FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- At an initial glance, and without the benefit of film review, a look at which New England Patriots are "up" and which are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills:
Up
Akeem Ayers -- In a limited workload, he produced a sack, making a case for potentially being included more in the playing-time mix in the base defense.
Jamie Collins -- Linebacker's second-effort strip sack and recovery in the first half was a terrific individual effort, aided by Bills running back C.J. Spiller not showing much interest in blocking him.
Stephen Gostkowski -- Kicker hit field goals on all three of his attempts, from 24, 44 and 35 yards.
Brandon LaFell -- Receiver finished with four catches for a team-high 70 yards and earned an additional $100,000 in incentives in the process.
Down
Alan Branch -- Big defensive tackle lost his balance and was pushed out of the gap when the Bills scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Jonathan Casillas -- Linebacker was penalized for roughing the passer when the Patriots were attempting to get the ball back late in the game and missed a couple tackles earlier in the game.
Josh Kline -- Left guard was bull-rushed in the second quarter, leading to him being pulled from the game, before he returned in the second half after Nate Solder left with a knee injury and parts needed to be shuffled around up front.
Steve Maneri, Tim Wright -- Tight ends both dropped passes on a day when the passing game wasn't particularly sharp.
