ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -Talk about having a renewed sense of confidence: Buffalo Bills receiver Josh Reed was so upbeat Monday that he wore a University of Michigan hat.
Now that takes guts for someone who attended LSU.
“Actually, I didn’t know I was going to be doing (interviews) this morning,” Reed said sheepishly. “It kind of matched my outfit, so I just kind of threw something on.”
What mattered is that Reed looked sharp, and once again so do the Bills (6-5) a day after snapping a four-game skid with an impressive 54-31 win at Kansas City.
Having already squandered a momentous 5-1 start to the season and being on the verge of falling out of the playoff hunt altogether, Buffalo reversed the tide of doubt and criticism that had been stirred by its midseason meltdown with an emphatic and morale-boosting performance.
Suddenly it’s too early to start counting out the Bills in their bid to end an eight-season playoff drought as they prepare to host San Francisco (3-8) on Sunday.
” Reed said. “It’s going to be tough, but the positive is that we still have a chance and we’re still right there. We know what we have to do.”
After a month in which little went right for the Bills, everything started to click against the Chiefs.
The 54-point outburst matched the number of points the Bills had produced in their past three games combined. It was also the second-most points produced in a game in team history and most on the road.
Trent Edwards regained his efficiency, going 24-of-32 for 273 yards and two touchdowns passing and two rushing to produce a career-best 121.0 quarterback rating. In doing so, he re-established his connection with receiver Lee Evans, who had five catches for 110 yards a week after being shut out in a 29-27 loss to Cleveland.
Just as important, Edwards fought through what had become a crisis of confidence by not turning the ball over after he began second-guessing himself during a four-game stretch in which he threw eight interceptions, lost two fumbles and gave up a safety.
Edwards’ most impressive display of grit came in capping a 15-yard touchdown run on a naked bootleg in the waning seconds of the second quarter. Facing third-and-7 with no timeouts, Edwards bolted toward the end zone leaped past two defenders to make it across the goal line.
uy who’s been through what he’s been through this year and him showing his toughness, that’s just fuel to the fire.”
Chalk one up for the Bills’ banged-up defense, too, which proved opportunistic despite missing four regulars to injuries.
The unit limited the Chiefs to converting one of eight third-down chances while generating a season-best five turnovers, which resulted in 20 points. That included rookie first-round pick Leodis McKelvin, who had a breakout performance in his second career start at cornerback playing in place of Jabari Greer (knee injury).
McKelvin had two interceptions, including a 64-yard return for a touchdown. He’s now scored in consecutive games after returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown against Cleveland.
“I got my chance to come in and just show that I could be ready to play defense,” said McKelvin, who had difficulty breaking into the starting lineup, even though the Bills had high expectations for the player they selected 11th overall out of Troy. “I wanted to get out there.”
Combined, it made for a much happier mood.
“Everybody is feeling a little better about themselves,” coach Dick Jauron said. “Instead of the gloom in the locker room after the game, the guys were very happy. Instead of the trip back that’s kind of miserable, it was a good trip back. It just changes everything. It changes your outlook.”
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