FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The numbers were enough to make middle linebacker Paul Posluszny cringe.

The Buffalo Bills had allowed only two teams to rush for more than 100 yards against them all year coming into Sunday. Then the New England Patriots racked up 144 yards in a 20-10 victory.

"To be a great defense, the goal is to hold a team under 100 yards," Posluszny said. "For them to go over 100 that much is frustrating."

What is even harder for the Bills to deal with is most of the Patriots' yards came from a fourth-string rookie running back who wasn't even drafted.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who began the season on the practice squad, rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries and scored a touchdown for the fourth straight week.

The young man with the long name made it a long day for the Bills' defense.

"He's a tough running back who runs hard," Posluszny said. "We knew about him and we had a lot of concentration on [third-down back Kevin] Faulk because of his ability to get out of the backfield and catch passes. But we knew they are a tough, physical team [that] wants to run the ball and they did it effectively."

The Bills just didn't count on Green-Ellis beating them.

It's not that he's a bad football player. He posted two 1,000-yard seasons for the University of Mississippi and was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection last year. Even though he wasn't drafted, he showed why the Patriots were wise to tuck him away on the practice squad.

The Bills stopped Green-Ellis on occasion, but he was able to rip off some important gains. Five of his runs accounted for first downs, and he had four runs of 10 or more yards.

"I think for the most part we held him to about 3 or 4 yards a rush," Bills linebacker Keith Ellison said. "But he broke three or four long ones that made the difference."

"The thing is they didn't do anything we hadn't seen before," Posluszny added. "It just seemed that on certain plays they executed a little bit better than we did. They're a good team and are well-coached. But they moved the ball in some situations where we should have made the stop. We definitely didn't play as well as we needed to or we can. To beat a team like the Patriots you've got to be great, but we didn't have it today."

. . .

It should come as no surprise that the Patriots shut down Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, who finished with only two catches. He had just 14 catches with no touchdowns and just one reception of more than 20 yards in his previous seven meetings with New England.

"They tried to drop guys in spots, really keep people deep and not allow big plays and hope the pressure got there first," Evans said. "It's not the first time they've done that. They just rely on that front seven to try to get pressure and they do a good job of it."

Evans had one chance for a big play in the first half. He ran a skinny post and there was enough room between him and the defender that he had a shot at a long touchdown. But quarterback Trent Edwards overthrew him and the pass was intercepted by New England cornerback Ellis Hobbs.

"I thought we dialed it up at the right time. We just didn't execute right," Evans said. "That's just how it goes sometimes."

. . .

Bills coach Dick Jauron missed an opportunity to overturn a catch by New England receiver Wes Welker on the Patriots' opening drive. Replays clearly showed that Welker didn't have possession and control as he went out of bounds. But instead of throwing the red flag on the field where the officials could see it, Jauron dropped it on the sideline. The Patriots went on to score a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"I should have taken the challenge flag and run on the field," Jauron lamented. "I threw it on the sideline, clearly. From my vantage point it looked like a catch. I got some information; we always talk if it's close. As I started to get more information I thought it was challengeable and I pulled it out and dropped it there. It was me. I need to get downfield because they can't see it."

. . .

It's not on the scale of the 0-for-the-'70s winless drought against the Miami Dolphins, but the Bills' 10-game losing streak against the Patriots is tied for the second-longest in team history. The Houston Oilers also beat the Bills 10 consecutive times from 1967-78.

. . .

Ex-Bills receiver Sam Aiken made his presence felt against his former team, catching two passes for 22 yards, including a 19-yard grab on third-and-9 from the Patriots' 9-yard line. The catch ignited a 19-play, 92-yard drive that ended in the decisive TD.

. . .

Four starters — defensive end Aaron Schobel (foot), safety Donte Whitner (shoulder), wide receiver Josh Reed (ankle) and right guard Brad Butler (knee) — were out because of injuries. The healthy inactives were running back Xavier Omon, offensive tackle Demetrius Bell and linebacker Teddy Lehman, who was signed last week.