ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- Drew Bledsoe is not known as a running quarterback, but he used his legs on an icy field to set up the game-winning kick by Adam Vinatieri.
After Steve Christie had a 30-yard field goal blocked in overtime, Vinatieri drilled a 24-yarder with 19 seconds left in the extra session to lead the New England Patriots to a 13-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
It marked the third straight time the AFC East rivals played an overtime game, with Buffalo (7-8) winning the previous two on field goals by Christie.
In the first meeting between the teams this season on November 5, Christie booted a game-tying 48-yard field goal with four seconds left in regulation and kicked a 32-yarder 4:32 into overtime as the Bills posted a 16-13 victory.
Christie, who had seven career overtime field goals, had a chance to add another today but struggled to get his footing on a slick field and booted a low kick which was blocked with 6:11 left.
"I didn't hit it high enough," Christie said. "In this kind of weather you don't even know where the kickoffs are going."
Bledsoe then engineered a 14-play, 83-yard drive and put the Patriots (5-10) in prime field goal position when he broke off a 14-yard run on a 3rd-and-6 play to the Buffalo 3.
Vinatieri, who missed a 27-yard field goal in the inclement conditions on the final play of regulation, made amends with his winning kick.
"The last kick might not have looked like much from upstairs, but down on the field those plays were very difficult to execute in these conditions," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
Bills starting quarterback Rob Johnson suffered a concussion early in the second quarter when he was hit by Patriots defensive end Greg Spires while throwing an incompletion and did not return.
Doug Flutie replaced Johnson and played the rest of the way, completing 15-of-25 passes for 193 yards, including a one-yard touchdown to tight end Sheldon Jackson early in the fourth quarter, and rushed for 50 yards on nine carries.
But it was Bledsoe, who does not possess Flutie's mobility, who was able to make the key scramble in overtime that set up the winning field goal. He completed 13-of-26 for 156 yards.
"Prior to the game, we scrapped about half of our gameplan," Bledsoe said. "We changed something in our running game and we added three plays just prior to the game. Anything where the ball had to stay in the air for a long amount of time going to be too diffucult for the receivers in these conditions."
With the wet conditions, New England rushed 48 times for 189 yards and Buffalo had 40 carries for 178 yards. Rookie J.R. Redmond and Kevin Faulk combined for 118 yards for the Patriots and Shawn Bryson had 82 yards on 19 carries for the Bills.
Faulk scored on a 13-yard run with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 10-10.
"That was the worst conditions I ever played in," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "I was calling a signal for the defense and half the time they could not understand me."
Buffalo's Pro Bowl receiver Eric Moulds was held to two catches for 26 yards, but tied Andre Reed's single season record with 90 receptions set in 1994.
"This is my first time playing in snow and it's probably the worst condition I've ever played in," Moulds said. "But to get an opportunity to break his (Reed's) record so early (in my career) means a lot to me, because he was here for a long time."
Vinatieri kicked a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the first quarter and Christie kicked a 25-yarder in the second quarter for the only scoring in the first half.
