TORONTO -- As C.J. Spiller took a handoff from quarterback Trent Edwards, the rookie running back was met in the backfield by Indianapolis defensive end Keyunta Dawson.

     No problem.

     Dawson barely laid a glove on Spiller, who skipped away from Dawson's clutches. Spiller cut back to his left where he stepped out of the hands of another Colts defender and burst into the open field.

     With one man to beat, Spiller made a quick move inside, ran through an attempted arm tackle at the 5-yard line and danced into the end zone.

   The darting, artful-dodging 31-yard touchdown was everything you need to know about why the Buffalo Bills drafted Spiller with the ninth overall pick in April's draft.

   "It felt good," he said after scoring his first NFL touchdown in the Bills' 34-21 victory. "The offensive line did a great job blocking up front. Coming in, we knew how they were going to play. We knew they were a fast defense and they were going to over-run a couple of our plays. I just did a great job of reading my keys and made a couple of guys miss and just tried to get in there."

     Spiller got the start because of injuries to Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch in last week's preseason opener. The way Spiller performed Thursday, Jackson and Lynch might find out how Wally Pipp felt when replaced by Lou Gehrig.

   Spiller was dazzling in his first game on center stage, rushing for 54 yards on 10 carries before leaving late in the first half.

     "It felt good to get out there with the guys and make a couple of plays and get our offense going," Spiller said. "We were just trying to bounce back after last week. I knew there were going to be a lot of people that wanted to see what I could do with both of our guys down. But I just studied my notes and came into the game a whole lot more comfortable than I did last week and just tried to go out there and execute."

     Asked about Spiller, Bills coach Chan Gailey seemed to downplay the rookie's performance, saying he would have to look at the film.

   "I think he played well," Gailey finally said. "I think he picked up a couple of protections well. Obviously, running the ball is what he does best and he made an unbelievable run on that touchdown. That was good."

     Spiller had a couple of runs where he was dropped behind the line of scrimmage, but the speedster is always a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. Besides the TD, he had a couple other runs that he was very close to breaking for long gains.

   And because of his ability to make people miss, he can create big plays even when he has minimal blocking.

 "I broke a couple of tackles. That's going to be key for me this year," Spiller said. "I'm going to have to break a couple of runs and win those one-on-one matches.

     "One of the things I worked on my last year at Clemson was taking what the defense gives you. Not pressing it, just going in there and eventually that one will pop for you. And that's what I kind of did tonight. I took what they gave me and eventually I was able to get a couple of big gains."

     Spiller's blazing speed and open-field elusiveness keeps defensive coordinators up at night. He provides a bolt of lightning in the backfield that should complement the thundering runs by Jackson and Lynch very nicely.

   Having a running threat like Spiller also creates opportunities for others to make plays. Such was the case late in the first quarter. The Colts' preoccupation with Spiller allowed receiver Lee Evans to get behind a drawn-in defense and catch a 7-yard touchdown pass from Edwards.

     "I think what that does is it keeps the defense off balance," Edwards said of the running game. "Their defensive line is not pinning their ears back thinking we're going to throw the ball. I think they were ready for a run and they definitely weren't expecting a pass. That makes my job a lot easier. If you have a solid run game and the defensive ends aren't coming as hard, you can sit in the pocket a little bit longer and deliver the ball like that. We need to keep that running game going to help our passing game."

    Most people who watched Spiller at Clemson knew he was good. But what he did Thursday night will raise the level of expectation among Bills fans to an even higher level.

   That's fine with him.

   "I have high expectations, this team has high expectations," he said. "But this is just one game. We can't go backwards. We've got to continue to build and get ready for next week."

awilson@buffnews.comnull