Each week, Buffalo Rumblings will prepare you for the Buffalo Bills' upcoming opponent by looking back into the history of the series to find a memorable game or moment. This week, we continue by looking at the last Bills home win in the series against the New England Patriots.
The Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots this Sunday in Orchard Park, and while the Bills haven't beaten the Patriots in their last 15 meetings, there was a time when Buffalo triumphed at home in September. The last Bills victory in the series came on September 7, 2003, when Buffalo opened their season with a resounding shutout victory over Tom Brady's Patriots.
Five days before the regular season was set to begin, the Patriots shockingly released long-time safety Lawyer Milloy. Milloy was a leader in the locker room, and his release was not met well by Patriots players. Tom Donahoe pounced, offering Milloy a contract that same day.
Ready to turn the tables on his former employer, Milloy signed with the Bills after some phone calls from former teammate Drew Bledsoe, and started Week 1 against his old team, emotional from the start. Milloy was with the team for three days, but forced an interception, sacked Bledsoe's replacement Tom Brady, and made five tackles. Bledsoe passed for 230 yards and a touchdown.
The Bills forced four interceptions of Brady, including a Sam Adams pick that the defensive tackle rumbled back 37 yards for a touchdown. It's tied for the most picks Brady has ever thrown in a game. Takeo Spikes had two of those interceptions after signing with the Bills in the off-season. Travis Henry scored twice, and former Bills runner Antowain Smith was stuffed at the goal line as time expired to preserve Buffalo's shutout.