Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
TORONTO ó O, Canada, did Trent Edwards ever find his groove during the Buffalo Bills’ 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 on Thursday night.
In hitting tight end Robert Royal for both scores, Edwards showed why the Bills placed their faith in the 2007 third-round draft pick by awarding him the starting job ahead of J.P. Losman midway through last season.
Rookie first-round draft pick Leodis McKelvin made a splash, too. The cornerback sealed the victory by scoring on an electric 95-yard kickoff return immediately after the Steelers (1-1) cut it to 17-14 on Rashard Mendenhall’s 6-yard run.
Best of all, it allowed the Bills (1-1) to make a strong first impression in kicking off their five-year, eight-game series in Toronto, playing before a near-capacity crowd at the downtown Rogers Centre. As part of the series, which runs through 2012, the Bills will become the first NFL team to play an annual regular-season home game outside of the United States, starting on Dec. 7, when Buffalo faces Miami.
PATRIOTS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ó Nine-time Pro Bowl safety John Lynch took a physical with the New England Patriots, who need secondary help after being hit by injuries.
The NFL Network reported later Thursday that the Patriots and Lynch had agreed on a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
The Patriots needed help in the secondary after safety-linebacker Tank Williams had a season-ending knee injury in their first exhibition game on Aug. 7, a 16-15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Neither of last season’s starters, Rodney Harrison and James Sanders, played in that game and both have missed several practices in training camp.
CARDINALS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. ó Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said Thursday that he’s leaning toward starting Kurt Warner at quarterback in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“The one thing I want to make sure we do is make sure Kurt gets some time with the (first team),” Whisenhunt said.
VICK UPDATE
RICHMOND, Va. ó A federal bankruptcy judge has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 5 to determine whether a trustee is needed to oversee Michael Vick’s finances.
Vick, the former NFL quarterback, is serving a federal prison term for a dogfighting conviction.
SEAHAWKS
KIRKLAND, Wash. ó Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since his back stiffened six days ago.
Yet it appears unlikely the Pro Bowler will play in Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears.