Kirk Morrison arrived in Buffalo in late August, just before the Bills opened their 2011 season. To that point in his career, all Morrison had known was life as an Oakland Raider and a brief stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars.



He came in naive about the city and the fan base. The Monday after the Bills’ Week 2 win over Oakland — Morrison’s 27th day in Buffalo — he noticed how abruptly the team brushed aside the 2-0 start because of what was to come.



“I learned this fairly quickly — it doesn’t matter what your record is,” Morrison said. “It’s about what you do against the Patriots in Buffalo.”



Since Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001, the Bills had managed just one win over the Patriots at that point. It was a home game in 2003 — more affectionately referred to as “The Lawyer Milloy Game,” or more comically as “The Sam Adams Game.” The Bills ransacked the...