''It seems like he always finds a way to get open, and when Tom gets him the ball, it can change field position on one play."

They were Branch's only catches of the night, but the big-strike ability was crucial for an offense that sputtered at times and lost two fumbles.

''He made some big catches, some big plays," said coach Bill Belichick. ''He's done a good job for us all year [40 catches, 529 yards, 2 TDs] and did it again."

After being shut out in the first half, Branch hauled in the 33-yard score on the fifth play of the second half. He ran a double move on cornerback Nate Clements, first cutting to the sideline and then turning the route up the left side.

''It was part of the game plan; they've seen us run enough outs and it's something we talk about on the sideline -- if they bite on it, turn it up," said Branch of the play that gave the Patriots a 7-3 lead. ''It was mostly a read."

Branch wasn't heard from again until 10 minutes remained in the fourth quarter, with the Patriots trailing, 16-7. On the first play of the drive, Brady lofted a pass toward the sideline to Branch that the fourth-year receiver juggled while diving, before corralling it into his body for the 37-yard gain against zone coverage.

Branch said he hurt his forehead on the play. He was replaced by Tim Dwight for the rest of the series, but returned on the next series when the Patriots got the ball back on a strip sack.

On the first play, Brady found Branch across the middle on a seam route for 22 yards to the 1. Brady said he first looked to David Givens (7 catches, 58 yards) before spotting Branch and throwing low.

''He was so wide open, I wish I made a better throw for him," said Brady, who finished 14 of 21 for 199 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Brady said ''those two [fourth-quarter] drives were obviously the game."

While Branch was the key offensive player for the Patriots, Belichick felt running back Dillon (72 yards, 18 carries, 2 TDs) was also clutch.

''Corey [ankle injury] really hadn't practiced, hardly at all, the last three weeks," he said. ''He was pretty much a game-time decision. He played a lot more plays than I expected him to tonight. He ran hard, had a couple tough yards down there at the goal line."

But in the first half, there were few highlights for the Patriots. They had the ball for just 7:53, to the Bills' 22:07. The team had 20 plays to the Bills' 39. It was about as lopsided as it could be, except for on the halftime scoreboard: Bills 3, Patriots 0.

A Patrick Pass lost fumble led to the only points of the first 30 minutes. There were other miscues, too.

''It was our fault, we had penalties and couldn't convert on third down [1 of 4 in the first half]," Belichick said. ''Those are things that are in our control. We had plenty of positive plays but they were negated by some kind of combination of those things -- not converting on third down, the fumble, and some penalties. Penalties, negative plays, and turnovers will stop you every time."

Said Brady: ''I wish we could put two good halves together."