2008 Season Week 3

When a quarterback is inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame, one of the most often mentioned statistical accomplishments of a typical Hall of Famer's career is his fourth quarter comeback wins. All of the great quarterbacks have the ability to lead their team to victory late in a game when everything is on the line. While it is absurd at this early stage to think that Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards could be Canton bound, he already has three of these comebacks under his belt, including one in each of the past two weeks. With only 14 NFL starts, if he can continue this ratio over, say, ten years, his place in the H of F should be a certainty.

For three quarters at a misty Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, the Bills seemed sluggish and looked like they might have under-estimated the Oakland Raiders who came into this contest with their head coach perhaps only hours away from being fired. The Raiders played well for him and the Bills found themselves down by nine points twice in the fourth quarter. Edwards engineered three drives, two for touchdowns and one for the winning field goal as time expired to eke out a 24-23 victory. After a Marshawn Lynch touchdown brought Buffalo to within two points, on the next possession, Raiders receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins caught a pass on a slant pattern, avoided Paul Pozluzny's tackle, broke free and then taunted Bills safety Donte Whitner by slowing down around the 25 yard line as he cruised toward the endzone. Whitner kept coming and then tackled Higgins hard at the back of the end zone, earning himself a personal foul but also demonstrating that the Bills have some pride as a team - something we may not have seen a few seasons ago.

The Bills would then score ten more points over the last five minutes of the game - lead by the surprisingly poised Edwards who distributed the ball, managed the clock and lead the team to within easy field goal range for Rian Lindell's winning kick on the game's final play. This was another close game which good teams win and bad teams lose. Wins like this build confidence for the winners and seem devastating for the losers. The 3-0 Bills travel next to St. Louis to face the 0-3 Rams who have just announced a quarterback change for this game.