FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Dont worry. The New England Patriots should be just fine for the playoffs.Thats the message Tom Brady delivered after his offences second straight poor performance.And this time they had an excuse: Brady played just the first half and six other key starters didnt play at all because the Patriots already had clinched the top seed and a first-round bye in the AFC.We have a lot of confidence as an offence, Brady said after the 17-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Weve been able to score points against a lot of good teams, a lot of good defences.A week ago they edged the lowly New York Jets 17-16.On Sunday, Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals, but the Patriots failed to score a touchdown for the first time since the fifth game last season, although top receivers Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski and starting offensive linemen Dan Connolly and Sebastian Vollmer were inactive.Its a big difference without Gronkowski, New England wide receiver Brandon LaFell said. The middle of the field is not that much open.The Patriots (12-4) must wait until next weekends wild-card games to learn their opponent in the divisional round. Meanwhile, coach Bill Belichick gave them Monday off.Belichick might need some time to regain his strength after he was checked by trainers and a doctor after the game.I had to spend a few minutes in the training room after the game, nothing serious, he said in a conference call after skipping his usual postgame news conference. It was no big deal. I dont want to get into it.The Bills (9-7) finished with their first winning record since going 9-7 in 2004. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the 15th straight season with a loss to the Oakland Raiders in their previous game.Sundays win was bittersweet, Bills centre Eric Wood said, because you always think what could have been.A winning record is important to some people, Buffalo coach Doug Marrone said. There were a lot of lessons that well reflect on. ... If we dont understand that after this season, then all will be lost.Some takeaways from Buffalos first win ever at Gillette Stadium after losing 12 games:RUSHING REVIVAL: The Bills ran for 104 yards after gaining just 13 on the ground, the fourth fewest in team history, the previous Sunday. One of their touchdowns came on a 1-yard run by Anthony Dixon that gave them a 14-3 lead about five minutes into the second quarter.The win is something we can build on, said Fred Jackson, who led the Bills with 58 yards rushing. We were able to come in here today and play well enough to get a victory.BRADYS DAY: Brady played all five offensive series for the Patriots in the first half and completed 8 of 16 passes for 80 yards with one sack. He also ran twice for nine yards and, most importantly, avoided injury.We always hate losing, he said. We didnt make enough plays to win, but, hopefully, we make them in a couple of weeks.ORTON IN CHARGE: Bills quarterback Kyle Orton completed 16 of 23 passes for 176 yards and a 6-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods in his 12th straight start after taking over for EJ Manuel.I really didnt go into (the season) with a ton of personal goals, Orton said after finishing the season with 3,018 yards passing, his third season with more than 3,000. The later in your career you get, most of your goals are just team goals and fighting for that chance to get in the playoffs.DOMINATION DECLINES: The Patriots superiority in head-to-head meetings took a hit. Theyre now 21-2 in the past 23, Brady is 23-3 against the Bills and Belichick is 26-4 against them since become coach in 2000. Several Patriots streaks also were broken: 16 straight home victories in the regular season, 17 at home against AFC East opponents and 35 home wins against AFC teams.ROOKIE REPLACEMENT: Brady backup Jimmy Garoppolo completed 10 of 17 passes for 90 yards with three sacks while running four times for 16 yards. In the rookies previous five appearances in mop-up duty, he completed 9 of 10 passes.Thats my job as a backup to be ready to go whenever and the (game) speed is what it is, he said. Youve just got to play with it.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Kansas City Royals Gear . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease. Royals Jerseys 2020 . Martin Reway and David Griger both recorded four points with a goal and three assists each. Mario Lunter, Daniel Gachulinec and Stanislav Horansky also scored for Slovakia (1-0). Dominik Kahun had both goals for Germany (0-2), who lost its opening match to Canada 7-2 on Thursday. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . The 24-year-old Pruneau played his CIS football with the Montreal Carabins. The six-foot, 200-pound Montreal native had 41 tackles, 3. Cheap Royals Jerseys . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night. Kansas City Royals Store . Globo TV and other news outlets said early Monday that Scolari will not remain as coach after the national teams failure to win the World Cup at home.Ann Arbor, MI - The University of Michigan has fired head football coach Brady Hoke after four seasons. Hoke posted a 31-20 record at Michigan, but never improved on an 11-2 mark and Sugar Bowl title in his first season with the Wolverines. They went 5-7 overall this season, including 3-5 in the Big Ten, marking the programs first losing season since going 5-7 in 2009 under Rich Rodriguez. I feel very fortunate to have been an assistant and head coach at the University of Michigan, said Hoke in a statement Tuesday. I will always support the University and this football program.dddddddddddd Hoke, 56, was hired as the 19th head coach at Michigan after Rodriguez was fired following just three seasons at the helm and a 15-22 record. Hoke coached San Diego State for two season before coming to Michigan, going 13-12 overall. Prior to his stint with the Aztecs, he coached at Ball State, his alma mater, for six seasons. In 2008, the team went 12-1 with an 8-0 record in the Mid- American Conference. Hoke was 34-38 at Ball State with a 27-20 mark in the MAC. ' ' '