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Offense emphatically returns as Bills bury Chiefs


McKelvin, Bills make big plays in big W (Associated Press)

The Buffalo Bills ended a four-game losing streak with a 54-31 road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

In a game that resembled conventional Bills football in no sense of the phrase, QB Trent Edwards scored four touchdowns, CB Leodis McKelvin picked off two Tyler Thigpen passes and returned one for a score, and the Bills forced five turnovers in a much-needed victory.  The Bills needed most of the 54 points they put up, however, as Buffalo's defense struggled to tackle and gave up plenty of big plays to the Chiefs.

Offense clicks... finally
That was the offense that Buffalo Rumblings has been calling for over the past month.  The Bills successfully established the run early, with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson keeping the game close early.  Lynch finished with 104 total yards and the team's first touchdown, while Jackson added 76 yards as well.

With the run established, the Bills started running the play-action, and the simplified offensive attack worked wonders for Trent Edwards.  In a confidence-boosting performance for Buffalo's young signal-caller - roughed up during the four-game losing streak - Edwards completed 24 of 32 passes (75%) for 273 yards and two scores.  He added two more touchdowns on scrambles, as he finished the game with 38 rushing yards on 6 carries.  Edwards' QB rating?  120.9.  It's amazing what a competent game plan (and a not-so-competent defense) can do for you.

Everything worked for Buffalo's offense today.  Perhaps the most gratifying moment was when WR Josh Reed, who missed the last three weeks with ankle and Achilles injuries, caught his first TD pass since December 17 of 2006.  It's been a long time coming for Reed.  Lee Evans (5 receptions, 110  yards) and the tight ends (a combined 7 catches, 68 yards and 1 TD) were factors as well.  Capping off the success offensively was the fact that much-maligned head coach Dick Jauron ordered up two offensive plays on 4th and 1 early in the game, the first of which led to a touchdown run by Lynch.

Defense lucky that the O woke up
Set aside the five turnovers (two McKelvin picks and fumble recoveries by Marcus Stroud, George Wilson and Derek Schouman).  Set aside McKelvin's 64-yard pick-six.  (Well, don't.  McKelvin looked like a superstar today.)  It's true that Buffalo played most of this game with a big lead, but Buffalo's defense wasn't close to good on this day.

Kansas City gained 462 yards on the day.  Buffalo couldn't tackle to save their lives, Kawika Mitchell in particular.  Larry Johnson ran for 81 yards on just 7 carries, and Chiefs quarterbacks threw for four scores (3 from Thigpen, one from Quinn Gray in "garbage time").  It's great that the team came up with big plays defensively, but they gave up too many as well.  The D was not impressive early, surrendering touchdowns on two of Kansas City's first three drives, and needed all the help from the offense it could get.

In the end, the poor performance defensively didn't matter, as the Bills scored more points than they had in 17 years.  But if you feel the need to nit-pick, this is the area to concentrate on.

Game Balls
Two of these are going to be obvious.  One might not be.

QB Trent Edwards - I know a few of you will say "it's just the Chiefs", but this game is exactly what Edwards needed for his confidence.  He threw the ball downfield, he was more accurate than he's been in recent weeks, and he looked like a leader again.  This was a huge game for Trent.

CB Leodis McKelvin - All that "bust" talk?  It can now officially be thrown out the window; chalk his early struggles up to transitioning from Troy to the big leagues.  This kid is a monster.  Two picks, the pick-six and a 46-yard kickoff return to open the second half made him the most electrifying player on the field.

LB Blake Costanzo - Buffalo's special teams were once again outstanding.  At one point, I wondered which specialist to give this game ball to.  Costanzo was an easy choice; he was in on just about every special teams stop today.  I love the unsung hero, and Costanzo is that guy today.

Roll Call
A big "good on you" to the 22 folks who dropped by today's game thread.  As is usual, norcaliangelsfan out-nerded the rest of us with a whopping 211 comments.  The 22 folks:

ccthemovieman, WABillsfan, norcaliangelsfan, thatguy455, jj24, Brian Galliford, keuka121, taskersd, kaisertown, Cinga, Joe P., StuckInNJ, jdol1568, D.O., silverstreak3k, spavery, moncheri, NJBillsfan, dontuan, BenAllen, Tatunka, Kurupt, BILLS

I don't care what the nay-sayers come up with this week about our opponent.  It just feels GREAT to win again.

