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Bills rally past Rams to remain unbeaten

Sep 29, 2008 - 1:06 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Bills stayed perfect thanks to another second-half comeback.

Trent Edwards threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans in the fourth quarter as the Bills scored 25 unanswered points en route to a 31-14 victory over the hapless St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

Buffalo improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1992 and erased a fourth-quarter deficit for the third consecutive week.

"The bottom line is finishing games and learning how to win games in the end," Evans said. "Everybody stayed together and we kept fighting. Even when things were not going as well we kept fighting and we came up with the victory."

Jabari Greer returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Bills the lead for good at 20-14.

"Fortunately the defense blocked really well for me and that helped us get some points on the board," Greer said.

Steven Jackson rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown for St. Louis, which fell to 0-4 just days after it was reported that coach Scott Linehan would lose his job if the Rams did not beat Buffalo.

"I'm not concerned about that," Linehan said. "I'm going to continue to do the best I can do. That's the only thing I can control. That's what I've done my whole life."

Linehan benched starting quarterback Marc Bulger in favor of Trent Green, who led the Rams to a surprising 14-6 halftime lead.

"I felt great and I was excited about playing," Green said. "I think the team was enthusiastic. I thought there was a lot of energy. We just have to find ways to finish the game. We couldn't dig ourselves out of hole. We were in position to win it in the fourth quarter and once again we just didn't finish it."

Rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery scored on a 37-yard run and Jackson added a 28-yard touchdown jaunt for St. Louis, which had been outscored, 116-29, it its first three games.

"It's an obvious terrific win for our football team," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "To be behind in the first half, even by eight points, was a challenge. We had known going in, obviously, they have named players and they're a veteran football team and we knew they could beat us."

However, four of the Rams' first five possessions in the second half lasted five plays or fewer, allowing the Bills to slowly chip away at the lead.

"We wanted to come out and be aggressive. What did we have to lose," Linehan said. "Free-wheel and go for it. I like how that went in the first half. The second half we came back out and I think we stayed really aggressive and drove the ball. Unfortunately we weren't able to finish off that drive after they had scored on their opening drive. Had we been able to sustain that I think we would have been in good shape."

Fred Jackson started Buffalo's comeback, scoring on a 22-yard run up the middle to cut the deficit to 14-13 with 5:33 to play in the third quarter.

Greer then ignited an 18-point fourth quarter when he returned Green's errant pass 33 yards with 14:48 remaining.

"They had one wide receiver and two tight ends and Torry Holt went inside and ran a seven route," Greer said. "I'm not sure if he was the intended receiver or not, I just made sure I caught the ball."

Just over four minutes later, Edwards connected with Evans down the left sideline to extend the cushion to 28-14 with 10:24 to play.

Edwards finished 15-of-25 for 197 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Marshawn Lynch added 57 yards on 19 carries.

"I tip my hat to them," Jauron said of the Rams. "They played awfully hard and so did we. We just ended up making more plays at the end and that is what our game is all about. There it is."

Green completed 17-of-32 for 236 yards and an interception.