Week 8 Patriots vs Bills: Who gets the game ball for New England’s 25-6 win?

The New England Patriots had their fare share of issues against the Buffalo Bills, but in the end still won rather convincingly with a final score of 25-6. The game, which helped the Patriots improve their record to 6-2, produced multiple noteworthy performances. Let’s take a look at three of them in tonight’s game ball vote.

WR Julian Edelman

On a day on which the Patriots offense failed to find a rhythm, Julian Edelman again proved his value to the unit as one of Tom Brady’s safety blankets. The veteran and number one wide receiver finished the day with nine catches for a team-high 104 yards – including a critical third down conversion on the team’s first touchdown drive of the day. Furthermore, Edelman gained 13 yards on two carries.

FS Devin McCourty

The Bills were unable to consistently challenge the Patriots defense – in part because of its own ineptitude, in part because of some solid play by the unit. One of its standouts is defensive captain Devin McCourty. While the veteran had a relatively quiet day through three quarters, he blew the contest open in the fourth period with an interception return touchdown: McCourty read quarterback Derek Anderson perfectly, undercut the route, and took the pick 84-yards to the end zone.

LB Kyle Van Noy

New England had some solid performances all over the defense, but the player that arguably stood out the most is Kyle Van Noy. With Dont’a Hightower out because of a knee injury, the third-year Patriot was active as the team’s top linebacker and finished the game with a team-leading eight tackles – one of which for loss –, as well as a pair of sacks and a forced fumble. Van Noy had a huge impact on the contest and led New England’s defense to an encouraging performance.

With all that in mind, who is your choice for this week’s game ball?