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Edwards, Hardy lift Bills over Jaguars

Sep 14, 2008 - 9:59 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Trent Edwards found rookie James Hardy in the back corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass to lift the Buffalo Bills to a 20-16 triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Marshawn Lynch rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown for the Bills (2-0), who forced a three-and-out after Hardy's game-winning score and tacked on a field goal after a good punt return from Roscoe Parrish.

"It was huge," Edwards said of the game-winning nine-play, 74-yard drive. "It was also a great job by our defense to keep us in the game and get us the ball back. Our front five blocked well on that drive, alot of credit goes to those guys."

After connecting with Lee Evans on a 37-yard pass to set up a 1st-and-goal, Edwards lobbed a throw to the right corner to the 6-5 Hardy, who was barely able to get both feet inbounds. The play was reviewed and upheld.

"James and I have been working on that in practice," Edwards said. "James ran a great route, and when the two underneath guys dropped off him, it was a matter of throwing it up high. James is a big receiver and that's why we drafted him."

"I just wanted to go up and make the play," Hardy added. "Trent put it in the right spot. I just wanted to come down with the ball and I was able to do that. We just wanted to come down here and get the win."

The Jaguars (0-2) could not muster any offense on their ensuing possession as David Garrard threw two incompletions before getting sacked on third down.

Parrish then returned the punt 27 yards to the Jacksonville 32, setting up a 45-yard field goal by Ryan Lindell.

Buffalo took a 10-3 lead into the break, but Jacksonville tied the score with 9:31 left in the third quarter on Maurice Jones-Drew's 2-yard touchdown run.

Josh Scobee added field goals of 50 and 39 yards to supply the Jaguars with a 16-10 advantage early in the final period.

"A tough, hard-fought game. Two weeks in a row we exerted a great deal of energy, played a good football team in the AFC, and came up short," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "I thought our fans showed up today ready to rock and roll. We didn't give them enough to cheer about today."

Edwards finished with 239 passing yards and the game-winning TD pass to Hardy, who made just two catches for 12 yards. Edwards' favorite target was running back Fred Jackson, who made seven receptions for 83 yards.

"We look at Fred and Marshawn as a valuable 1-2 punch," Buffalo coach Dick Jauron said.

Garrard passed for 165 yards with one interception for Jacksonville, which racked up just 243 total yards.

"Overall, our execution wasn't that bad," Garrard said. "We threw the ball pretty well and ran it pretty well. You just have to have some guys make a big play and we didn't do it."

Fred Taylor rushed for 49 yards and Jones-Drew added 17 yards for the Jaguars.