FOXBORO — The Buffalo Bills were the talk of the NFL in September as they raced out to the AFC East lead with a 4-0 record for the month.

But they haven’t fared as well in the 12 weeks since, and their win in Denver last Sunday was just their third since their strong September start. At 7-8, they have been eliminated from playoff contention, and all they are really playing for this week against New England is the ability to say they finished the season with a .500 record.

After going a surprising 7-9 last year with then-rookie Trent Edwards under center for much of the season, the results this year have been difficult, to say the least.

“It’s always disappointing in our business when you don’t get into the playoffs,” Buffalo coach Dick Jauron said yesterday via conference call. “That’s what you’re aiming for. It’s what everybody wants, but there’s nothing you can do to change it. Certainly, it’s a disappointment.”

The Bills have watched as the Jets and Dolphins, who had a combined five wins last season, experienced turnarounds. The Dolphins are tied with New England atop the division standings going into the final Sunday of the season and the Jets are one game behind them.

“We do feel like we have the potential and the talent to be contending in the playoffs right now,” Buffalo receiver Lee Evans said. “But, obviously, that didn’t come to pass for us, so we’re definitely going to have to learn from the mistakes and the lessons of this season and pull together one last time for one last game.”

Although they endured losing streaks of four games and three games, Jauron has never seen the effort his players decline, and he takes satisfaction in that.

Last week, the Bills were down to the Broncos, 13-0, early in the second quarter and fought back for a 30-23 win.

“It was a tremendous win for us because things had not been going very well at all. To go out there and beat a pretty good team that could have sealed a playoff spot ... they were very into it, and it certainly didn’t start well for us, so give our guys a lot of credit,” Jauron said. “They just kept battling and hung in there and made enough plays in the end to win the football game. It made for a very nice flight back.”

Because of the weather in Buffalo, the Bills had to spend Sunday night in Denver, and arrived home around 3 o’clock Monday afternoon.

He learned his lesson

Snow angels aren’t what they used to be. In addition to the 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and the tongue-lashing he got from head coach Bill Belichick, Wes Welker has been fined $10,000 for his touchdown celebration against the Cardinals last Sunday.

Welker brought back memories of Lonie Paxton in the Tuck Rule Game with his first-half snow angel, but NFL rules stipulate that using the ground in a celebration other than to take a knee in prayer draws the foul and the fine.

Welker told the Boston Globe yesterday that his angel-making days are over.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment deal, and you can be sure that it won’t happen again,” he said.

Of course, one has to wonder why a snow angel — just days before Christmas, no less — draws a fine for excessive demonstration, but leaping into the first row of the stands and hanging on for several seconds as fans pat you on the back and butt doesn’t.

Injury report

The Patriots and Bills released their first participation report of the week yesterday, and both teams had key players either miss the day’s practice or be limited for the session.

The good news for New England was that safety James Sanders returned to the field after missing over two weeks of practice with an abdominal injury suffered against the Seahawks. Sanders was limited.

Missing practice were: DT Richard Seymour (back), DB Ray Ventrone (jaw), G Billy Yates (hand) and LB Tedy Bruschi (knee).

In addition to Sanders, LB Gary Guyton (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), T Mark LeVoir (ankle), T Matt Light (shoulder), LB Vince Redd (ankle), DB Lewis Sanders (shoulder) and DT Ty Warren (groin) all were limited.

NT Vince Wilfork (shoulder) participated fully in the session, held in the rain inside Gillette Stadium.

For Buffalo, LT Jason Peters (knee), RB Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), LB Kawika Mitchell (knee), WR/PR Roscoe Parrish (knee), LB Teddy Lehman (groin) and WR James Hardy (knee) did not practice. CB Jabari Greer (knee) was limited.

smanza@projo.com