ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Much was learned Sunday about the 2014 New England Patriots.
First, this team has some of the same fortitude as many of Bill Belichick's other top teams from the past decade-plus. Belichick often says that you never truly know about a team until adversity strikes, and that's why Sunday's 37-22 victory over the Buffalo Bills -- which came at a great cost with linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley sustaining what appear to be serious knee injuries -- was such a character-defining result.
The other thing we learned? Quarterback Tom Brady still has plenty of magic left in that golden right arm. He delivered a vintage second-half performance -- 15-of-17 for 274 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. That had him turning to rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the locker room afterward and saying, "That was a lot of fun."
It certainly wasn't for the Bills, as this was supposed to be their day, the first game under new owners Terry and Kim Pegula, which only added to the hornet's nest the Patriots were entering. Ralph Wilson Stadium was jacked up, with a "One Buffalo" ceremony before the game celebrating the Pegulas and the beloved team staying in the region.
But by the end of the day, the Bills were left to marvel at the team and quarterback on the opposite sideline, while also lamenting their own missed opportunities (three turnovers).
"Is there anyone else in this league that has someone like him?" Bills coach Doug Marrone asked of Brady. "I don't know, probably not like him, but there might be three or four guys in that same class of player."
"You've got to play a four-quarter game against Tom Brady, Hall of Fame quarterback," added defensive end Jerry Hughes.
Brady and "Hall of Fame" haven't exactly been buzzwords locally in recent weeks, when one could have turned on some sports-radio programs in Boston and instead heard chatter of the Patriots possibly trading him at some point. Ouch.
Last week, Belichick had given Brady a game ball in the locker room for eclipsing the 50,000-yard mark in his career, which had players chanting "Brady! Brady! Brady!" just as the home crowd had done that night. Sunday in western New York, the vibe was a bit different, part somber, because of the loss of Mayo.
When Mayo was carted off in the second quarter with a right knee injury, it deeply affected many. Veteran defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, for one, approached Mayo on the cart, brought his head into his chest, and pressed his lips against it in an act of compassion.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis called the loss of Mayo "tragic" while Belichick called the win "bittersweet," sounding almost as if he'd trade it in for a healthy Mayo, who left the stadium with crutches and a compression sleeve over his right leg (the severity of the injury is not known, but teammates aren't expecting to see him again this year). Perhaps no one summed up the general feeling among players as well as six-year veteran receiver Julian Edelman in a postgame locker room in which emotion was still raw.
"That man has put so much time and effort and heart into this franchise and this team with what he had to deal with last year [torn pectoral muscle], and then this. It's definitely a huge blow emotionally," he said.
"You see that man, how he comes in -- offseason, he's always working, and he's a ridiculously smart guy and knows everything. He knows the game of football. He takes care of his body. He has a family at home and is a family man as well.
"It's definitely a blow to your soul a little bit because you realize how important it is for other guys to see that kind of ethic and how when you put that much time and effort into something, you're going to see results. That's how Jerod is. It's unfortunate."
A blow to the soul. A still-great quarterback recapturing the magic as players rose up to the challenge around him on offense, defense and special teams.
Those were the key ingredients that mixed together to make Sunday an unforgettable day for the Patriots.
No other way to say it, this was a character-defining win.