 

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" (Well, don't. McKelvin looked like a superstar today.)"

Could he possibly be evolving into beast mode!!!?!!!

The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ

by NYTXFAN on Nov 23, 2008 5:10 PM EST   0 recs

Best part of the game, besides the win,

was to see the old Edwards again. I am not sure where the coaches have been hiding their aggressive play calling, but I am glad we are finally seeing it.

In honor of the blood letting at arrowhead, I give you Kate “Underworld” Beckinsale, the yummiest vampire ever!!!

by Joe P. on Nov 23, 2008 5:11 PM EST   0 recs

nice avatar LOL

Disappointment proves that expectations were mistaken.......ladies and gentlemen your 2008 Buffalo Bills.....

by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 23, 2008 5:21 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Ditto the first part, and thanks for the second part.

by kaisertown on Nov 23, 2008 5:22 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

well

it was nice to see the win, and guys score, but it was the Chiefs….

best thing I saw was McKelvin making plays. He clearly is a playmaker.

Trent got it going today, but I still don’t think he looks that good out there. Chiefs are the worst in the NFL at getting sacks so I think he stayed clean all day and still held the ball too long. But hopefully having success will breed confidence to him. I don’t want to be kind of a downer after a win, but I hope they realize that they got to play better to beat the good teams.

All in all. Thank you for winning a game.

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Nov 23, 2008 5:13 PM EST   0 recs

downer status confirmed

They played a great game. The defense would have given up 24 pts without the garbage TD. That is pretty much what KC has been averaging lately. Throw in 5 turnovers and a defensive TD and the defense did its part. When you score that many points, the other team is going to let it all hang out. Not surprising they gave up a ton of yards with a big lead. The fact that they were still making huge plays throughout is icing, especially without Whitner, Greer, Schobel, etc.

Great game, nothing to be down about. Can’t wait to ee if the offense will be able to take this momentum into next week and beyond.

Leodis is unreal.

by jmorris0823 on Nov 23, 2008 6:17 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

It was the Chiefs

that the Pats only beat by 7. That the Jets only beat by 4.

by twoeightnine on Nov 23, 2008 6:44 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

yeah

a win is a win is a win….but i’ve seen this storyline before….beat the crap teams……then play a meaningful game in dec and we all know the outcome. However, if they can try to bottle this “mojo” and this confidence and carry it over the final 5 games who knows. All I ask is that they end the season playing some great football and make us ecstatic at what is to come in 2009 if they don’t win out and make it in 2008

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Nov 23, 2008 7:42 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

We got a W and we got another doormat on the way

Who else wants to see Trent and Lee torch Nate a couple of times for 7? I do.

This was a great game for the O, but the D had better figure out how to tackle, because once we start playing the better teams again, they better stick people.

Blake, Lynch and McK were all playing out of their minds today, glad to see it.

Fear the mighty helmet wearing gopher, he is coming for your soul....

by WABillsfan on Nov 23, 2008 5:14 PM EST   0 recs

Nice write up.......

Especially liked giving a game ball to Costanzo……good idea…..

Im wondering if you have someone that reads this board and gets into Turk Schnoert’s ear…because for the last two weeks you’ve said the Bills needed to run the ball and then get some Play action going……..last week the Run game was awesome…..and this week the run game and Play Action was awesome………

Its just nice to get rid of that losing streak……and with a very beatable (but not for sure win) team at home next week……..7-5 is looking good…….hopefully the confidence for the team carries over to next week.

As for Trent is was nice to see him just out there playing the game……..he let it all hang out, instead of looking ROBOTIC in the pocket….he moved around, scrambled, and just PLAYED THE GAME…….(although I hope in the future he slides more) he just looked like he let go of all the old stuff from weeks past and had fun playing the game.

