NFL game summary for 11/28/1971:
Buffalo ended a 17 game streak without a victory by turning back New England, the club it had last beaten more than a year earlier. Dennis Shaw connected with TD passes twice to J. D. Hill, and O. J. Simpson clinched it with a 7-yard scoring run. Patriots RB Carl Garrett carried 21 times for 127 yards and Jim Plunkett pegged his 15th TD to Ron Sellers.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 120.4 (16) | 125.7 (23) | 246.1 (21) | 25 |
| DEFENSE | 140.7 (18) | 169.7 (20) | 310.4 (20) | 17 | |
 | OFFENSE | 92.7 (24) | 140.1 (21) | 232.8 (23) | 35 |
| DEFENSE | 189.8 (26) | 157.9 (15) | 347.7 (26) | 16 |
Line: Even
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots (4-7-0) | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Buffalo Bills (1-10-0) | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
( 3- 0) NE Charlie Gogolak 40 yard field goal ( 3- 7) BUF J.D. Hill 11 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) ( 6- 7) NE Charlie Gogolak 17 yard field goal ( 6-14) BUF J.D. Hill 47 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) ( 6-17) BUF John Leypoldt 48 yard field goal (13-17) NE Jim Nance 1 yard rush (Charlie Gogolak kick) (13-24) BUF O.J. Simpson 7 yard rush (John Leypoldt kick) (20-24) NE Ron Sellers 12 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) (20-27) BUF John Leypoldt 41 yard field goal
NE BUF
First Downs: 15 15
Rushes-yards: 36-189 34-147
Yards/rush: 5.2 4.3
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 10-22-138-3 9-17-154-0
Sacked-yards: 4-33 3-37
Net pass yards: 105 117
Net yards/pass: 4.0 5.8
Total net yards: 294 264
Total plays: 62 (58% run) 54 (62% run)
Yards/play: 4.7 4.9
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 3-1
Turnovers: 3 1
Penalties-yards: 4-30 4-45
Attendance: 27,166
Passing:
NE: Jim Plunkett, 10 of 22 for 138 yards and 1 TD (3 int) BUF: Dennis Shaw, 9 of 17 for 154 yards and 2 TDs
Rushing:
NE: Carl Garrett, 21 for 127 yards; Jim Nance, 8 for 18 yards and 1 TD; Jim Plunkett, 4 for 33 yards; Jack Maitland, 1 for 6 yards; Bob Gladieux, 1 for 4 yards; Hubie Bryant, 1 for 1 yard BUF: Wayne Patrick, 17 for 76 yards; O.J. Simpson, 14 for 61 yards and 1 TD; Jim Braxton, 1 for 11 yards; Dennis Shaw, 1 for 0 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for -1 yards
Receiving:
NE: Ron Sellers, 2 for 36 yards and 1 TD; Carl Garrett, 2 for 35 yards; Randy Vataha, 2 for 26 yards; Tom Beer, 2 for 24 yards; Hubie Bryant, 1 for 9 yards; Jim Nance, 1 for 8 yards BUF: J.D. Hill, 3 for 82 yards and 2 TDs; Marlin Briscoe, 3 for 46 yards; Wayne Patrick, 2 for 7 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for 19 yards
Kick returns:
NE: Hubie Bryant, 5 for 131 yards; Bob Gladieux, 1 for 0 yards BUF: Alvin Wyatt, 2 for 74 yards; O.J. Simpson, 2 for 57 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for 24 yards
Punt returns:
NE: Carl Garrett, 2 for 50 yards BUF: Alvin Wyatt, 3 for 21 yards; Tim Beamer, 1 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
BUF: Robert James, 2 for 25 yards; Al Andrews, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
NE: Tom Janik, 4 for 139 yards BUF: Spike Jones, 5 for 207 yards
Field Goals:
NE: Charlie Gogolak, 2/2 BUF: John Leypoldt, 2/3
NE: Jim Plunkett, 10 of 22 for 138 yards and 1 TD (3 int) BUF: Dennis Shaw, 9 of 17 for 154 yards and 2 TDs
Rushing:
NE: Carl Garrett, 21 for 127 yards; Jim Nance, 8 for 18 yards and 1 TD; Jim Plunkett, 4 for 33 yards; Jack Maitland, 1 for 6 yards; Bob Gladieux, 1 for 4 yards; Hubie Bryant, 1 for 1 yard BUF: Wayne Patrick, 17 for 76 yards; O.J. Simpson, 14 for 61 yards and 1 TD; Jim Braxton, 1 for 11 yards; Dennis Shaw, 1 for 0 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for -1 yards
Receiving:
NE: Ron Sellers, 2 for 36 yards and 1 TD; Carl Garrett, 2 for 35 yards; Randy Vataha, 2 for 26 yards; Tom Beer, 2 for 24 yards; Hubie Bryant, 1 for 9 yards; Jim Nance, 1 for 8 yards BUF: J.D. Hill, 3 for 82 yards and 2 TDs; Marlin Briscoe, 3 for 46 yards; Wayne Patrick, 2 for 7 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for 19 yards
Kick returns:
NE: Hubie Bryant, 5 for 131 yards; Bob Gladieux, 1 for 0 yards BUF: Alvin Wyatt, 2 for 74 yards; O.J. Simpson, 2 for 57 yards; Greg Jones, 1 for 24 yards
Punt returns:
NE: Carl Garrett, 2 for 50 yards BUF: Alvin Wyatt, 3 for 21 yards; Tim Beamer, 1 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
BUF: Robert James, 2 for 25 yards; Al Andrews, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
NE: Tom Janik, 4 for 139 yards BUF: Spike Jones, 5 for 207 yards
Field Goals:
NE: Charlie Gogolak, 2/2 BUF: John Leypoldt, 2/3