Bills make switch to Edwards after Losman's latest struggles
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- J.P. Losman squandered his latest second chance, and now it's rookie quarterback Trent Edwards' turn to get another shot at securing the Bills starting job.
Coach Dick Jauron wasted little time Monday in announcing Edwards has reclaimed the No. 1 job ahead of Losman, and will make his fifth start -- and first in five weeks -- on Sunday when Buffalo travels to play Washington.
Jauron's decision came a day after the Bills offense showed little spark as a whole while Losman struggled individually, committing three turnovers, including two interceptions, in a 36-14 loss at Jacksonville. The second interception proved costly, coming midway through the fourth quarter with Buffalo driving into Jaguars territory while down only 22-14.
"We're definitely looking for a spark, but that's probably not the only reason we're making the change," Jauron said. "We fully understand that it's not only J.P. That's not the only reason we've lost these couple of games in a row. But it is the focal point of the offense. We do need consistency from that position."
Jauron, who has now benched Losman twice this season, wouldn't commit to Edwards as the team's starter for the rest of the season.
"We'll just see where it goes," he said. "But when we make a change, we hope that it's not going to go week to week."
The change comes after the Bills (5-6) lost their second straight game and fell further out of the race for the AFC's two wild-card playoff berths.
Edwards, a third-round pick out of Stanford, gave the Bills life the first time he took over after Losman was hurt during the first series of a 38-7 loss at New England in Week 3.
Edwards helped Buffalo win two of its next three games and secured the No. 1 job before spraining his throwing hand in a 13-3 win at the New York Jets on Oct. 28.
"I'm excited and anxious to get the opportunity again to get back out there and help this team win," said Edwards, whose hand has fully healed. "I hope I can use the experience I had at the start of the season and hopefully take that and run with it."
The benching is the latest in a long string of setbacks for Losman, the second of Buffalo's two 2004 first-round draft picks. He also lost the starting job twice to journeyman Kelly Holcomb in 2005, but rebounded to reclaim the job last year and help Buffalo to a better-than-expected 7-9 finish.
Losman went 2-2 in his past four starts, including a 33-21 win over Cincinnati in which the Bills produced season highs in points, yards passing (295) and yards of offense (479).
Losman sputtered in his past three games, including a 13-10 win at Miami, by going a combined 54-of-89 for 541 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