Props to the OL, minus a couple of hiccups from Preston and Peters they played outstanding………glad to see they fixed their problems.

Its gonna be a much better week around here me thinks…………bring on the niners!

Disappointment proves that expectations were mistaken.......ladies and gentlemen your 2008 Buffalo Bills.....

by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 23, 2008 5:19 PM EST   0 recs

Um...

Can I hear it now? Will the doubters please stand up? Far as i can recall many here said McKelvin was a bust. Can we all now agree we have a marquee corner on our team? Besides that….defense again saved us. Our offense, for as good as it looked, was again saved by our stout defense. As said before….WE ARE ALIVE

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 23, 2008 6:29 PM EST   0 recs

Like I said – the D did well to get turnovers, but boy, they gave up a lot of big plays…

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 6:32 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

true but.....

our defense made far more big plays than they let up. Our running game was fantastic. Which set up the pass. nonetheless, we still ran no back sets on 2nd downs. That has to stop. With out running back threats, keep them in the back field!! let plays develop as a result of that. We won because of defense and the running game

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 23, 2008 7:27 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

When you score 54 and they score 31,

the game was not won with defense. The ST TD doesn’t count for the defense, right?

by Joe P. on Nov 23, 2008 7:46 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

What ST TD?

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 7:53 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Oppps....must have misread the post

I thought McKelvin got a another return for a TD while I was eating lunch.

by Joe P. on Nov 23, 2008 8:01 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

No… I said 46 yard kickoff return. End of sentence. :)

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 8:04 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Er, well, I guess not end of sentence, but end of statement.

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 8:04 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Got it.....No TD.....well I guess

McKelvin is back to being a bust!!!! LOL

by Joe P. on Nov 23, 2008 8:09 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

come on joe!

McKelvin had two interceptions one which he returned for a touchdown. He also had some great kick off returns. The guy is the real deal!

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 24, 2008 12:16 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Yeah, but Joe was joking. :)

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 24, 2008 6:39 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Nope. I think the 4 exclamation points and the LOL were all that was necessary.

by kaisertown on Nov 24, 2008 1:25 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

ahhh

i had been under the sauce a bit at the time. Perhaps my ability to pick up on sarcasm was a bit off. whoops…

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 24, 2008 2:10 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

“Under the sauce” seems like a theme for a lot of you on Sunday evenings. :)

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 24, 2008 2:12 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

haha

being a Bills fan makes the beers go down faster thats for sure. The emotional ups and downs are easier to withstand that way!

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 24, 2008 9:34 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Schobel and Whitner

I would have liked to have seen the score if Schobel and Whitner had been playing — my guess is that Schobel and the rest of the DL would have gotten 3 more sacks and Whitner would have stopped a couple of those big runs/catches. My imaginary score is 72 to 7. We really miss Schobel, and I was a big critic of him (and mistakenly thought that Kelsey was very good).

by labill on Nov 24, 2008 11:11 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Stout?

What part of allowing 462 yards is stout? Maybe American beer stout.

by south123 on Nov 23, 2008 7:26 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

really?

you are going to give up big plays when you are up by so much. Our defense saved this game with our constant big plays. Defense showed up

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 23, 2008 7:28 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Truth be told

Poz, I can’t watch the games, I just criticize the stats.

by south123 on Nov 23, 2008 7:31 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

?

South are you being sarcastic or can you really not watch the games? If you can’t there has to be some solution to this problem. This game was so exciting. We have to get you the games somehow. Where are you living?

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 23, 2008 7:33 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

CT

I’m down in CT. I get about half the games. I couldn’t get a feed to work today.
Usually its a blessing in disguise!

by south123 on Nov 23, 2008 8:22 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I get your argument that they’ll give up yardage when they’re blowing someone out, but they were giving up big plays to go down 14-10, too. It was a theme throughout the day.

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 7:40 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

I was worried

more about the offense then the defense coming into today. I think the D will be fine once they get a lil healthier

by jdol1568 on Nov 23, 2008 8:12 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

stout defense?

what about that effort was stout? long runs, big plays given up, 31 pts?

