Buffalo Bills

Bills safety Robert Blanton explains what sparked pregame scuffle with Patriots

Published Oct. 2, 2016 6:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Buffalo Bills on Sunday handed the New England Patriots their first shutout loss at home in the Bill Belichick era. But it appears the Bills had some extra motivation before the game even kicked off, and it had nothing to do with a speech by coach Rex Ryan.

The two teams engaged in a bit of pushing and shoving during warmups, and Buffalo safety Robert Blanton believes the Patriots were the instigators. Blanton told WEEI after the Bills' 16-0 win that New England quarterback Jacoby Brissett and wideout Malcolm Mitchell were "extremely disrespectful" for jogging through Buffalo's defensive back drills twice.

Bills cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman provided some specifics.

"A couple of their guys came on our side of the field and were running through our DB drills," Robey-Coleman said, via Pro Football Talk. "It got a little intense and then it got a little rough. We knew they were trying to get in our heads and make us do things that we didn't want to do. We couldn't let them do that."

In case you're wondering, the Bills and Patriots meet again Oct. 30 in Buffalo.