LeSean McCoy and the Bills have proved everyone wrong with four weeks of domination
Two weeks into the season, it looked like the Buffalo Bills were dead in the water. They were 0-2 and reeling on defense and couldn’t do much offensively. Furthermore, star receiver Sammy Watkins was nowhere near 100 percent.
Since then, the Bills have fired their offensive coordinator Greg Roman, placed Watkins on injured reserve and won four games in a row. Their turnaround has been nothing short of absolutely stunning. Second-year coach Rex Ryan has seemingly saved his job and proved he can rally the troops when needed most.
It’s not as if the Bills are benefiting from an easy schedule, either. On their four-game winning streak, they’ve beaten the Cardinals, Patriots, Rams and 49ers. Those teams have a combined record of 11-12, which isn’t great. However, they’ve won those games by a total score of 124-53, and not one of their wins has been by fewer than 11 points.
So just how are the Bills getting it done? With one of the league’s best rushing attacks … again.
Roman is well-known for boasting some of the best ground games in the NFL. As an offensive coordinator, Roman has never had an offense that ranked outside the top eight in rushing yards. In fact, he’s been in the top five the past five years – three with the 49ers and two with the Bills.
LeSean McCoy and the Bills greatly benefited from his offensive approach last season, leading the NFL in rushing. With McCoy and the offensive line returning again this season, it seemed as though Roman would once again have the Bills dominating on the ground. That clearly wasn’t the case as the offense became stagnant under his command, leading to Ryan’s big change: firing Roman.
Since then, the Bills have been substantially better than they were under Roman. McCoy is running with much better vision and decisiveness, breaking long run after long run. On Sunday, he was spectacular.
Against the 49ers, McCoy rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on just 19 carries. He did so while tweaking his knee in the process, giving Bills fans a serious scare. As a team, the Bills racked up 312 yards on the ground, their most in a game since 1992 when they totaled 315 against the Falcons. Buffalo used a multitude of players to rack up that big total as seven players had rushing attempts. Heck, even backup QB EJ Manuel rushed for 11 yards on three attempts.
In the four weeks since Roman was fired, McCoy has racked up 470 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Outside of Ezekiel Elliott, no running back can match those numbers. Remember, this is all without Roman, one of the best coordinators when it comes to running the ball.
Prior to Roman’s firing, McCoy was averaging 58.5 yards per game and had just one touchdown. He didn’t look anything like himself in the Bills’ offense the first two weeks, and the change has made all the difference. Additionally, quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been playing much better, too. He’s thrown just one interception the past four games compared to six total touchdowns in that span.
The Bills are proving every single doubter wrong, myself included. After starting 0-2 and with a tough schedule staring them in the face, it was hard not to doubt them – especially considering Watkins’ injury and the lack of depth at wide receiver.
McCoy and his 117.5 yards per game over the past four weeks are working wonders, and the Bills appear to be a better team than they were a year ago. Seeing as they led the league in rushing and finished 8-8, they could be in the running for a playoff berth this time around.