THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO -- The Buffalo Bills' paper-thin playoff hopes now rest on the shoulders of backup quarterback J.P. Losman.

Starter Trent Edwards missed his third straight practice Friday due to a groin injury sustained in last weekend's 10-3 home loss to San Francisco. So Losman will make his first start of the season Sunday when the struggling Bills host the upstart Miami Dolphins in a historic contest at Rogers Centre.

It will be the first-ever NFL regular-season game played in Canada and second of eight the Bills will play in Toronto through the 2012 season. The first was a 24-21 exhibition loss to Pittsburgh in August.

Unlike that game -- which was roughly 5,000 fans short of the Rogers Centre 54,000-seat capacity for football -- event organizers have called Sunday's contest a sellout. Buffalo will be the home team and has a 7-2 all-time home record after Dec. 1 -- including two playoff wins -- against Miami but won't have Mother Nature on its side this time as Rogers Centre is a domed facility.

And Miami could find itself the team of choice Sunday. News the Bills were playing games in Toronto irked many Western New York football fans because they felt it was the first step in Buffalo re-locating to southern Ontario.

Then there's the money factor. The average Toronto ticket price is C$183, substantially more than the Bills' average ticket at Ralph Wilson Stadium (NFL-low US$51.24). What's more, the Rogers Centre games weren't included in the Bills' season-ticket packages, meaning those wishing to attend have to dig deep into their pockets to do so.

Sunday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for Miami running back Ricky Williams, who spent the '06 season with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts while under suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy.

Losman, whose last NFL start was Nov. 25, 2007 versus Jacksonville, was 11-of-17 passing for 93 yards in relief of Edwards last weekend. It was only the third appearance this season for the five-year veteran, a former first-round draft pick and Bills starter who is in the final year of his deal with the NFL club.

"It's exciting," said Losman. "I know when I got to play last week it was fun.

"I was having fun out there, having a good time."

Miami (7-5) is looking for its sixth win in seven games after posting a dismal 1-15 record last season. The Dolphins beat Buffalo 25-16 in Florida on Oct. 26 and can earn their first season sweep of the Bills since '03.

Buffalo (6-6) is last in the AFC East having lost five of six games after opening the season with four straight wins. The Bills haven't qualified for post-season play since 1999 and at the very least must win all four of their remaining games to have any chance of ending that drought.

Dolphins cornerback Andre Goodman said Losman's mobility and willingness to throw the deep ball are elements a defence must respect.

"Losman is a guy who's going to wait for the receivers to get open downfield so he's going to hold it a little bit longer," he said. "He does have the ability to scramble so you have to be careful with your pass rushing and make sure you don't get out of your lanes.

"He's a little bit more of a threat."

Losman's running ability certainly won't hurt, considering the presence of Joey Porter, the Dolphins' outspoken veteran linebacker who's second in the NFL with 14.5 sacks.

Despite Losman's limited playing time, Bills coach Dick Jauron said he won't be tweaking the team's offence to accommodate Losman.

"Obviously he hasn't had the playing time this year," Jauron said. "But he's got a lot of field experience, he's been out there.

"We certainly have a lot of confidence in J.P. He's got experience ... and he's proven he can win in the league."

Gibran Hamdan is expected to be Losman's backup Sunday. If Edwards dresses, he will serve as the club's emergency quarterback.

Cornerback Jabari Greer (knee) and defensive end Aaron Schobel (foot) won't play Sunday. Ryan Denney replaces Schobel while rookie Leodis McKelvin takes Greer's place in the secondary.

Safety Donte Whitner (shoulder) was listed as questionable but is expected to start Sunday. So too is running back Marshawn Lynch (back spasms), who was listed as probable.

Miami will have a significant injury of its own to deal with.

Left guard Jason Smiley won't play against Buffalo after suffering a broken leg in last weekend's 16-12 win over St. Louis. Andy Alleman, a six-foot-four, 310-pound sophomore in his first year with the Dolphins, will make his first NFL start.

Smiley's injury came a week after receiver Greg Camarillo went down with a season-ending knee injury against New England.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano expects Buffalo to try and take advantage of Smiley's absence.

"Yeah, I would expect that they would try to attack us in some of those areas," he said. "I would expect that they would try a few more games, line stunts, they like to walk people up and confuse you a little bit, some of those kind of things.

"I would expect that they would try to exploit him (Alleman) and just see exactly what he knows and how he responds to it."

Losman has completed 26-of-38 passes this season (68.4 per cent) for 313 yards with a touchdown and interception. However, he has been sacked eight times.

Losman has enjoyed some success against Miami. In four career games versus the Dolphins, he has seven TD strikes against just two interceptions.

The six-foot-two, 212-pound Losman believes having taken all the first-team reps this week should make for a seamless transition for the Bills offence.

"For everybody, them hearing my voice, cadence, calling the plays, everything," he said. "Everything is going to be much, much better, more fluid if a quarterback is able to prepare himself one week, knowing he's the guy."

The Bills' playoff aspirations might be on the line, but receiver Lee Evans also believes this is an important audition for Losman.

"Oh yeah, no doubt," he said. "You never really know what the future holds, so regardless if it is here or somewhere else, it's a chance for him to come out here and play and show everybody, the rest of the league, not just us, what he can do.

"We all know what J.P. likes to do, he likes to move around and let it go down the field a little bit. I'm sure he'll step up and take advantage of his opportunity. I'm excited to see him play and excited to see what he's going to do."