Arguably the signature game of Trent Edwards' career as quarterback of the Buffalo Bills came on December 9 of his rookie season. Playing in his first game against the Miami Dolphins - then a hapless 0-12 outfit that would finish 1-15 under Cam Cameron - Edwards threw four touchdown passes in a 38-17 throttling of their arch rivals. His quarterback rating in that contest was an excellent 111.4. Never mind that Edwards completed just 11 of 23 passes in that game; he was a rookie, the offense was competent for once, and it was a rare game in which Edwards was kept clean and upright in the pocket.
As he's dealt with injuries and a benching in the two years since that game, Edwards has taken on Miami just twice since that date - once in 2008, and once last season. To say he's been roughed up in those contests (both road games) would be an understatement. In those two games, Edwards' quarterback rating plummeted to 56.7 while he threw four interceptions to just one touchdown. He was sacked eight times, fumbled thrice, and lost one of them. Buffalo lost those games by a combined score of 63-26.
Edwards is fresh off an encouraging preseason in which he appears to have found a degree of comfort he'd not yet experienced as a professional under new head coach Chan Gailey. He'll need that comfort and all the confidence he can muster, because there isn't an NFL team that has made Edwards looked more flustered more consistently than Miami. (Cleveland notwithstanding.) The Dolphins have question marks of their own defensively - a new nose tackle, two rookie starters, a revamped pass rush and a green secondary. Playing within the confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium, perhaps this is the game where Edwards breaks his poor streak against Miami.