The Patriots 2013 season finally got underway today, and it served as a rude awakening for many Patriots fans expecting a comfortable opening-day victory over the Buffalo Bills. Ultimately though, New England was able to escape Buffalo (and their talented rookie quarterback) with a narrow 23-21 win. Though the Patriots will undoubtedly reflect on starting 1-0 start to the year by noting several areas that require improvement, the bottom line is that they’ve gotten underway with a positive result.

After an early turnover by the Bills (a C.J. Spiller fumble was recovered by Patriots defensive tackle Tommy Kelly at the Buffalo 16-yard-line), the Patriots offense immediately sprung to life. Tom Brady found one of the few remaining veterans in the receiving corps, Julian Edelman, for a quick score.

And it appeared that New England was running on a routine course against their divisional opponents, who have struggled against the Patriots over the last decade, as the Patriots got out to a 10-0 start. That changed when running back Steven Ridley lost his balance and fumbled the football without being touched. The Bills recovered and scored a touchdown:

In fact, that seemed to be a theme for the day: uncharacteristic Patriot mistakes. After staging another successful drive, the Patriots went for it at the one-yard-line on fourth and goal, only to see Tom Brady mishandle the snap and fumble:

Ultimately though, Tom Brady and Danny Amendola (in particular) helped to lead a comeback in the fourth quarter. Two Stephen Gostkowski field goals were the difference in a tightly-played fourth quarter where the Patriots eventually came back for a 23-21 final score. Amendola, who finished the game with 10 receptions for 104 yards, made a number of third down receptions to allow the Patriots to move into field goal territory.

Shane Vereen had 21 total touches on offense (rushing and receiving) for 159 total yards from scrimmage.

Yet it was the defense who were arguably the most important part of the fourth quarter rally. Down 21-17 early in the fourth quarter, the pass-defense finally found its footing. After going 15-20 in the first three quarters, Bills rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel went only 3-7 in the final quarter of play.

The Patriots play this Thursday against the New York Jets in the their second game of the new season.