Punter Brian Moorman and place-kicker Rian Lindell have played in some trying weather conditions during their time with the Buffalo Bills. But nothing they have experienced could compare to what they faced Sunday.

Sustained winds of more than 35 mph and gusts near 50 wreaked havoc on the Bills' kicking game during their 13-0 loss to the New England Patriots.

Moorman averaged just 31 yards on three punts, including a 13-yarder into the teeth of the biting wind. Lindell had the wind at his back on a 47-yard field goal, but the wind caused him to miss.

"I think it was the worst we've ever had in here," said Moorman, who has been with the team since 2001. "It was hard to do anything really, kicking or punting. Typically for field goal kickers at least the ball sits still for them, but even that wasn't working today. You get the ball up in the air and you don't know what is going to happen."

"That was the worst," Lindell added. "When they have to fix the uprights on fourth down that's pretty bad."

Indeed, the winds were so strong they tilted the goal posts. There was a delay in the second quarter because the groundskeepers had to readjust the goal post in one end zone so New England could try a field goal.

What made the conditions tougher was the wind kept shifting throughout the game.

"It was pretty much coming across the field," Moorman said. "It was at your back more going towards the tunnel, but it was at angle. So as soon as you let go of the ball it was outside. It wasn't easy no matter what direction you were kicking in."

On his errant 47-yard field goal attempt, Lindell tried to compensate for the wind by aiming toward the left upright, but the wind grabbed the ball and pushed it wide of the right upright.

"It's pretty frustrating because a week from now nobody cares if it was windy," Lindell said. "It's another miss. I've had too many of those."

The Patriots had an adventurous day dealing with the wind, too. Chris Hanson did have a 46-yard punt into the wind, but place-kicker Stephen Gostkowski's 26-yard field goal try in the second quarter reached the goal posts and then the ball was blown several yards wide right.

His extra point attempt in the third quarter barely made it through the uprights. He added a 23-yard field goal with the wind behind him in the fourth.

"I thought I was close enough to where the wind wouldn't affect it that much," Gostkowski said of his miss. "Obviously, I was wrong. It wasn't doing it like that in warm-ups. It was insane and I'm lucky I didn't miss all three of them. You can't beat Mother Nature."

Bills rookie Leodis McKelvin's first exposure to the tricky Buffalo elements didn't go too well either. He mishandled two returns, including one that would have resulted in a Patriots touchdown had they recovered the muff in the end zone.

"It was hard to gauge the ball because the wind was moving it around," McKelvin said. "I thought I had the ball and it would shift at the last second. It was tough out there for everybody."

. . .

Running back Fred Jackson had a career day, rushing for 136 yards on 27 carries. It was the most rushing attempts and yards by a Bills running back since Marshawn Lynch ran 29 times for 153 yards last year against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jackson had 103 yards on 20 carries in the first half as he accounted for most of the Bills' 139 total yards.

Given the expected weather, Jackson said running the ball would be a major emphasis in the game.

"It was something we prepared for," Jackson said. "We knew it was going to be a tough day passing the ball so we needed to run the ball. It was something that we wanted to take upon ourselves to be able to do and kind of keep some pressure off going to the pass earlier."

. . .

The Bills are looking at a much tougher schedule next season. Besides their AFC East rivals, the Bills will face the AFC South and NFC South. No one in the NFC South had a losing record and three of the four AFC South teams won at least eight games.

The Bills will host the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bills visit the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.

The Bills also host the last-place team in the AFC North (Cleveland Browns) and visit the AFC West cellar-dwellers (Kansas City Chiefs).

The official NFL schedule will be released in early April.

. . .

Wide receiver Lee Evans achieved his second 1,000-yard season. He finished with 1,017 yards. He had 1,292 yards in 2006.

"I guess on an individual level, it's something to be proud of and a lot of accolades go to my teammates," Evans said. "Trent [Edwards] and the offensive line and all of my fellow receivers. It's not just me — it is a representation of the whole offense."

. . .

Safety Donte Whitner reinjured his right shoulder after colliding with Patriots running back Sammy Morris in the third quarter.

Whitner, who was wearing a sling after the game, will be re-examined today.

. . .

As expected, running back Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), wide receiver Roscoe Parrish (knee) and left tackle Jason Peters (knee) were inactive due to injuries. Cornerback Jabari Greer missed his sixth straight game with a sprained knee. Also out for health reasons was linebacker Teddy Lehman (groin). The healthy scratches were offensive tackles Demetrius Bell and Jonathan Scott.

The most notable absences for the Patriots were defensive lineman Richard Seymour (lower back) and linebacker Tedy Bruschi (knee).