Week Two: Edwards’ cool head prevails for Bills as he rallies heat-weary team to victory in fourth quarter
Poised performance produces happy ending for the Bills
Edwards comes through in the heat of battle
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There was a business-as-usual vibe when Trent Edwards stepped onto the field with eight minutes left in Sunday’s game and the Buffalo Bills trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars, 16-10.
“There was a TV timeout, and Trent broke it down to us,” Bills center Melvin Fowler said of his quarterback. “He said, ‘We know what we have to do. This is our time. Let’s do it.’ ”
“Nobody had a look of worry or concern in their eyes,” said receiver Josh Reed. “We believe.”
Believe it, Buffalo fans. The Bills are 2-0 for the first time in five years after Sunday’s come-from-behind, 20-16 victory over the Jaguars.
The fact the Bills have an uncommonly poised, 24-year-old quarterback was the big reason for one of the team’s best road wins in recent years.
Edwards drove the Bills 74 yards in nine plays to the go-ahead touchdown with 4:10 to go.
It was methodical and efficient. There was not a single moment of panic or confusion. They were calm and organized at the line of scrimmage. It was textbook quarterbacking under pressure against a playoff- caliber defense.
Edwards put the Bills in scoring position with a 37-yard pass to Lee Evans to the Jaguars’ 7. On the next play he threw a perfectly lofted jump ball to the back right corner of the end zone, which 6-foot-5 James Hardy caught for the TD.
“He’s pretty good,” Bills coach Dick Jauron said. “Not only did he take us down when he had to, but he also took us down in the midst of the heat. You know those guys are all dog tired — and he’s keeping them focused and moving.”
Edwards completed 20 of 25 passes for 239 yards and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 119.8.
By the fourth quarter, Edwards had grown a bit impatient waiting to get on the field. Jacksonville held the ball for 12:29 of the third quarter, thanks to the recovery of an onside kick and a fumble recovery after a sack of Edwards. With the temperature at 87 degrees at kickoff, Buffalo’s defense was in danger of wilting in the oppressive heat.
The Bills’ offense took possession on its own 26 to start the pivotal drive.
“We didn’t get great field position, but I could tell that we still had it within our reach,” Edwards said. “We still had plenty of plays left in our playbook to call and had been executing our offense for the most part great all day.”
The big gainer to Evans came on a third-and-6 play from the Jaguars’ 44. Evans ran a post-corner route, in which he faked a run to the deep middle of the field then cut back toward the left sideline. Because the route takes long to develop, the Bills used maximum protection, with tight end Robert Royal and running back Fred Jackson staying in the backfield to block.
“I was watching the film from last year’s game down here in Jacksonville, and Lee ran a post-corner route on the safety that we missed him on,” Edwards said. “The same situation happened again. It was kind of deja vu watching that same play develop before my eyes. It was a matter of staying in the pocket, staying comfortable and being accurate with the football. Lee Evans is a great route runner. It’s my job to put the ball where it needs to be.”
Evans put a move on safety Gerald Sensabaugh to get open, and Edwards stepped up in the pocket before throwing a strike.
The next play was one the Bills worked on all training camp. Out of a four-receiver formation, Hardy broke for the corner of the end zone.
“He was open all the way — wide open,” said coordinator Turk Schonert. “I’m seeing it and I’m going, ‘Throw it, Trent. Throw it!’ We’ve been working on getting the ball off. Trent’s not used to having a receiver that tall. We told him, ‘Overthrow him, he can go up and get it.’ ”
“James is a big receiver, and that’s why we drafted him,” Edwards said. “That’s why we want him in our offense, to throw him balls like that in critical situations.”
Jaguars defensive coordinator Gregg Williams elected to play coverage most of the fourth quarter, sitting back and relying on four-man rushes.
One reason was the Jaguars did not want to give up a cheap deep ball to Evans. Another might have been that Edwards had dissected the blitz on a 12-play, 77-yard march to a field goal in the second quarter.
Edwards hit Jackson for a 33-yard catch-and-run against a seven-man rush. He also ignored on-rushing Jaguars in the pocket to hit Josh Reed for a 16-yard gain.
“I was surprised,” Edwards said of the lack of pressure. “In last year’s game against Gregg Williams with the Redskins, they brought a lot more pressure. They kept bringing their safeties. We faced a lot more blitzes than we did against this team today.”
Edwards spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Jackson caught seven passes for 83 yards. The Bills outgained the Jaguars, 285-243.
The Bills’ defense had trouble getting off the field in the third quarter. Overall, however, the defense provided some key stops.
One was an interception by Terrence McGee at the end of the first half with the Jaguars on the Buffalo 16.
Another was a three-and-out series immediately after Hardy’s touchdown. A big blitz by the Bills allowed Kyle Williams to sack quarterback David Garrard for a 10-yard loss at the Jaguars’
10. Linebacker Paul Posluszny covered Maurice Jones-Drew out of the backfield on the play to prevent a quick throw.
Roscoe Parrish returned the ensuing punt 27 yards to the Jaguars’ 32 to set up a cushion-providing, 45-yard Rian Lindell field goal with 24 seconds left.
“We gain confidence from this win,” Edwards said. “There were plenty of plays that went Jacksonville’s way and we responded well to it. We’re going to face a lot of situations like this in the near future, and playoff-caliber football teams win games like this.”
