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First-place Bills face woeful Rams

Sep 23, 2008 - 5:37 PM Buffalo (3-0) at St. Louis (0-3), 4:05 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Bills find themselves in an unfamiliar position - sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

On Sunday, the Bills seek their first 4-0 start in 16 years when they visit the winless St. Louis Rams, who have been awful in the first three weeks of the season.

Buffalo has not been 4-0 since 1992, when the Bills were in the midst of four straight Super Bowl appearances under former coach Marv Levy.

The current Bills have been effusive in their praise for the measured approach of coach Dick Jauron, who posted 7-9 records in his first two seasons in Buffalo. This season, the Bills are looking to take the next step and make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Buffalo has not been pretty but it has been finding ways to win, erasing fourth-quarter deficits in each of the last two games.

Last week, the Bills rallied for a dramatic 24-23 victory over the Oakland Raiders as Rian Lindell kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired. Buffalo started five possessions inside its 13-yard line and committed three turnovers, but scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-7 deficit.

That win, coupled with New England's 38-13 loss to Miami, left the Bills alone in first place - the first time the Patriots have not been atop the AFC East since Week Four of the 2005 season.

"Coach Jauron is very calm and very positive," Bills defensive end Ryan Denney said. "Even though we had just seven points entering the fourth quarter we understood through him it's part of the game and (to) keep going."

"We could have sat there and thought it was just not our day and took it on the chin," quarterback Trent Edwards added. "But it goes back to our head coach."

There is no such praise coming out of St. Louis for Rams coach Scott Linehan, who may be fortunate to make it through the season.

The Rams (0-3) , who are coming off a 37-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, have picked up where they left off last season when they were an NFC-worst 3-13. St. Louis has been outscored, 116-29, scoring the second-fewest points in the league and allowing the most.

The brutal start has prompted Linehan to bench Marc Bulger and go with Trent Green. Bulger failed to throw for 200 yards in any of the Rams' first three games.

Now, the Rams are turning to the 38-year-old Green, who signed a three-year contract with St. Louis in March despite suffering major concussions in each of the last two seasons.