That defense desperately needs Schobel, Whitner & Greer for the home stretch……although I will say our secondary is really stacked for depth. Ko Simpson has got to go though. I’d rather have Whitner at FS and Scott at SS

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Nov 23, 2008 6:36 PM EST   0 recs

I'm happy with the offensive resurgence,

but I’d like to see another receiver produce besides Evans and Reed. We can’t get by with only two receivers showing up every week. The tight ends and backs chipped in, and that’s good. But Hardy, Parrish, and Johnson need to make plays COMPLIMENTING the production of Evans and Reed.

by jj24 on Nov 23, 2008 6:46 PM EST   0 recs

I only saw highlights

Looked the offensive gameplan was working. How much was just the Chiefs’ D, and how much was the O gameplan, do you think? Or a combination.

It looked like Schouman could have been called for holding on Edwards’ second scramble for TD, but Edwards sure looked much more confident out there (at least in the highlights.

by thefourwinds on Nov 23, 2008 6:50 PM EST   0 recs

Definitely a combination. Don’t get me wrong, Kansas City’s defense was more of an offense today. But our game plan, finally, made a lot of sense.

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 7:41 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Agreed

Good mix of run (good to see Jackson go outside), pass, and play action. It really is the offense we have been calling for and not because of the scoring.

by Joe P. on Nov 23, 2008 7:49 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

McKevin

McKevlin: He was great he was awesome but he did make some mistakes. On one pass in the first half he did not drop on zone and allowed Gonze to make a 25+ yd catch. He had another coverage gaffe too, that was blatantly his fault. However, the unbelievable positives that Brian detailed are the reason he should be playing every week, and it only makes you wonder why he wasn’t in against Miami 5 weeks ago. If I predict correctly we wont be able to afford Greer…This is a positive if that is the case.

Edwards: As many of you know I am not an Edwards believer but he after the Evans bomb he played great. What can be said he played very well. I hope for consitency against SF in a game that will probably not have good weather.

Mitchell: Everyone has bad games. I am not judging 1 performance too harshly.

Injuries: Hopefully WHitner and Schobel and back next week. Did Butler return. Do we know his status. He has give our interiour line an attiuted adjustment.

Coaching: Offensive coaching finally called playaction and some passes from under center. A lot less shotgun plays which is good. Lynch can make a offensive coordinator look good.

by Berg79 on Nov 23, 2008 7:04 PM EST   0 recs

I think Butler came back and played the second half.

by kaisertown on Nov 23, 2008 7:08 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

This was a big win

I agree that it came against a weaker opponent but I don’t care. Last week we lost to a weaker opponent at home…this was an inspired performance on the road.

I have been critical of both Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch in the past so it’s only fair that I comment on how good they were today. Both guys came to play and were pretty much flawless. Even when Lynch had 16 carries for 60 yards (not great stats), I thought he hit the holes a lot better today.

I’m pleased but want to see what happens next week.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by D.O. on Nov 23, 2008 7:12 PM EST   0 recs

Better Offensive Play Calling Today

It’s amazing how much better Turks play calling is when Trent dosn’t commit turnovers.By the way, do you think the return of Josh had anything to do with Trents good performance today?

by gjv on Nov 23, 2008 7:35 PM EST   0 recs

the captain obvious points

to take from this game and really I think it might be this simple:

1) No Turn Overs

2) Dialed up 29 runs and 32 passes – great balance

3) Defense instead of forcing 0 TO’s, forced 5

4) Trent Edwards – kid fought through his issues mentally I think in this game. You could see him fighting it early on.

Because we ran the ball, Turk dialed up Play Action and that produced some pretty plays, most notably the touchdown to Schouman. Great to see everyone get involved except Parrish & Hardy whom Edwards seems to have NO Rapport with whatsoever.

Now let’s see this carry over to a dominating 6 wins in a row and a post-season berth!

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Nov 23, 2008 7:49 PM EST   0 recs

btw

Josh reed had 0 TD’s last year and none until this game this season.

by jdol1568 on Nov 23, 2008 8:13 PM EST   0 recs

As I said in the article, it was his first TD since December 17, 2006.

