Lee Evans had a big game, and a milestone-setting one, on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
The Buffalo Bills wide receiver had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in a 20-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Evans has been quiet for long stretches of games this season, but he has made a lot of noise the last two games. One week after his 37-yard touchdown highlighted a come-from-behind road win over the New York Jets, Evans found the end zone again with a 2-yard score.
Both throws were from backup quarterback-turned-starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who obviously has developed some chemistry with the Bills' star wideout.
"Lee's been my guy when I've been in there," Fitzpatrick said. "I enjoy throwing to Terrell [Owens] and Lee and Josh [Reed] as well. Lee's done a good job."
One difference in Evans' performance the last two weeks as opposed to the first four games is the number of inside routes he's running. He usually catches most of his passes outside the numbers, but he's had a lot of success on slant patterns.
Both of his touchdowns the past two games came on that route.
"It's one of those things where [Fitzpatrick] likes to throw certain routes, so we've got to work on them," Evans said. "We were able to get one today at a crucial point.
"He just kind of makes it work and when he sees something he likes to take advantage of it."
Evans' touchdown gave him 35 for his career, which ties him with Elbert Dubenion for third place on the Bills' all-time list. Evans had shared the fourth spot with Bob Chandler.
Evans also became the fourth receiver to reach 5,000 career yards with the Bills. He trails only Andre Reed (12,095), Eric Moulds (9,096) and Dubenion (5,294).
Evans and Dubenion reached the 5,000-yard plateau in 87 games. Only Reed (81 games) did it faster.
"It certainly feels good to have your name up there with some of the best that have played here," said Evans, who has 5,046 yards. "Just to be mentioned with them is certainly an honor. But I think as we continue through this season it's about winning for me. In addition to what those guys did they were winners. Whenever I leave this game I want to be remembered as a winner, too."
. . .
Defensive tackle Kyle Williams made a surprise start Sunday, but left after one series with a knee injury.
Coach Dick Jauron didn't know how serious the injury was.
"The fact that he didn't return was not good," Jauron said. "Bud [Carpenter, the Bills' head trainer] told me right away he wasn't coming back."
Williams was questionable all week because of a dislocated acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder. The injury, which is where the collarbone and the shoulder blade meet, occurred a week ago against the New York Jets.
Fullback Corey McIntyre suffered a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter and didn't return.
Jauron said he'll have an update on both players today.
. . .
Jairus Byrd's interception hot streak continues. With his fourth and fifth interceptions on Sunday he became the first Bills rookie with at least four in a season since Jeff Nixon had six in 1979.
Byrd is the third Bills rookie to record an interception in three consecutive games. The last was Butch Byrd in 1964.
Jairus Byrd also became the fifth player in Bills history with back-to-back multiple interception games and the first since Kurt Schulz in 1996.
Safety George Wilson added an interception (his second in as many weeks), giving the Bills nine in the past two games. The last time the team pulled that off was 1967.
. . .
There was a sight on the field that we haven't seen in a while: Terrence McGee returning a kickoff.
The Bills' all-time leader with 5,450 return yards had a 30-yard return in the fourth quarter.
Fred Jackson handled that duty the last two games.
"It was good to be back there," said McGee, who hasn't returned kickoffs full time since 2007. "I grabbed it and was just ready to roll."
McGee said he'd like to have more return opportunities, provided he can talk the Bills into it.
"I'm kind of politicking for it, but they keep telling me no," he said with a smile. "I might keep going to [particular teams coach Bobby April's] office and bugging him about it. I keep telling them, "Just give me one game." Hopefully they'll do that."
. . .
Wide receiver Roscoe Parrish was inactive for the second straight week, but was listed as the third quarterback. That means he was able to dress, but could only play in an emergency situation.
Other inactives were safeties Donte Whitner (thumb) and Bryan Scott (ankle), right tackle Jonathan Scott (ankle) and tight end Shawn Nelson (concussion). Running back Xavier Omon and defensive end Chris Ellis were healthy scratches.
