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Edwards, Bills cruise past winless Dolphins

Dec 10, 2007 - 12:20 AM ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- Rookie Trent Edwards and the Buffalo Bills made short work of the Miami Dolphins, who took another step toward a winless season.

Edwards tossed a season-high four touchdowns Sunday as the Bills rolled to a 38-17 rout of the Dolphins.

It marked yet another ugly loss in what has been a nightmare season for the Dolphins, who became the NFL's first 0-13 team since the 1986 Indianapolis Colts.

Miami remained on pace to become the second team in NFL history to complete a season without a win. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976.

"Our guys hung in there," Dolphins first-year coach Cam Cameron said. "We're going to continue to hang in there, fight, compete."

It was the second straight victory and the sixth in eight games for Buffalo (7-6), which surprisingly is still in contention for a wild card berth in the AFC.

"We're in a position right now where we've talked a lot, continuing to fight, continuing to play hard," Edwards said. "We're in a position right now where we're starting to believe what the coaches are saying and what the team leaders are saying.

"That's a sign of a good football team, that's a sign of a team that's winning."

Plagued by injuries and late-game collapses early in the season, the Bills climbed into a tie with the Tennessee Titans (7-6) for seventh place in the conference.

The two teams trail the Cleveland Browns (8-5), who defeated the New York Jets late Sunday afternoon.

"We don't mind the excitement," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "We do have to focus and we have to stay in the moment every day.

"On gameday, we just have to play. We need to not worry about what anybody else does - except our next opponent."

Buffalo's opponent Sunday, the hapless Dolphins, have lost 16 straight games overall - the longest skid in franchise history - and have dropped four consecutive meetings to the rival Bills.

Making his first home start in seven weeks, Edwards threw TDs of 13 and 28 yards to tight end Robert Royal in the first quarter and connected with Lee Evans for scores of 9 and 70 yards.

It marked the first time that a Bills quarterback threw four TDs in the same game since Drew Bledsoe achieved the feat at Miami on December 5, 2004.

"When there's opportunities to make a play down the field, I'm going to try and make the play," Edwards said. "But Rob Royal, the tight ends and the running backs, are open underneath."

Tabbed by Jauron as Buffalo's permanent starting signal-caller prior to last week's 17-16 triumph over the Washington Redskins, Edwards completed 11-of-23 passes for 165 yards.

"At this point in his career, he's learning how to win games," Jauron said. "There's all different ways to win them, and this was a little bit different."

Edwards gave Bills fans an early reason to cheer Sunday, completing a 13-yard TD to Royal to open the scoring less than three minutes into the contest.

Edwards found Royal again, this time for a 28-yard score with 5:25 left in the quarter, to give Buffalo a 14-0 cushion.

The Bills took a 21-0 lead in shockingly easy fashion just 50 seconds later, when safety George Wilson recovered rookie quarterback John Beck's fumble and raced 20 yards for the score.

After dropping back to pass, Beck lost control of the ball while cocking his arm to throw. Wilson grabbed the ball out of the air and trotted untouched into the end zone.

"You can't come on the road, turn the football over and spot a team 15-20 points," Cameron said. "To their credit, they made the plays the needed to make."

Miami got on the scoreboard 58 seconds later on Samkon Gado's 12-yard TD run. But Buffalo went ahead, 24-7, with 14 seconds remaining in the opening quarter on Rian Lindell's 51-yard field goal.

It was a franchise-record 18th consecutive made field goal for Lindell, who booted five field goals in last week's 17-16 win over the Washington Redskins.

Edwards made it 31-7 with 9:33 left in the first quarter after lofting the 9-yard score to Evans, a play which was overturned after a video replay.

Miami clawed to within 31-17 after three quarters. But Buffalo salted away the win when Edwards lofted a long pass to Evans, who made the reception in double-coverage and broke two tackles en route to his 70-yard score.

"(Jauron) called us to the sidelines, rallied the troops a little bit offensively," Edwards said. "That's what we needed. At that particular moment, we needed to make a play."

"The touchdown pass to Lee was huge," Jauron added. "(There) was terrific protection, and (Edwards) threw a real nice ball."

Rookie running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson both enjoyed solid outings for the Bills, who racked up 207 yards on the ground.

Lynch returned from a three-game absence to rush for 107 yards on 23 carries, his second 100-yard outing of the season. Jackson finished with 115 yards on 15 carries.

"It's the two-headed monster that we've been talking about, me and Fred," said Lynch, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury. "It's great. While I was down, Fred came in."

The Bills visit the Browns next week in a game which could go a long way toward determining the sixth and final postseason berth in the competitive AFC.

"That's where you want to be at this time of year," Lynch said. "I feel it's going to give us an edge because we want it so bad. I can feel it in the locker room with the rest of my teammates. I feel that's going to be our extra push."

Following his lost fumble to Wilson, Beck was replaced by Cleo Lemon, who finished 22-of-42 for 241 yards and two interceptions.

Gado rushed for 52 yards and two TDs while Derek Hagan hauled in career highs of eight catches for 93 yards for the Dolphins, who host the Baltimore Ravens next weekend before visiting New England on December 23.