 |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Total
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Buffalo
|
7
|
23
|
17
|
7
|
54
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Kansas City
|
7
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
31
|
Edwards Leads Bills Past Chiefs in Historic Win
Regular Season Game #11
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Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen is sacked by Bills S George Wilson.
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Nov. 23- Needing only to eke out a win, the Buffalo Bills wound up smashing a record.
A mistake-free Trent Edwards threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more and the Bills romped past Kansas City 54-31 Sunday, breaking a four-game losing streak while scoring more points than anyone ever scored before against the Chiefs.
Snapping smartly out of a demoralizing slump that threatened to waste a 5-1 start, the Bills came within four points of matching their 42-year-old record for points in a game.
The Chiefs (1-10) had five turnovers while losing for the 19th time in 20 games, by far the worst stretch in franchise history.
"It's embarrassing," Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said.
The Bills (6-5) scored 20 points off turnovers.
"They worked hard, obviously, preparing for this game, and they got a lot of bounces," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "They made a lot of plays."
Edwards became the first Bills quarterback since Jack Kemp to run for two TDs in a game. He looked nothing at all like the guy who in his 13 previous quarters had thrown eight interceptions while losing two fumbles and managing only three touchdown passes.
"I always try to be confident," Edwards said. "Even when I'm not, I try to act like I am. That's the position you have to be in."
Edwards hit 24 of 32 for 273 yards and two TDs and had touchdown runs of 5 and 15 yards.
"Our defense was forcing some turnovers for us," he said. "We were getting good field position with special teams and as a result of turnovers."
The previous high against the Chiefs was 51 in an overtime loss at Seattle in 1983. The Chiefs, who had thought they were starting to turn the corner after playing their last four opponents close, were also penalized nine times for 75 yards.
"I anticipate they'll come to work Monday," coach Herm Edwards said. "They know what they did wrong. You've got to play smart and not turn the ball over and be careful with the fouls."
Rian Lindell kicked four field goals and Leodis McKelvin, the Bills' rookie first-round choice making his second start at cornerback, had two interceptions and returned two kickoffs a total of 67 yards. He returned his first interception 64 yards for a touchdown and his second led to Edwards' 15-yard touchdown run at the end of the half.
`It was just me getting the opportunity to play," said McKelvin, the 11th overall pick in last year's draft who started in place of injured Jabari Greer.
"I was just behind two guys playing great at the start of the season. I was just sitting back. I knew my time would come," he said. "I had two guys in front of me who had been in the league for five and six years, so they knew how to play."
The Bills scored 20 of their record-setting points off turnovers, including two field goals, one of Edwards' scoring runs and McKelvin's TD return. Tyler Thigpen, the former third-teamer who was pressed into service after injuries put Kansas City's top two quarterbacks out for the year, had his first bad game in five outings.
Besides the two picks to McKelvin, he also lost one of the fumbles. But he also hit 17 of 31 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
"That's one thing I can't do. I can't turn the ball over, and that's something I did three times today," said Thigpen, who had gone 161 straight throws before getting one picked off last week. "I can't do that, bottom line."
When Derek Schouman caught a 17-yard pass for Buffalo's final TD, normally volatile and demonstrative defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham stood stock-still for perhaps 20 seconds, staring into space.
"It felt like a loss by 30 points, no different," said safety Jarrad Page. "You lose by 30 points, it's bad - 54 or whatever. A 30-point loss is big."
Edwards also connected with Josh Reed on an 8-yard TD pass.
The most embarrassing TD for the Chiefs was the 15-yard Edwards run at the end of the first half.
The Bills were out of time outs with 26 seconds left when Tamba Hali flushed him out of the pocket. All the Chiefs had to do was tackle him, and Buffalo could not have stopped the clock for a fourth-down play. But the second-year pro scrambled away and dived across the line for a 15-yard TD run and a 30-17 halftime lead.
Individual Statistics
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Kansas City Passing:
Tyler Thigpen 17 of 31 for 240 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions
Quinn Gray 7 of 8 for 76 yards and 1 touchdown
Buffalo Passing:
Trent Edwards 24 of 32 for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns
Kansas City Rushing:
Larry Johnson 7 carries for 81 yards
Tyler Thigpen 3 carries for 29 yards
Quinn Gray 1 carry for 27 yards
Jamaal Charles 2 carries for 22 yards
Buffalo Rushing:
Marshawn Lynch 20 carries for 79 yards and 1 touchdown
Fred Jackson 9 carries for 56 yards
Trent Edwards 6 carries for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns
J. P. Losman 3 carries for -2 yards
Kansas City Receiving:
Tony Gonzalez 10 receptions for 113 yards and 1 touchdown
Dwayne Bowe 3 receptions for 58 yards and 1 touchdown
Mark Bradley 2 receptions for 52 yards and 1 touchdown
Jamaal Charles 3 receptions for 45 yards and 1 touchdown
Larry Johnson 2 receptions for 24 yards
Devard Darling 2 receptions for 14 yards
Mike Cox 1 reception for 5 yards
Will Franklin 1 reception for 5 yards
Buffalo Receiving:
Lee Evans 5 receptions for 110 yards
Josh Reed 5 receptions for 50 yards and 1 touchdown
Robert Royal 3 receptions for 29 yards
Marshawn Lynch 5 receptions for 25 yards
Derek Schouman 3 receptions for 25 yards and 1 touchdown
Fred Jackson 2 receptions for 20 yards
Derek Fine 1 reception for 14 yards
Kansas City Tackles-Assists-Sacks:
Rocky Boiman 9-2-0, Bernard Pollard 8-1-0, Jason Babin 7-0-0, Maurice Leggett 6-0-0, Brandon Carr 5-0-0, DaJuan Morgan 3-0-0, Ron Edwards 2-0-0, Brandon Flowers 2-0-0, Tamba Hali 2-0-0, Derrick Johnson 2-1-0, Jarrad Page 2-2-0, Demorrio Williams 2-0-0, Alfonso Boone 1-0-0, Glenn Dorsey 1-0-0, Wallace Gilberry 1-0-0
Buffalo Tackles-Assists-Sacks:
Keith Ellison 4-0-0, Terrence McGee 4-0-0, George Wilson 4-0-1, Reggie Corner 3-0-0, Ryan Denney 3-0-1, Paul Posluszny 3-0-0, Ko Simpson 3-0-0, Chris Kelsay 2-0-0, Leodis McKelvin 2-0-0, Copeland Bryan 1-0-1, Chris Ellis 1-0-0, Kawika Mitchell 1-0-0, Marcus Stroud 1-0-0
Kansas City Fumble Recoveries:
None
Buffalo Fumble Recoveries:
Marcus Stroud 1 for 6 yards
Derek Schouman 1 for 0 yards
George Wilson 1 for 0 yards
Kansas City Interceptions:
None
Buffalo Interceptions:
Leodis McKelvin 2 for 64 yards and 1 touchdown
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