The New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-3 and move on to a 10-2 record. There were a few standout performances as the entire defense played well, as did the Patriots rushing attack. Who deserves the game ball?

EDGE Eric Lee

Lee finished the day with 1.5 sacks, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss, an interception, and a pass defended, along with 4 tackles. He was active at the line of scrimmage and seemed to make a big play whenever the Patriots needed one. New England was without Trey Flowers on the edge, so Lee joined Deatrich Wise and Adam Butler and was the best of the trio that helped prevent the Bills from putting points on the board.

RB Rex Burkhead

Burkhead picked up 78 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries and added 25 receiving yards on 3 receptions, for a total of 103 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. It was an outstanding performance as Burkhead continues to produce. I was considering including Dion Lewis (92 rushing yards on 15 carries), but Burkhead’s two scores are what gets him the game ball nomination.

TE Rob Gronkowski

Gronkowski collected 9 receptions for 147 yards and was a fierce blocker for much of the game. He was also penalized thrice for 25 yards, was the target of Tom Brady’s lone interception of the day, and was flagged for unnecessary roughness for hitting a player in the back of the head. He was benched by head coach Bill Belichick after that last penalty.