ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.–Linebacker Takeo Spikes returns for the first time to Buffalo much like he left the Bills a little over two years ago: A proud, determined player who remains driven to fill the one objective – playing on a playoff contender – that's eluded him through 11 NFL seasons.
"I'm still searching. I'm still searching," Spikes said. "It's frustrating ... I try not to get caught up into, `Why me?' But when is it going to happen to me?"
It won't happen this year for Spikes, now a member of the 49ers (3-8). San Francisco is a team lacking identity and direction while attempting to make the best of what's left of its season.
Since Buffalo traded him to Philadelphia in the spring of 2007, Spikes has gradually become aware that time is running out on a career in which he'll play his 152nd career game today without one playoff appearance.
"Lord knows that it needs to happen soon," said the two-time Pro Bowl selection and 1998 first-round draft pick who spent his first four years regarded as the best player on a bad team in Cincinnati. "My time is not the way it used to be, versus when I got to Buffalo. I'm on the back nine now."
For someone in dire need of a mulligan, perhaps, Spikes' career so far is a hard lesson, a keen reminder for his former teammates on a Bills team that's gone eight years without a post-season appearance of its own.
"For him to not make it to the playoffs, it's kind of shocking," said Bills cornerback Terrence McGee. "This is my sixth year and I've never made it to a playoff. ... I'm glad we're in the running to have an opportunity to get a chance."
The challenge is what Buffalo (6-5) does with what's left of its chances, which have gradually dwindled after a midseason meltdown erased a 5-1 start and dropped the team from first to worst in the AFC East.
The Bills ended a four-game skid with an emphatic 54-31 win at Kansas City last weekend, but have left themselves with little room for error in a highly competitive race for the conference's two wild cards.
"We realize that we're not out of the woods yet," guard Langston Walker said. "But at the same time, that win, I guess to use a good analogy, it's the little pebble that starts the snowball."
The Bills hope to be back on a roll after a game in which their stalled offence finally found a semblance of identity.
Trent Edwards shook off four dreadful outings in which he committed 10 turnovers with a performance against the Chiefs in which he engineered five touchdown drives, had a career-best 121.0 quarterback rating and didn't turn over the ball. The one-two running back punch of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson also provided a spark for the second straight game by combining for 171 yards rushing.
Together, that eased the load from a banged-up defence that generated five turnovers, including Leodis McKelvin's 64-yard interception return for a touchdown, and three sacks – the most since it had five in the season opener.
"You start to question yourself through a losing streak," receiver Lee Evans said. "And then, to get back on the winning side, the key now is keeping that momentum and really making the push through the end of the season."
Spikes, who leads the 49ers with three interceptions and ranks second with 82 tackles in spite of missing time due to injuries, says even though his team has lost seven of its past eight, they'll keep battling.
"I'm not going to give up," said Spikes, who hopes for a warm reception from his former fans. "I'm just getting right. I'm getting ready to put on a show."
