WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAD THE BALL: Matt Cassel only threw the ball eight times, due to a combination of the horrendous winds and the game situations. The Pats never had to play from behind, taking the lead on their second possession, and were able to turn to their two-headed backfield monster of Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan for 44 carries and 149 yards. The Pats were so successful running the ball that they were able to score their only touchdown when they were driving into the wind, as Morris and Jordan carried the ball 10 times during the 11-play march, with most of the yardage coming between the tackles. The inside pounding set up the play of the game: a 12-yard pass to a wide-open Wes Welker near the sidelines on fourth-and-five, with Buffalo loading the box and ignoring the perimeters. That moved the ball to the Buffalo 2, and Jordan scored on the next play, making it 10-0.

WHEN THE BILLS HAD THE BALL: The raw statistics don't look bad -- 276 total yards, which was more than the Pats' 241 -- but 119 of those came in the fourth quarter, after Buffalo had fallen behind 13-0 and the Pats' defense was in prevent mode. With the game on the line, Buffalo's offense did nothing. The Bills self-destructed at the end of the second quarter, failing to call a timeout and letting the clock run out after they'd reached the New England 9, then ran only eight plays in the third quarter when they had the wind at their back. That helped turn a 3-0 game into a 13-0 game, and big comebacks were going to be unlikely in these weather conditions.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Stephen Gostkowski kicked the game's only field goal (he also missed one), as the wind made kicking an adventure all afternoon. The most impressive special-teams play of the day was a pooch punt by Cassel in the fourth quarter that rolled to the Buffalo 2.

COACHING: The Bills' embattled staff, which may find itself on the unemployment line very soon, has to be held responsible for the end-of-the-second-quarter fiasco. The Patriots, meanwhile, played with their usual disciplined efficiency, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made two clutch play calls during New England's touchdown drive as the Pats converted a fourth and two and a fourth and five.

INTANGIBLES: The Patriots can be proud of the way they finished the season. At the end of November they were 7-5, they were losing key defensive starters almost by the game, and they knew they had to run the table to have a shot at the playoffs. They won their last four by the combined score of 133-54 and haven't trailed for the last 162 minutes and 44 seconds they've played. Included in the run: a stirring fourth-quarter comeback on the road, two blowouts in which they scored 40-plus points, and a shutout. They did everything they needed to do to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did it spectacularly.