FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. The powerful back finished his 35-yard touchdown run up the left sideline by flopping with outstretched arms and capping the New England Patriots 34-20 win over the Buffalo Bills in a steady downpour Sunday. The victory gave the Patriots a first-round bye and the Gillette Stadium field an extra week to dry out. "He carried the team on his back most of the day," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. The rain "got worse as the game went along. It was definitely a running game." Blount rushed for a career-high 189 yards, returned two kickoffs for 145 and set a club record with 334 all-purpose yards. The Patriots (12-4) obtained Blount in an off-season trade with Tampa Bay and he shared playing time with other backs since then. On Sunday, the 250-pounder led the charge. He also scored on a 36-yard run and set up a touchdown and field goal with kickoff returns of 83 and 62 yards. The extra point after his 35-yarder put the Patriots ahead 34-20 with 2:31 left. "Every time I play I try my best to come out with the mindset to make a contribution to any part of the game, whether its kick returns or running the ball or catching it," Blount said. After his second touchdown, he hugged Belichick, who had a towel draped over his shoulders. Tom Brady was content to hand the ball off rather than throw through rain drops against a team leading the NFL in sacks and second in interceptions. "The water on the field at the end, it was just puddles," he said. Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals as the Patriots earned their eighth bye in Belichicks 14 seasons. The Bills (6-10) missed the playoffs for the 14th straight year, the leagues longest current streak. They won their previous two games. "It would be much different if we were ending on a three-game winning streak," Bills coach Doug Marrone said. "To say that youre close or anything like that, until you win we dont have a leg to stand on." New England won its 13th straight home game against Buffalo, including 12-0 since Gillette opened in 2002. The Patriots have the second seed and play in two weeks at home, where theyre 8-0. Denver, which beat Oakland, has the top seed. New England began its game with a chance to finish in any of the AFCs top four playoff spots. "We put together a great season, but it doesnt matter much now," Brady said. The Bills played without quarterback EJ Manuel, who has a small tear in a left knee ligament, and wide receiver Stevie Johnson, excused for the second straight game after his mothers death. Backup Thad Lewis threw a 12-yard scoring pass to T.J. Graham late in the third quarter and led an 80-yard drive capped by Fred Jacksons 5-yard run with 10:20 remaining. After each of those touchdowns Blount had his long kickoff returns. His 83-yarder set up Bradys 5-yard scoring pass to Shane Vereen, followed by a 2-point conversion pass that made it 24-10. The 62-yarder led to Gostkowskis fourth field goal, a 35-yarder that put the Patriots ahead 27-17. The Bills turned over the ball on downs on their next possession. "Of course the ball is wet," Buffalo wide receiver Robert Woods said, "but we still have to make plays and catch the ball." Before the Patriots ran the next play, "Singin in the Rain" blared over the public address system, and drenched fans sang along. Then Manny Lawson intercepted Bradys pass and the Bills capitalized with Dan Carpenters 37-yard field goal. Buffalo tried an onside kick, but Nate Ebner recovered for New England. Blount then ran 10 yards before scoring his second touchdown on the next play. The game even featured a punt by Brady on third-and-32 from his 46-yard line midway through the third quarter with the score 16-3. It travelled 32 yards, where Jim Leonhard made a fair catch. "It could have been a lot better," Brady said. Brady finished 14 of 24 for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lewis went 16 for 29 for 247 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Spiller led the Bills with 105 yards rushing. NOTES: Bills tackle Marcell Dareus was benched for the first half for violating a team rule. In Buffalos previous game he was benched for the first quarter, also for violating a team rule. ... The previous Patriots record for all-purpose yards was 273 by Larry Garron in 1962 at Buffalo. ... Carpenters 51-yard field goal that tied the game at 3 made him the first player in Bills history with four field goals of at least 50 yards or more in a season. Wholesale Under Armour Online . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. Wholesale Under Armour . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. http://www.clearanceunderarmour.com/ . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday. Under Armour Shoes From China . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater. Cheap Under Armour Free Shipping . None of them was better than playing with LeBron James again.Cedar Falls, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeremy Morgan scored 18 points and No. 23 Northern Iowa held on to beat Loyola-Chicago 67-58 on Sunday. Deon Mitchell added 13 points in the win and Seth Tuttle scored nine. The Panthers (12-2, 1-1 MVC) got their first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season despite going without a field goal over the last 5 1/2 minutes. It came three days after a loss to Evansville in their league opener, which will likely knock them out of the rankings. The Panthers needed a win, coach Ben Jacobson said. It was extremely important coming off the (loss) that we had, he said. Milton Doyle scored 13 points to lead Loyola (11-3, 1-1) and Jay Knuth had 12. The Ramblers had a seven-game winning streak snapped, which included a victory over conference foe Bradley on New Years Eve. Knuths 3-pointer had the Ramblers within nine, but they went the nextt five minutes without another point while Northern Iowa built a 59-41 lead with a 9-0 run.dddddddddddd Tuttles layup capped the flurry with 5:31 left and was the Panthers last field goal. Though they missed seven foul shots in the last three minutes, the Panthers scored their final eight points at the free throw line, never letting Loyola get closer than seven Earlier, both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first half. Northern Iowa led by as much as nine points late and took a 32-28 edge into the break. The Panthers improved to 7-0 at home this season and have won their last 10 at McLeod Center. Game Notes Northern Iowa leads the all-time series 7-2 ... Devon Turk scored 11 points for Loyola ... Northern Iowa faces Southern Illinois on Wednesday ... Loyola travels to play Evansville on Wednesday. ' ' '