ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Scott Chandler, in setting a career high with 105 receiving yards, became the first Buffalo tight end in 22 years to surpass the century mark.

Pete Metzelaars was the last to do it, in a 1992 game at San Francisco. That was the lone regular-season game in NFL history that was played without a punt until this year, when that happened again in the Bears-Packers Week 2 game.

Chandler was Buffalo’s most consistent weapon in the 37-22 loss to New England. He caught six passes, and five of them resulted in first downs — three of those converting third downs.

“We thought we could get some things going in the middle of the field,” Chandler said. “We were able to exploit those a little bit. When your number gets called, you’re going to have to be the guy to make the play.”

On the other side, Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski has 13 100-yard performances in 55 NFL games. He had 94 yards on seven catches in the game.

–The Bills clearly missed free safety Aaron Williams, who was inactive due to a wrist injury. And it didn’t help that strong safety Da’Norris Searcy played just 19 snaps, part of the reason being his sore knee but also because the coaching staff apparently thought Duke Williams would be better in certain matchups.

The Bills’ secondary was awful, and Duke Williams was one of the primary culprits. He allowed five completions on seven targets and also committed a pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up the Patriots’ first touchdown.

Not that Williams was alone. Cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin each allowed five completions.

The loss of Aaron Williams was vital because he’s the quarterback in the back end and he would have had a role in dealing with Rob Gronkowski, who hurt the Bills on intermediate throws down the middle.

–On a positive note, the Bills have climbed to No. 1 in the NFL rankings for run defense. They allowed just 50 yards on 27 attempts by the Patriots and are now giving up just 67.5 yards per game.

The Bills haven’t allowed a team to rush for more than 86 yards this season, the longest stretch of games by a Buffalo defense since the middle of the 1996 season. Also, it’s the longest streak to start a season in the NFL since Seattle in 2012.

The Bills have not allowed a rushing touchdown yet, the first time that’s happened through six weeks since 1964.

REPORT CARD VS. PATRIOTS

PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus — As has been the case for more than a decade, the Bills fell short in the quarterback matchup with Tom Brady. Kyle Orton threw for 299 yards, but he was unable to produce when it mattered most. He threw a terrible interception in the second quarter that helped set up New England’s first touchdown, and while his line allowed five sacks, Orton was at fault for a few of those because he held the ball too long. Rookie WR Sammy Watkins was schooled by Darrelle Revis and was a non-factor as he was held to two catches for 27 yards. Big games from Scott Chandler and Robert Woods were wasted.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D-plus — The Bills are known as a running team, but that characterization no longer makes sense because they don’t run the ball well at all. C.J. Spiller has become almost completely useless. He had 19 yards from scrimmage and lost a fumble. Fred Jackson scored a touchdown, but he was slowed by an ankle injury. The offensive line is overmatched far too often and can’t open holes. The Bills finished with just 68 yards on 23 attempts.

PASS DEFENSE: F — Brady has a way of making a secondary look bad, and he succeeded once again against the Bills. The Bills had no one to cover Rob Gronkowski, who killed them with seven catches for 94 yards. Yet he didn’t score a touchdown; that was left to guys named Brandon LaFell, Tim Wright and Brian Tyms. The coverage was terrible, the pass rush was barely adequate (two sacks) and there were too many penalties. All of that makes beating Brady impossible.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — The Bills are the top-ranked team in the league in run defense, allowing just 67.5 yards per game. Not that it did a lot of good against the Patriots. They held New England to 50 yards on 27 attempts, but the inability to stop the pass killed the Bills. The Patriots did lose Stevan Ridley early in the third quarter, so Brady took to the air the rest of the day. LB Nigel Bradham had 11 tackles and LB Brandon Spikes had eight. DTs Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams, as usual, were rocks in the middle.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B — As it often is in the NFL these days, the kicking game was a wash. Colton Schmidt punted well, Dan Carpenter made his only field goal, Spiller had a 37-yard kickoff return, and the coverage teams were solid. There were no game-changing plays.

COACHING: D — Yet another game where the Bills’ staff fell short trying to match wits with Bill Belichick and his people. Not having pass-rushing DEs Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes on the field at the start of the Pats’ last drive was foolish. They were out as part of Buffalo’s rotation, replaced by Manny Lawson and Jarius Wynn. They eventually came in, but it was too late. By then the Patriots had moved out to midfield, and they ultimately scored. On offense, Nathaniel Hackett has no idea what to do with Spiller, and he couldn’t find ways to get Watkins free against Revis.