*****FANCY FOOTWORK: Even with a surgically repaired knee, Tom Brady showed after time ran out Monday night that he can avoid the rush. Brady did everything but stiff-arm ESPN's persistent Suzy Kolber as she chased him down the field for an interview. Matthew J. Darnell of Yahoo!Sports says Brady acted like a jerk.


*****TROUBLE AHEAD: Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports says the Patriots defense, offensive line and running game are questionable. Yes, Brady's back, but ''the Patriots can be had.''


*****OH, THE PAIN: Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan beseeches the gridiron gods: "how much hurt should one team, and its fans, have to endure?''


*****STANDUP GUY: Give Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin props for not ducking the media after his fumble blew the game for the Bills. "I chose to bring (the kickoff) out because that's me. If I had another chance 100 times, I would probably do the same thing. The only thing I've got to do is hold on to the ball," McKelvin said.


*****T.O. DUCKS: Terrell Owens, on the other hand, had this to say when approached by reporters: "You're wasting your time. I got nothing to say." That never stopped him before. Owens caught two passes for 46 yards. He did fire off a tweet on the way to the airport: "Congrats 2 the Pats!! On the bus headed 2 airport. Cn't wait 2 get hm & get n the bed....We'll b ready next week! I promise u that!!"


*****BOO HOO: There's no crying in baseball, but apparently the NFL is a different story. From the Associated Press: "I wanted to shut everybody up that says we aren't a good football team. We had an opportunity, and we let it go," said safety Donte Whitner, wiping tears from his eyes. "(An) 11-point lead, with four minutes left. This is bad, because I know how hard these guys work. I know how hard I work."


*****LOW BLOW: What was with that roughing-the-passer call on Vince Wilfork in the third quarter? Tom E. Curran dissects and analyzes.