Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Jets, the Patriots returned to home ground for an AFC East match against the Bills. The Bills marched right down the field on the opening drive, 59 yards, scoring on a 39-yard field goal by kicker Rian Lindell. The Patriots countered, storming 74 yards in 8 plays, scoring on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Randy Moss. Two possessions later, with great field position, the Bills drove to the Patriots 15, but after a 7-yard sack by Jerod Mayo the Bills settled with Lindell connecting on another 39-yard field goal, trimming the deficit to 7-6. On the fourth play of the Patriots next drive, Tate fumbled after a 14-yard catch being tackled by Drayton Florence with Jairus Byrd recovering at the Patriots 37. 7 plays later, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to C. J. Spiller, giving the Bills a 13-7 lead. The Patriots countered, marching 76 yard in 6 plays, scoring when Danny Woodhead blazed away a 22-yard touchdown run late in the 2nd quarter. The Bills countered, reaching the Patriots 17, settling for a 35-yard field goal, after Fitzpatrick was ruled 1-yard short of a first down. After Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to the Bills 33, Brady hit Tate and Hernandez for gains of 29 and 13 yards, respectively, setting up Gostkowski's successful 43-yard field goal attempt, bringing the first half shootout to an end with the Patriots leading 17-16. Aided by another good return by Tate, the Patriots raced 74 yards in under two minutes on the opening drive of the second half, scoring on a 35-yard touchdown bomb from Brady to Moss, increasing the lead to 24-16. With the touchdown, Moss moved to 5th on the all-time receiving list with 14,064 yards. This was Moss' 36th career game with 2 or more receiving touchdown, 2nd only to Jerry Rice (44). Brady tied Steve Young with 232 career touchdowns, tying Steve Young for 19th all-time. Spiller returned the ensuing kick 95-yards for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 24-23. After a Bills three-and-out, the Bills drove to the Patriots 33, but Lindell missed a 51-yard field goal. With good field position at their own 41, the Patriots marched 59 yards in over 7 minutes, scoring on Brady's 5-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski,giving him sole possession of 19th on the all-time touchdown passes list. The Bills drove to the Patriots 20 on their next drive, but Patrick Chung intercepted Fitzpatrick at the 1 and returned it to the Patriots 26. The Patriots marched 75 yards in over 6 minutes, scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run by BenJarvus Green-Ellis, increasing the lead to 38-23. The Bills moved 80 yards on their next drive, scoring on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson, trimming the deficit to 38-30. After a Patriots three-and-out, Fitzpatrick was intercepted at the Patriots 43 by Brandon Meriweather. The Bills had a chance with over three minutes remaining, but 6-yard run by Green-Ellis enabled the Patriots to run out the rest of the clock and win the game.
How many points ahead were the Patriots at the end of the first half?
1