Patriots Can’t Win Game of Keep-Away, Either : AFC: They try to deny Buffalo Bills the ball, but it works for only a half and they lose, 41-7.

One way to keep Jim Kelly and Buffalo’s potent offense from scoring is to keep the ball away from them. That worked for the New England Patriots in the first half Sunday, but the Bills had the ball often in the second half.

The Patriots held the ball for 20 minutes 3 seconds in the first half and trailed only 6-0. But the Bills (4-0) had it for 20:04 in the second half, when they scored on their first four possessions and won, 41-7.

“All teams get slowed down, but the great teams make adjustments,” said Kelly, who threw three touchdown passes in the second half. “We had to come in here and play Buffalo Bills football.”

The Patriots (0-3) did “exactly what they had to do to stay in the ball game, and that was to control the ball,” Bills’ center Kent Hull said. “The biggest drive of the game was when we came out in the second half and we took the opening kickoff and scored.”

That opened the dike. Kelly found holes in the Patriots’ secondary, and Thurman Thomas raced through gaps in their defensive line.

“I said before that their defense hadn’t been tested,” New England nose tackle Tim Goad said. “We were tested, and we didn’t pass the test all that well.”

New England’s offense flunked for the third consecutive game.

The Patriots, who have been outscored, 65-13, have only two touchdowns. Buffalo had three in a span of 8:18 of the third quarter on Sunday.

“I didn’t think you ever get used to losing. It’s a discouraging time for us,” Patriot quarterback Hugh Millen said. “I don’t have a lot of answers in terms of what we need to do.”

The Bills, who crushed Indianapolis, 38-0, a week earlier, have outscored their opponents, 153-45, and lead the NFL in points behind the league’s top passer.

On the first three series of the third quarter, the Bills scored on Kelly’s scoring pass plays of 29 yards to James Lofton and 45 yards to Andre Reed and on Thomas’ seventh touchdown of the year, a one-yard run.

Buffalo led, 41-0, after Kelly’s 22-yard pass to Lofton with 13:47 to play and Mike Lodish’s 18-yard fumble return 44 seconds later.

Thomas finished with 120 yards in 18 carries, and Kelly completed 15 of 20 passes for 308 yards. Reed had nine catches for 168 yards and Lofton four for 113.