The Bills (6-4) are tied for second with the Jets in the division, one game behind Miami. The Patriots, who had won five of six against the Bills, fell to 5-5 and have lost four of five since drubbing the Chiefs 40-10 on Oct. 11.

"We've got to get some wins," said beleaguered Patriots coach Pete Carroll, whose injury-stricken team was outgained by 185 yards (391-206).

Facing the Patriots for the first time since they released him after the 1989 season, Flutie gained 49 yards on 11 carries and completed 14 of 26 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

Both pickoffs were on passes from inside the Patriots' 20-yard line.

"You can't allow that to happen," Flutie said. "You have to come away with points."

The Bills, determined to improve upon the 48 yards rushing they had against the Jets, ran for 213 yards, just 2 shy of their previous high against the Rams. Antowain Smith had 24 carries for 88 yards. Thomas, whose season high had been 42 yards, carried 11 times for 76 yards.

"It feels good to get our running game back on track," Smith said. "We got to put them away in situations where we have the chance. We didn't do that. So we basically just protected the ball."

"This was a huge win for us," ex-Patriots fullback Sam Gash said. "We pounded the ball. We won the time of possession (37:17) and most of all we won the game. We're in second place right now, and that's what's fun."

The Bills, who split two games with Miami and lost once to the Jets, are in good position for a run at the playoffs. The Patriots, who played without six starters due to injuries, might not be.

"This team isn't going in the tank," said Carroll, who had won all four of his previous games against the Bills. "We had a chance to win."

Adam Vinatieri made it a 6-3 halftime score with his 38-yard field goal.

The Patriots pulled to 13-10 on a 37-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe to Tony Simmons with 13:11 left. Buffalo then drove 14 plays to the New England 4, but Flutie's pass was picked off by Lawyer Milloy with 4:41 left.

It was then up to the Bills defense, and Bruce Smith sacked Bledsoe twice for losses of 15 yards.

"He makes a lot of plays at the end of the ballgame, because he's got something in his heart that most players don't have," Bills coach Wade Phillips said.

Bledsoe completed 12 of 31 passes for 180 yards and no interceptions, but his stats were far worse than his performance.

"They had a few dropped balls that I'm sure their receivers wished they had gotten back," said Bruce Smith, who also had six tackles.

Bledsoe agreed, to a point.

"We had some dropped balls, but the bottom line is we weren't able to come up with the plays when we needed them," said Bledsoe, whose team rushed for 48 yards. Notes: Buffalo linebacker John Holecek sprained his knee and Phillips said he will be out 2-4 weeks. ... Flutie has not lost two games in a row since 1992 when he was in the CFL. ... New England receiver Terry Glenn was inactive for the fourth straight week with a hamstring injury. ... Christie accounted for 28 straight points until Riemersma's third-quarter touchdown reception. ... Patriots cornerback Steve Israel started in place of Chris Canty.