The Bills' C.J. Spiller scores a touchdown against the Chiefs during the first half Sunday. (AP)

It looks as if the Bills may have a new starting running back -- and budding star -- in C.J. Spiller.

With Fred Jackson sidelined with a knee injury, the third-year running back stepped up for the second week in a row and carried the Bills to their first win of the season as Buffalo (1-1) blew out Kansas City, 35-17, on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Spiller was electric every time he had the ball in this hands against the Chiefs (0-2), rushing for 123 yards on 15 carries. He had 47 yards in the passing game and two TDs.

“He’s learned a lot of things, I think, from sitting back and watching Fred and the way he runs,” QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “When C.J. gets in that open field, he’s hard to bring down.”

It’s been a surprisingly long road to success for Spiller. The ninth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Spiller got off to a slow start to his Bills career, losing a starting job after one game and rushing for just 283 yards as a rookie. He began to find his footing after Jackson broke his leg in Week 11 last year and has taken it to another level this season.

“I knew he could be [special so suddenly]; I didn’t know whether it would happen or not,” coach Chan Gailey said. “I would like to tell you, ‘Oh, sure, I saw that,’ but that’d be a lie. I didn’t see it happening like this, but I knew it was capable of happening.”

Spiller became the fourth RB in team history to top the 100-yard mark in back-to-back games to start the season, joining Jackson, Thurman Thomas and O.J. Simpson. Through two weeks, he has an astounding average of 10 yards per carry. Bills great Darryl Talley went as far as comparing Spiller to Simpson on Twitter.

Spiller may not be there yet -- but he’s off to quite the start.

When the game turned: Three plays into the second quarter, Spiller burst for a 38-yard gain up the middle. Three plays later, he scored on a 5-yard carry to give Buffalo a 14-0 lead. The Bills didn’t look back after that.

Highlight moments: Spiller gave the Bills their first lead of the season with a quick run around the left side for a 19-yard score in the first quarter. Stevie Johnson had his first big play of the season in the third quarter, scoring on a 49-yard catch-and-run. PR Leodis McKelvin had the exclamation point for the Bills, taking a punt back 88 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. 

Top-shelf performances:  Spiller -- 15 rushes for 123 yards (8.2 average), 2 TDs; WR Johnson -- two receptions for 56 yards, 1 TD.

What they said about Buffalo responding with a blowout win of its own:

Bills QB Fitzpatrick -- “We flopped in the first game. We didn’t play well and to be able to move on from that and come out and win like we did today, I think that shows a lot about the maturity of our team.

DT Kyle Williams -- “Last week was what it was. We laid an egg, we played bad ... but I think we have enough guys on the team that have been around long enough to take it for what it is. Play bad, it’s one game. We had an opportunity to move on.”

Numbers you should know:  McKelvin’s 88-yard punt return was the second-longest in team history (Keith Moody had a 91-yard return on Oct. 23, 1977). With eight receptions for 102 yards, Dwayne Bowe became the eighth WR in Chiefs history with at least 5,000 yards receiving.

Injury update: Bills DT Marcell Dareus (shoulder) and SS George Wilson (head) briefly left the game but were able to return. Chiefs TE Kevin Boss left the game with a head injury after being elbowed by SS Da’Norris Searcy. He did not return. Chiefs CB Javier Arenas had a stinger.

Going forward: The Bills have another winnable game next week at Cleveland. It will be important for them to pick up another victory before their hardest stretch of the schedule (back-to-back games against New England and San Francisco). It could be a while until the Chiefs’ first win, based on both their play and their upcoming opponents. Kansas City travels to New Orleans in Week 3 and sees San Diego and Baltimore after that.

For more updates on the Bills, follow correspondent Mark Ludwiczak on Twitter @CBSBills and @MarkLud12.