McCourty holds court: Patriots win shootout over the Bills 37-31

The New England Patriots tried to give it away at the end, but much maligned defensive back Devin McCourty took it upon himself to save the game.

McCourty earlier forced a Fred Jackson fumble at the one yard line in the middle of the fourth quarter and then, with 28 seconds to go, he picked off a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass in the end zone to end the game. For McCourty, it was sweet vindication for his harshest critics.

Stevan Ridley ran for 98 yards with 1 touchdown as the Patriots ground game controlled the line of scrimmage.

Danny Woodhead had 2 touchdowns, 1 rushing and 1 receiving as the Patriots backfield did major damage to the Bills. It was just another day at the office for Tom Brady, going 23 for 28 for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The defense bent, but didn’t break, and with McCourty’s effort, it was just enough to hold off the Bills.

Ryan Fitzpatrick performed bettere than expected, throwing for 337 yards with 2 touchdowns, but it was all for naught with the lethal pick to end of the game.