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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 15, 2008

Edwards brilliant in Bills' debut in Toronto

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Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Micah Rucker, center, fails to catch a pass as time expired, as he is covered by Buffalo Bills linebacker Blake Costanzo, left, and safety John Wendeling in Toronto.

FRANK GUNN | Associated Press

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TORONTO — Trent Edwards might not know all the words to "O, Canada," just yet, but the quarterback sure hit all the right notes in helping the Buffalo Bills make a successful debut in their new northern home away from home.

Shaking off a sluggish performance in the Bills' preseason opener last week, Edwards was near-perfect in two series, going 9-for-11 for 104 yards and two touchdowns, in Buffalo's 24-21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.

It happened at Toronto's Rogers Centre, and allowed the Bills to make a strong first impression in kicking off their five-year, eight-game series in Canada's largest city and financial capital.

The small-market franchise has adopted the city as its second home to generate additional revenue. The Bills will become the NFL's first franchise to begin playing an annual regular-season game outside the United States when they face AFC East rival Miami at Toronto on Dec. 7.

Yesterday, all that was missing was Edwards singing the national anthem to make the "Northern Exposure" outing complete.

"Well, I don't know all the words to that song, but I'll say this: We're very excited just in the fact that we feel we improved off last week's performance," Edwards said, referring to a forgettable outing in which he went 1-of-5 for 18 yards in a 17-14 loss at Washington last weekend.

Edwards showed great touch in hitting tight end Robert Royal for both scores, including a 13-yarder to cap an 11-play, 90-yard drive in the second quarter.

The Bills (1-1) sealed the win when rookie first-round draft pick Leodis McKelvin scored on an electric 95-yard kickoff return right after Pittsburgh (1-1) cut it to 17-14 on Rashard Mendenhall's 6-yard run.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a solid outing, going 9-of-11 for 142 yards with a touchdown — a 40-yarder to Santonio Holmes — in three series.

Buffalo linebacker Kawika Mitchell, who was born in Honolulu, had one assist.

EAGLES 24, PANTHERS 13

PHILADELPHIA — Jake Delhomme was 9-of-14 for 54 yards in his first real action since ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow in October, but Tony Hunt's 51-yard touchdown run with 2:15 left led Philadelphia to a victory over Carolina last night.

With Philadelphia down 13-0 in the fourth quarter, Kevin Kolb rallied the Eagles. He led the winning drive from Philadelphia's 15. Kolb moved the Eagles to the 49 on passes of 23, 7 and 4 yards. Then Hunt took a handoff and raced in for the score to put the Eagles ahead 17-13 against the Panthers (1-1).

In the final seconds, Justin Roland intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 74 yards for a TD to seal the win for Philadelphia (1-1).

Donovan McNabb and the Eagles' first-team offense failed to produce any points in six possessions.

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