Sack carried them

Green takedown a game-changer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - To defensive linemen and pass rushing linebackers, the statistic is the pathway to the Pro Bowl, All-Pro team, and maybe even the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We're talking about sacks, and they're why players such as Lawrence Taylor and Andre Tippett have busts in Canton, Ohio.

To some, however, and this would include the Patriots coaching staff, sacks can be overrated. "Absolutely," said defensive coordinator Dean Pees. "Pressure on the quarterback can be just as good as a sack. You can get the quarterback rattled, force him into a mistake. People get caught up in the statistics of a sack, but pressure on a quarterback is just as important."

You want proof of Pees's assertion? In yesterday's 13-0 smothering of the Buffalo Bills, Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green recorded two sacks, his first two of the season, even though he's played 42 percent of the team's defensive snaps. "Is that right?" said Pees, who said he wasn't aware of Green's lack of sacks nor did he care about it that much.

"He's a guy who can be very productive," Pees said. "Sometimes the media or fans don't always see what a guy does; he could make a play that helps lead to a sack. Jarvis is very dependable, he's done a really good job."

Green played mostly at defensive end substituting for the injured Richard Seymour (back). The game was still in doubt early in the third quarter when the Bills had second and 9 at their 49 with the wind, sometimes as strong as 50 miles per hour, at their back. Green beat his man quickly and zeroed in on the blind side of quarterback Trent Edwards. As Green tackled him he punched the ball out of Edwards's hand and Mike Vrabel recovered at the Buffalo 43.

Despite playing against the wind, the Patriots then put together an 11-play drive that consumed six minutes and resulted in the only touchdown of the game when LaMont Jordan scored on a 2-yard run.

The Patriots were basically in control after that because the conditions made it difficult to put together sustained offensive drives. The Bills' Fred Jackson, a second-year running back from Coe College in Iowa who was subbing for Marshawn Lynch, did some damage, gaining a career-high 136 yards on 27 carries, but none of it translated into points.

"We played OK, we missed a lot of tackles," Pees said. "That guy [Jackson] runs hard, but we missed a lot of tackles. They've got a great running attack but we've got to do a better job of tackling in the future."

Jackson did a great job not quitting on plays and a few times broke free after appearing to be stopped, including one 32-yard run. Despite that, Pees took satisfaction in the shutout.

"It's great to get a shutout in this league, no matter what the conditions or the opposition," he said. "We should have had two in a row." The Patriots had the Arizona Cardinals bottled up last week until they gave up a fourth-quarter touchdown when Matt Leinart hit Larry Fitzgerald with a 78-yard pass.

The Bills didn't seem capable of anything like that, although after running the ball almost exclusively, they tacked on some passing yards in garbage time. Pees said even though the Patriots were geared up to stop the run, they were still wary of the pass despite the conditions.

"What you don't want to do is give up one play, like a long pass over the top, that can change the game," he said.

What changed the game was Green's sack, followed by Vrabel's fumble recovery.

Joe Sullivan can be reached at jtsullivan@globe.com