FOXBORO -- Luckily for the Patriots, the Buffalo Bills rank second-to-last in the NFL in passing yardage.

Imagine how last night's game might have played out if they were any better.

The Bills' anemic air attack -- they came into last night's game averaging just 113.4 passing yards per game -- had to have been good news before the game for the New England secondary, which has been decimated by injuries. Once the game started, the news wasn't quite so good.

The Pats' secondary is so banged up that even wide receiver-turned-corner Troy Brown isn't available. The veteran has been inactive for the last two games, including last night, because of a foot injury.

Rodney Harrison was lost in Week Three. Tyrone Poole, who played in one game and was placed on injured reserve last week with an ankle injury, has played in only six games in the past two seasons.

Poole was the third member of the secondary to be placed on the season-ending IR this month. Cornerback Chad Scott (shoulder) and safety Guss Scott (knee) have also been shelved.

Randall Gay (ankle), who missed three games, then played against Denver two weeks ago, was inactive last night, as was safety James Sanders, who has a knee injury.

So here was the starting secondary last night: Asante Samuel and Duane Starks at corner, and Eugene Wilson and Arturo Freeman at safety.

Samuel has played in every game, and Starks has played in six of seven, though there are more than a few in Patriots Nation who wish that wasn't the case. Starks, acquired from Arizona in the offseason, has been burned for touchdowns more than once this year.

Wilson, converted from corner to safety when he was drafted by New England, has come into his own as a hitter, but lacks the fiery leadership of Harrison.

Freeman was brought to New England as a free agent after the season began and Harrison was lost in the Pittsburgh game.

Because of the injury to Sanders, Freeman, it seems, got the starting job by default this week. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said last week that Wilson's partner at safety will likely change on a game-by-game basis.

"I think our game plan can always have some flexibility on a game-by-game basis depending on what we're facing and what we feel like is the best combination," Belichick said. "To me, it isn't who starts. It's who plays in the situations that you need them to play in. So, depending on what they're doing, what we're getting, some of that, then, is a function of what we're doing."

Reserve linebacker/special teams ace Don Davis, who moved back to safety last year to shore up that position, is once again seeing some time at that spot.

Early last night, the secondary was operating in a bend-but-don't-break mode: Buffalo quarterback Kelly Holcomb was 5-for-10 in the first quarter for 63 yards, including a completion to Eric Moulds, the 118th consecutive game in which Moulds has caught a pass.

In the second quarter, Holcomb completed three of five attempts for 16 more yards as he drove the Bills to a go-ahead field goal. Even better for Buffalo, they were able to convert four of seven third-down attempts, as the Pats' season-long problems in stopping opponents on third down continued.