Bills defenders gather no Moss

Moss tied a career-high by hauling in 12 catches for a game-high 141 yards, while Brady passed for 378 yards and two touchdowns - both to Watson in the final minutes - for an improbable 25-24 triumph over the Bills at Gillette Stadium.

Moss also hauled in 12 passes as a Viking in a 204-yard effort against the Bears Nov. 14, 1999.

Nearly a decade later, this wasn’t your typical Moss game. That 15.7 yards per catch average he brought into the 2009 season might even dip a bit after last night. Moss shined in the short passing game - hauling in a catch for 7 yards here or 4 yards there - rather than the long receptions that typically dot the game’s highlight reel.

“It’s whatever coach called,’’ said Moss, whose blue and orange warmup jacket was glitzier than his night. “This offense is definitely multifaceted. Whatever play is called, that’s what I run. That’s what the outcome was, running short or intermediate routes.

And then Moss put a new spin on a Bill Belichick favorite.

“If that’s what it was, it’s what it was.’’

Moss’s efforts helped him shimmy up the NFL record book. On a night when the Patriots kicked off their 50th anniversary celebration and honored their all-time team at halftime, Moss leapfrogged honoree Irving Fryar as he hauled in career receptions Nos. 843-855.

In fact, on one third-quarter drive, Moss caught three consecutive passes to pass Rod Smith (849) for 14th in all-time receptions, then tied Fryar (851). He soon surpassed the former Patriots wideout and cemented himself at No. 13.

It was the 60th 100-yard receiving game of Moss’s career, pushing him into sole possession of second place by passing Marvin Harrison (59). Jerry Rice owns the record at 76.

Despite the personal accolades, Moss’s wearing of a throwback Pat Patriot hat seemed symbolic of the team’s accomplishments.

“I think the main thing that I can really go home and hang my hat on is the victory,’’ said Moss. “We did some good things out there, but I think coach is going to give it to us good.’’

Moss admitted he was nervous before last night’s game, something confirmed when he dropped Brady’s first offering of the night. Too much watching of football in the days leading to last night left him more amped than normal.

“It’s Week 1; football season is here,’’ said Moss. “When you sit there [watching games], the first thing I thought about was getting my chance to go out here on Monday night. I was a little nervous. I’m not going to lie, but me individually, I was nervous for the first game of the season. I settled down, started playing a little better. I can only speak for myself, but it looked like everyone settled down there in the second half.’’

Moss heaped praise on Brady for his poise in the huddle with the team down 11 with little more than five minutes to go. But back in that media scrum, Watson was pushing the praise towards Moss as well.

“[Tom Brady], Randy, Kevin [Faulk], all these guys are leaders on our team and we’ve all been in that situation before,’’ said Watson. “We’ve all been in tough games - last year, the year before, the year before that - and we’re going to continue to be in tough games.’’

Moss expects another tough game next week. But to further confirm that the typical Randy Moss wasn’t in attendance last night, he passed up the chance to fire back at Jets coach Rex Ryan when asked about Ryan’s “not going to kiss [Belichick’s] rings’’ line.

“No, I’ve always been a fan of the Ryan brothers,’’ said Moss. “I was in Oakland with Rob, played a couple times against Rex in Baltimore, and I’ve met old Buddy. [Rex Ryan’s] entitled as a head coach. I think that what he said is really just what he said. They bring a good team back; it’s always a barnburner when we play a [rival] in the division.’’

Chris Forsberg can be reached at cforsberg@boston.com.