If Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots have taught us anything, it's that one loss -- or even back-to-back losses -- doesn't mean much, especially in September. So even though New England traveled to Buffalo with a 1-2 record, by the time they made their way back to Foxoboro on Sunday evening, not only were they back to .500, but they also assumed their rightful place as AFC East favorites and a legitimate playoff team.

Then again, maybe we shouldn't put too much stock in their 52-28 beatdown of the Bills. This is the same Buffalo team that stood around in Week 1 while a punchless Jets offense hung 48 points on them. Whatever, knowing Bill Belichick, he will put as much stock in this win as any other, which is to say that he's already looking forward to the Pats' next opponent (which just so happens to be the Broncos next Sunday).

But we're not quite ready to move on. Brady completed 22 of 36 passes for 340 yards (3 TDs, 0 INTs), running backs Steven Ridley and Brandon Bolden combined for 243 rushing yards on 38 carries (6.4 YPC), and Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowki each had more than 100 yards receiving. More to like: the defense forced four Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions and three Bills fumbles.

It was a complete team effort, even if it took New England 30 minutes to get going. They trailed 14-7 at the half and then went on a 42-14 run, including 31 fourth-quarter points.

According to ESPN.com, the Pats are the second team in NFL history with a pair of 100-yard rushers and a pair of 100-yard receivers in the same game (Green Bay and Detroit did it in '08). Not surprisingly, the Bills wanted to force the Patriots to keep the ball on the ground, something Brady was happy to do. "I think they were really challenging us to run the ball," Brady said after the game. "They had some little guys on the field with our big personnel groupings, so at that point you have to try to take advantage of it. You can't just keep throwing into a heavy pass defense, so we ran it."

Perhaps the second-biggest storyline to come from the game after the 52 points was the play of a banged-up offensive line.

"Our line, our tight ends, our backs; they all did a good job," Belichick said. "We were a little disappointed in our running production the last couple games, and we really made that a big emphasis this game. We worked hard on it in practice and we were able to have some good results today. You can't say enough about the offensive line, though. (The Bills) have a good front and we were able to block them."

Bolden, of course, agreed.

"It was a great job by the offensive line," he said. "Just giving space to the runners, it wasn't just me, it was almost every back that got back there. Everybody had an opportunity, everybody had a chance, we just had to capitalize."

The outcome probably says more about the Bills than the Pats, but either way, it's a great win for a New England team that needed it.