Buffalo Rumblings - all you care to know about the Buffalo Bills and more

by Brian Galliford on Nov 23, 2008 8:47 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Best Play Of The Game

When Duke Preston stood up for the cheap shot on Lynch. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Bill do that . Kudos to Duke.

by gjv on Nov 23, 2008 8:39 PM EST   0 recs

Preston does seem like a leader

Even if he doesn’t appear to be the greatest player.

by thefourwinds on Nov 24, 2008 4:36 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

It’s too bad this game didn’t happen 2 weeks ago. That would have been better timing for today’s result.

Good job by the D getting some turnovers, but that’s about it. They continue to look terrible. Sure the injury excuse is there, but this D is just average at best. At least we got those huge TO’s today.

Good to see the O finally get it going. The run game struggled for a good portion of the game once again though, at least Lynch did. He had some tough runs as usual though. Jackson looked good again.

Absolutely thrilled to see play action passes, roll outs, the deep ball, passes to Evans and more passes from under center. Really Turk, all you had to do was read Rumblings to see what you needed to do. We’ve all been clamoring for those things for weeks now.

I can’t believe Leodis caught not one, but TWO INT’S today! I didn’t think he had it in him and both were rather tough, especially number 2. Right now, he’s so much better than McGee who has been playing like absolute dung since returning from injury. I just hope we can keep these guys healthy though.

Tony G would look good as a Bill. But that’s his fault, so glad he can continue playing for such a losing team….

~K

by Kurupt on Nov 23, 2008 9:27 PM EST   0 recs

Trent

I’m encouraged that he seemed much more aware and in control this week. The way he used his snap cadence for example. He drew three encroachment penalties I believe this week. We definitely got the hidden yardage this week.

by PozDispenser on Nov 23, 2008 11:58 PM EST   0 recs

I like

the Costanzo game ball. He really seemed like he made every special teams tackle this game. I think Trent Edwards crossed a threshold today, Eli Manning had a similar moment. When a quarterback lunges like that into the endzone it becomes contagious to the team as they see their leader throwing his body on the line to win the game. Everyone plays harder after a moment like that and I hope it carries over to the games in this home stretch. It ain’t over yet!

Kawika Mitchell is a leader. He will help this young team develop.

by poz on Nov 24, 2008 3:02 AM EST   0 recs

That was great!!

now call me when they ( Trent and McKelvin ) do it against an acctual NFL team.

by jimkutica on Nov 24, 2008 8:32 AM EST   0 recs

The Chiefs

aren’t as bad as their record indicates. They have played most teams close. They are 1st in the league in turnovers forced. I am concerned with the D’s inability to tackle or contain big plays.

Isn’t it amazing what opens up when you are committed to running the ball, play action fakes, roll outs, screens. when you are committed to running, even if not all that successfully, the lb’s are forced to take a step forward on play action fakes. that split second is the difference between success and failure.

I think Trent took a big step forward in that game and showed he has heart. The team meeting they had this week seemed to have made a difference. I expect good things from him going forward.

by gatornation on Nov 24, 2008 9:15 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

Do you think Turk upstairs

helped the play calling you can see the field much better from the booth than on field level.

Bills Fan in PA

by BILLS on Nov 24, 2008 8:41 AM EST   0 recs

maybe

I think it stems more from running the ball more frequently than anything.

by gatornation on Nov 24, 2008 9:16 AM EST to parent up   0 recs

I’d love to see the breakdown for run vs. pass in the 2nd half. I was astonished to see them continue passing the ball in the 4th quarter, essentially elongating the game. Is there truly an inability to close out a win on the ground?

They were lucky to escape without much in the way of injury, given that they played starters until nearly the end of the 4th.

I don’t look at this win with reservation because of their opponent (though this is a loss against anyone in the AFC East), but let’s see what type of consistency they can build. To knock the Chiefs though, one should look only to last year, when the Dolphins were flirting with o-fer.

by TheAfghanTwilight on Nov 24, 2008 1:26 PM EST   0 recs

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