FOXBOROUGH – Whether they’re the Boston or New England Patriots, the team that plays its games at Gillette Stadium is pretty used to pulling off some late-game heroics.But last night’s 25-24 win over the Buffalo Bills might have been one for the ages.The Patriots were seemingly down and out ? losing, 24-13, with 5:32 to go. They’d looked lethargic, and quarterback Tom Brady looked like the rust from his season-long layoff was painfully slow to come off.In fact, this game looked like role reversal. The teams – in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the old American Football League – had their throwback uniforms on. And the league also mandated that for the four games the Pats play against their original AFL counterparts, they’d be referred to as the Boston Patriots.But for three and a half quarters, they played a little too MUCH like the old Boston Patriots. Even Brady, who gave up one touchdown all by himself – to Buffalo defensive end Aaron Schobel, lofting a screen pass, ostensibly to go to Sammy Morris, that instead fell into Schobel’s paws for a 26-yard interception return.So, when Trent Edwards found Fred Jackson on a 10-yard scoring pass with 5:32 to go, it seemed logical to write the story and celebrate the end of the Patriots’ 11-game domination of the Bills that dates back to September 2003.But that’s when the bell inside Brady’s head rung – a bell that has rung often for the veteran quarterback, who was recognized at halftime as the No. 1 QB in the team’s history.It’s also when Pierre Woods and Brandon Meriweather – two of what is generally referred to as the next generation of defensive players – stepped up and made a huge play. Brady had just hit tight end Benjamin Watson for the first of two late fourth-quarter scores to bring the Patriots to within five points (24-19, as the two-point conversion failed).Stephen Gostkowski kicked the ball two yards deep into the end zone, where cornerback Leodis McKelvin got ready to catch it.For some inexplicable reason, McKelvin, rather than just kneel down and take the touchback, elected to run it out. About 25 yards downfield, he was met, head on, by Meriweather, who laid a wallop into him. As McKelvin was going down, Woods stripped him of the ball. And Gostkowski, who has turned himself into an all-pro kicker, was there to pounce on it.”It was a great team effort,” said Meriweather. “The kickoff team, we’ve been expecting turnovers ? It just came to the point where I got a solid lick and the rest of the team did the rest of the job.””Huge ? huge,” said Woods. “We go through situations on special teams all the time, and Brandon made a huge hit, and I just came in after him and tried to get the ball and it came out.”I can’t say more about the kicker, man,” said Woods. “He was way back there. He was kicking the ball, he came down, and he got the ball. I don’t know how many times he’s done that before. He’s recovered the ball a couple of times.”Three plays later, Brady found Watson again – this time from 16 yards out – for the game-winning score.”We have a very competitive locker room,” Brady said. “A real competitive team. When you’re in that situation, it takes every guy on the field to step it up.”