In the first game of an ESPN Monday Night Football opening doubleheader, the Patriots faced the Bills at home in an American Football League "legacy game" honoring the 50th anniversary of the founding of AFL, which added ten teams to the NFL as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. As two of the eight founding teams of the AFL, the Bills and Patriots celebrated their 50th anniversaries by wearing throwback uniforms from the AFL era, while the officials also wore red-striped uniforms such as those worn by AFL officials. Following a Patriots three-and-out to open the game, the Bills punted to give the Patriots the ball at their own 17-yard line. Nine players later, the Patriots were unable to convert on third down, setting kicker Stephen Gostkowski up for a 41-yard field goal try. He missed it wide right, giving the Bills the ball at their own 32-yard line. Bills quarterback Trent Edwards scrambled for 16 yards to move the Bills into Patriots territory before a Fred Jackson run gained another 16 yards. Jackson was filling in for suspended starter Marshawn Lynch; Patriots linebacker and 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jerod Mayo suffered a sprained MCL on the play and did not return. The next play, a dump-off pass to Jackson, gained 21 yards and put the Bills in the red zone. Two plays later, Edwards hit rookie tight end Shawn Nelson for an 11-yard touchdown, giving the Bills a 7-0 lead. The Patriots next drive was a three-and-out, ending on an Aaron Schobel sack of quarterback Tom Brady on third down. The Bills punted back to the Patriots early in the second quarter, setting the table for a 14-play, 72-yard Patriots drive that culminated on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Fred Taylor to tie the game. Despite a 16-yard dump-off to Jackson on the Bills' next drive, they punted back to the Patriots before reaching midfield. On the very next play, a Brady pass intended for running back Sammy Morris was intercepted by Schobel and returned 26 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bills a 14-7 lead. Brady was more accurate on his next possession, throwing passes of 14 yards to tight end Benjamin Watson and wide receiver Wes Welker to move into Bills territory, and then hitting wide receiver Randy Moss on a 31-yard strike within the two-minute warning. The drive stalled in the Bills' red zone, and the Patriots were forced to settle for a 20-yard Gostkowski field goal as the first half expired, cutting the Bills' lead to 14-10. Aided by more Jackson yardage and a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Vince Wilfork, the Bills moved close to midfield on the opening drive of the second half before punting and pinning the Patriots at their own 3-yard line. The Patriots would advance to the Bills' 36-yard line on 12 plays, but an incomplete pass on third down set up a fourth down conversion try, which failed on another incomplete pass. Three plays later, Edwards hit new target Terrell Owens for the first time in the game, good for 27 yards to put the Bills in Patriots territory. However, a run for a loss and a Tully Banta-Cain sack of Edwards set up a 3rd-and-20 situation, where the Bills failed to convert, forcing a 40-yard Rian Lindell field goal. After a punt, the Patriots began an 11-play drive that spanned into the fourth quarter, ending it on a 28-yard Gostkowski field goal that cut the Bills' lead to 17-13. The Bills responded by embarking on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock and extended the Bills' lead to 24-13 on a 10-yard Jackson touchdown on a dump-off from Edwards. With 5:25 remaining in the game and down by 11 points, the Patriots shifted into their two-minute, pass-only offense, moving the ball 81 yards on 11 plays in 3:26 and scoring on an 18-yard Watson touchdown pass from Brady. The Patriots' two-point conversion try failed, keeping them within five points of the Bills. On the ensuing kickoff, Bills second-year returner Leodis McKelvin chose to return the kickoff out of the end zone, despite having his team's onside kick return unit on the field. Safety Brandon Meriweather hit McKelvin at the Bills' 31-yard line, which allowed linebacker Pierre Woods to come in from the side and strip McKelvin of the ball. Gostkowski recovered it at the same spot. Following the two-minute warning, the Patriots offense came back out onto the field. On the third play of the drive, Brady hit Watson on a nearly identical end zone route for a 16-yard touchdown, which was upheld by official review. The Patriots two-point attempt failed again, holding their lead to one point over the Bills. With 45 seconds remaining, the Bills began their next drive and were able to reach their own 40-yard line before another Banta-Cain sack pushed them back to the 30-yard line. The next play was a last-minute deseperation multiple-lateral play that fell short for the Bills, giving the Patriots a 25-24 win, their first victory of the season.. how many more wins than losses did the Pacers finish the season at?