The Buffalo Bills might be headed north of the border for Sunday afternoon's clash with the Miami Dolphins, but their record is certainly heading south.

Buffalo, which will host the Dolphins in the first NFL regular season game to be played in Canada, comes into Sunday's contest having gone 1-5 in its past six games, including a particularly hard-to-swallow 10-3 home loss to the struggling San Francisco 49ers last week.

The recent stretch has wiped away nearly all the positive feeling gleaned during a 5-1 start that had Dick Jauron's squad at the top of the AFC East and talking playoffs.

Six weeks later, the Bills are alone in last place in the division, sit two games back of the final Wild Card spot in the AFC, and are in grave danger of becoming the first team since the Mike Tice-coached Vikings of 2003 to miss the playoffs after starting a season 4-0.

To add insult to injury (or perhaps the other way around), Buffalo could be without starting quarterback Trent Edwards on Sunday due to a groin injury.

The second-year-pro completed just 10-of-21 passes for 112 yards before exiting against San Francisco, and backup J.P. Losman (11-of-17, 93 yards) wasn't much better in his absence.

Edwards is considered questionable for Sunday, and if he can't go, Losman would make his first start since presiding over a 36-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Nov. 25.

Losman is 10-21 as a starter in parts of five NFL seasons.

Things are much more positive around the visiting Dolphins, who will travel to Canada as a team with an eye on their first postseason berth since 2001.

Miami, which went 1-15 a year ago, moved to 7-5 with last week's less-than- beautiful but still-functional 16-12 win at the St. Louis Rams. The win pulled Tony Sparano's squad into a tie with New England for second place in the AFC East, and the Fins enter Week 14 just a game back of both the final conference Wild Card spot and the first-place Jets in the division.

With a win on Sunday, Miami would be 8-5 heading into a final three-game stretch including games against the 49ers (4-8), Chiefs (2-10), and what could be a monumental season finale against the Jets (8-4) at the Meadowlands.

SERIES HISTORY

Miami leads the all-time regular season series with Buffalo, 50-34-1, including a 25-16 come-from-behind victory when the clubs met in South Florida in Week 8. Prior to that game, the Bills had won seven of the last eight in the series, including four straight. Buffalo swept last year's home-and-home, including a 38-17 home decision when the clubs squared off in Week 14. Miami is 0-4 in series road games since winning at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2003.

Though the Dolphins lead the regular season series, the Bills hold a 3-1 edge in postseason games. Buffalo defeated Miami in a 1990 AFC Divisional Playoff, the 1992 AFC Championship, and a 1995 AFC First-Round Playoff, while the Dolphins were winners in a 1998 AFC First-Round Playoff.

Jauron is 4-2 in his head coaching career against the Dolphins, including a 27-9 loss for his Bears in Miami during the 2002 season. The Dolphins' Tony Sparano is 1-0 against both Jauron and the Bills as a head coach.

WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAVE THE BALL

After a generally prolific first half of the 2008 season, Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington (2881 passing yards, 11 TD, 6 INT) and the team's offense has fallen off the pace a bit of late. Pennington, who threw for 220+ yards in five straight weeks from the end of September to the beginning of November, has now posted fewer than 220 yards in three of his past four games. Pennington's 166-yard day against the Rams, which came on 13-of-23 passing without a touchdown or interception, ranked as his worst in terms of passing yardage since Week 2. It is unclear what long-range impact a recent season- ending knee injury to top wideout Greg Camarillo will have on the aerial attack, though Devone Bess (30 receptions, 1 TD) had a nice game in Camarillo's place last week. Bess caught six balls for 84 yards, while running mate Ted Ginn, Jr. (47 receptions, 1 TD) hauled in four passes for 55 yards. Ginn had his best game of the year against the Bills back in Week 8, catching seven passes for a season-best 175 yards and a touchdown in that win. Both running backs Ronnie Brown (690 rushing yards, 10 TD, 21 receptions) and Ricky Williams (512 rushing yards, 19 receptions, 4 TD) should see some backfield touches on Sunday, one week after combining for 102 yards and a touchdown (by Brown) on 27 carries against the Rams. Williams is a former member of the CFL Toronto Argonauts, and will be appearing at his former home stadium.

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