The Buffalo Bills wide receiver had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in a 20-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Evans has been quiet for long stretches of games this season, but he has made a lot of noise the last two games. One week after his 37-yard touchdown highlighted a come-from-behind road win over the New York Jets, Evans found the end zone again with a 2-yard score.
Both throws were from backup quarterback-turned-starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who obviously has developed some chemistry with the Bills' star wideout.
"Lee's been my guy when I've been in there," Fitzpatrick said. "I enjoy throwing to Terrell [Owens] and Lee and Josh [Reed] as well. Lee's done a good job."
One difference in Evans' performance the last two weeks as opposed to the first four games is the number of inside routes he's running. He usually catches most of his passes outside the numbers, but he's had a lot of success on slant patterns.
Both of his touchdowns the past two games came on that route.
"It's one of those things where [Fitzpatrick] likes to throw certain routes, so we've got to work on them," Evans said. "We were able to get one today at a crucial point.
"He just kind of makes it work and when he sees something he likes to take advantage of it."
Evans' touchdown gave him 35 for his career, which ties him with Elbert Dubenion for third place on the Bills' all-time list. Evans had shared the fourth spot with Bob Chandler.
Evans also became the fourth receiver to reach 5,000 career yards with the Bills. He trails only Andre Reed (12,095), Eric Moulds (9,096) and Dubenion (5,294).
Evans and Dubenion reached the 5,000-yard plateau in 87 games. Only Reed (81 games) did it faster.
"It certainly feels good to have your name up there with some of the best that have played here," said Evans, who has 5,046 yards. "Just to be mentioned with them is certainly an honor. But I think as we continue through this season it's about winning for me. In addition to what those guys did they were winners. Whenever I leave this game I want to be remembered as a winner, too."
. . .
Defensive tackle Kyle Williams made a surprise start Sunday, but left after one series with a knee injury.
Coach Dick Jauron didn't know how serious the injury was.
"The fact that he didn't return was not good," Jauron said. "Bud [Carpenter, the Bills' head trainer] told me right away he wasn't coming back."
Williams was questionable all week because of a dislocated acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder. The injury, which is where the collarbone and the shoulder blade meet, occurred a week ago against the New York Jets.
Fullback Corey McIntyre suffered a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter and didn't return.
Jauron said he'll have an update on both players today.
. . .
Jairus Byrd's interception hot streak continues. With his fourth and fifth interceptions on Sunday he became the first Bills rookie with at least four in a season since Jeff Nixon had six in 1979.
Byrd is the third Bills rookie to record an interception in three consecutive games. The last was Butch Byrd in 1964.
Jairus Byrd also became the fifth player in Bills history with back-to-back multiple interception games and the first since Kurt Schulz in 1996.
Safety George Wilson added an interception (his second in as many weeks), giving the Bills nine in the past two games. The last time the team pulled that off was 1967.
. . .
There was a sight on the field that we haven't seen in a while: Terrence McGee returning a kickoff.
The Bills' all-time leader with 5,450 return yards had a 30-yard return in the fourth quarter.
Fred Jackson handled that duty the last two games.
"It was good to be back there," said McGee, who hasn't returned kickoffs full time since 2007. "I grabbed it and was just ready to roll."
McGee said he'd like to have more return opportunities, provided he can talk the Bills into it.
"I'm kind of politicking for it, but they keep telling me no," he said with a smile. "I might keep going to [particular teams coach Bobby April's] office and bugging him about it. I keep telling them, "Just give me one game." Hopefully they'll do that."
. . .
Wide receiver Roscoe Parrish was inactive for the second straight week, but was listed as the third quarterback. That means he was able to dress, but could only play in an emergency situation.
Other inactives were safeties Donte Whitner (thumb) and Bryan Scott (ankle), right tackle Jonathan Scott (ankle) and tight end Shawn Nelson (concussion). Running back Xavier Omon and defensive end Chris Ellis were healthy scratches.
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