McKelvin’s Kickoff Return TD Helps Bills Down Steelers 24-21 In Rogers Centre Exhibition

A total of 48,434 spectators watched rookie Leodis McKelvin lead the Buffalo Bills to an exciting 24-21 exhibition win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Rogers Centre.

The five-foot-10, 184-pound McKelvin — Buffalo’s 2008 first-round pick — returned a kickoff 95 yards for the touchdown to anchor the win. But the attendance was more than 5,000 short of Rogers Centre’s

54,000-seat capacity for football in the first of eight games the Bills will play in Toronto over the next five years.

However, Bills tight end Robert Royal, who had two touchdowns, said that didn’t take away from the game’s atmosphere.

“It (atmosphere) was a little different because it is kind of a home game for us but is so close to Pittsburgh that a lot of Pittsburgh fans drove to the game,” he said. “Overall, I think it’s a pretty good atmosphere.

“I think it’s going to do well for the NFL.”

Teammate Donte Whitner was more tempered with his comments.

“We have to get the crowd a little bit more into it and it happens with time,” he said. “When the regular season comes it’s going to be different because the first team will be out there for the whole game.

“We’re looking forward to it.”

Buffalo will play an exhibition game and regular-season contest in 2008, 2010 and 2012 as well as regular-season contests in 2009 and 2011 in Toronto. The Bills will “host” arch-rival Miami on Dec. 7 at Rogers Centre, making them the first NFL team to play annual regular-season games outside of the U.S.

McKelvin brought the fans to their feet at 13:22 of the third, just after rookie Rashard Mendenhall’s six-yard run at 13:09 to cut Buffalo’s lead to 17-14.

Despite being a pre-season game, the contest was an entertaining one. Bills quarterback Trent Edwards, a dismal 1-of-5 passing for 18 yards in last week’s 17-14 exhibition loss to Washington, was a stellar 9-of-11 passing for 104 yards and two touchdowns in staking Buffalo to a 14-7 half-time lead.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger was also 9-of-11 passing for 142 yards with a touchdown and interception that set up Buffalo’s opening touchdown. But he took issue with the Rogers Centre turf.

“The turf leaves a lot to be desired,” he said. “But to be up here with the fans has been awesome.

“The fans have been awesome.”

Pittsburgh quarterback Dennis Dixon made it interesting with a 47-yard touchdown run at 10:29 of the fourth to cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-21.

Buffalo’s Rian Lindell added three converts and a field goal.

Santana Holmes had Pittsburgh’s other touchdown. Jeff Reed booted the converts.

Unfortunately with the threat of rain in the forecast, the Rogers Centre roof was closed, creating very muggy conditions. There were no corporate logos on the artificial turf — just the Bills crest at centre field — but what was most noticeable was the 10-yard end zones on an NFL field compared to the 20-yard end zones in Canadian football.

There was also a lack of signs at Rogers Centre. At the Bills’ home field in Orchard Park, N.Y., the stadium is plastered with posters and fan signage on game day. The only noticeable banners were those placed over the windows of the Renaissance hotel rooms that overlook the field as well as the windows of the Hard Rock Cafe. Patrons of both establishments are free to watch Toronto Argonauts games.

Predictably, there were many fans wearing Bills and Steelers jerseys, with many Pittsburgh fans at times wildly waving their traditional gold towels.

The Bills and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell have continually maintained the Toronto series is part of Buffalo’s regionalization strategy to help keep it in western New York. However, many football pundits on both sides of the border believe it’s the first step in the Buffalo club relocating to Toronto, which many feel would not only kill the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats but also deliver a crippling blow to the Canadian league.

Toronto’s NFL group, which is headed by communications mogul Ted Rogers and Larry Tanenbaum of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, paid US$78 million for the eight games. The average of $9.75 million is more than double the team’s calculated 2006 operating income.

And it resulted in fans having to dig deep for tickets that ranged from $79 up to $575 in price. But not all did as earlier this week Bills officials said roughly 54,000 tickets had been “distributed” for the contest.

There was no shortage of scalpers looking to unload tickets prior to the game. One, who would only give his first name as Fred, had 20 tickets fanned out like a deck of playing cards, including many of the high-end $575 duckets that he was willing to unload for $200. Trouble was, he wasn’t finding many takers.

“Not so good,” he said when asked how business was going. “It’s an exhibition game and in Buffalo these are $60 tickets and they want $500 for them here.

“I’d definitely be selling more tickets if I was at a (hockey) arena.”

There was definitely a buzz in the air during the opening introductions as the Steelers received a bigger ovation than the Bills, who received a smattering of boos. And fans could be heard singing O Canada prior to the kickoff.

Early on, the atmosphere wasn’t much different than that of a Toronto Argonauts game when the CFL club draws over 30,000 fans. But in the fourth quarter, long after the starters had left, the fans seemed to get more boisterous and louder in their support for both teams.

Still, it definitely paled in comparison to the rabid support the Bills receive at Ralph Wilson Stadium. During the first half, Bills players were waving their arms asking the crowd to make noise, and the spectators were very slow to respond. That’s definitely not the case at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where even during exhibition games fans don’t have to be asked to come to their feet on third down.

Photo Credit: Lee Evans #83 of the Buffalo Bills runs after breaking free from Ike Taylor #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rick Stewart/Getty Images