Bills offense takes off in TO
TORONTO — In the preseason, there should be noticeable improvement from the first game to the second.
That was certainly the case for the Buffalo Bills' offense Thursday night.
Looking nothing like the sputtering unit of a week ago, the Bills' starters put on a brief but entertaining show north of the border.
Led by quarterback Trent Edwards, the offense produced a pair of scoring drives, the defensive regulars were opportunistic and rookie Leodis McKelvin delivered again on special teams during the Bills' 24-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
An announced crowd of 48,434 (capacity is a little less than 54,000) at Rogers Centre witnessed the first of eight games the Bills will play in Toronto as part of a five-year agreement with the city.
The Bills return Dec. 7 to play the Miami Dolphins in the regular season.
If the Bills' offense looks as good in that game as it did Thursday night, the most skeptical of our northern neighbors just might buy into the idea of having the NFL in their town.
The starting offense was very crisp during its two possessions, featuring a good mix of running and passing. The Bills scored both times in the red zone after going 1 for 4 inside the 20-yard line last Saturday at Washington.
Edwards in particular elevated his play from a week ago. He was outstanding on both drives, completing 9 of 11 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He also made big plays on third down on each scoring possession.
Running back Marshawn Lynch ran for 25 yards on five carries.
"I think we've done a good job up front, stopping their front four," said Edwards, who was 1 for 5 last Saturday. "There has been plenty of time to throw the ball, and that's allowed our receivers to get open down the field and allowed me plenty of time to be accurate with the football."
Edwards' first throw was a 23-yard strike to wide receiver Lee Evans (three catches for 55 yards), a play that required good timing and sound pass protection. Edwards had four completions on the drive, including a 7-yard touchdown to tight end Robert Royal on third-and-goal.
The pass had to be accurate because Royal was surrounded by Steelers defenders. Edwards put the ball where only Royal had a chance to rise above the crowd and haul it in.
Edwards was even better during his last appearance of the night as he guided the Bills on a 12-play, 90-yard march that ended in a 13-yard TD to Royal and a 14-0 lead with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
The Bills were pinned in the shadow of their end zone because of a holding penalty on the punt team. But they overcame that as well as a sack (Pittsburgh outside linebacker James Harrison used a speed rush to beat left tackle Langston Walker) and a holding penalty on Royal thanks to Edwards, who escaped a heavy pass rush and scrambled for 22 yards on third-and-13 from the 7.
"They've been running just some deep coverage, and we just ran four vertical routes with the back on a pop and if it's not there, then you just have to go down the field and try to get a first down with your feet," Edwards said.
Edwards' second touchdown also came on third down as Royal caught it around the 5-yard line and fought through an attempted tackle to get into the end zone.
The second-team offense under backup quarterback J.P. Losman didn't have the same success. He completed just two passes for 8 yards and was sacked twice.
Meanwhile, the Bills' first-team defense also had a good showing in its two series as an entire unit. The Steelers' regular offense moved over midfield on its first two possessions, but the drives ended in an interception and a punt.
The Steelers could run the ball on Buffalo's front seven, but the Bills' defensive line, particularly ends Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay, generated good pressure on Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was forced out of the pocket several times.
"We were able to apply a bit more pressure with the first group," Kelsay said. "Actually, even in the second quarter some of the young guys were able to step up and put some pressure on the quarterback and that's pivotal to this defense. You've got to track the quarterback down and get him to the ground or when they do throw the ball you have to make him do it in a hurry."
It was a strong rush from Kelsay that flushed Roethlisberger out of the pocket and led to a hurried throw that was tipped by free safety Ko Simpson and intercepted by strong safety Donte Whitner, who gained 11 yards on the return.
It was the first takeaway by the Bills' first-team defense this preseason.
"Turnovers are key to this defense," Whitner said. "Ko made a nice play. He tipped the ball and it popped right to me."
Pittsburgh's second drive ended at the Bills' 45 when Schobel chased Roethlisberger toward the sideline. Unable to find an open receiver, Roethlisberger sailed his third-down pass out of bounds.
The Steelers had more success on their third possession against the Bills' second-teamers as Roethlisberger went deep to wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who ran by cornerback Ashton Youboty and held on to a 40-yard touchdown catch despite a big hit from free safety George Wilson.
The Steelers' other touchdown, a 6-yard run by rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall, was set up by a turnover when a bouncing punt hit Bills cornerback Dustin Fox.
After Pittsburgh scored to make it 17-14, McKelvin answered with a spectacular 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. McKelvin took advantage of good blocking as he raced up the middle, and then he juked out kicker Paul Ernster near midfield.
"We didn't make the errors we made a week ago," coach Dick Jauron said. "We got a little bit better. We still have a long way to go. But it was a start."
