Coming into Sunday's game, most of the conversation centered on Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense. By the time the game was over, everybody was talking about LeSean McCoy.
McCoy finished with three touchdowns and 140 yards rushing, helping the Bills score the most points in a game since 2010 and propelling the team to its best rushing performance since 1992.
The 49ers came into the game 31st in rush defense, and the Bills were able to exploit their weaknesses right from the start.
By halftime, McCoy had 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries. He punched in a four-yard touchdown and an eight-yard touchdown, in addition to a 38-yard rush that ended only after he collided downfield with Robert Woods.
"He's phenomenal," Bills center Eric Wood said. "He's a great back. The longer we play with him, the more comfortable we are all getting with each other's style. And he is hitting it right now. He is hitting holes and playing extremely well."
However, with 30 seconds left before the half, McCoy gave his team quite a scare. Tyrod Taylor hit McCoy with a two-yard pass in the middle of the field, but McCoy's was submarined by San Francisco linebacker Nick Bellore, and his foot got stuck in the turf and his knee twisted awkwardly. He immediately went to the ground. It looked like he had suffered a serious knee injury, but McCoy was able to walk off the field under his own power.
"My heart dropped. I might have shed a couple of tears, but luckily he was alright," Jerome Felton said. "I think it just scared him a little bit, but thankfully he was alright."
McCoy returned on the Bills first drive of the second half. "A few plays it felt a little gimpy, but as the game went on and the adrenaline was pumping, I was fine," McCoy said.
McCoy finished with only 34 yards in the second half, but he added an 18-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The Bills replaced McCoy with eight minutes to go in the blowout victory.
Sunday's game was the third time in McCoy's career that he has had three touchdowns, and his first since 2011, when he led the NFL in touchdowns.
For the Bills, it was the first time the team has had a running back score three touchdowns in a game since Willis McGahee did it against the Seahawks in 2004.
"He's just very dynamic," Taylor said. "I've said this before. Whether it's in the running game or the passing game, he's a playmaker. He wants the ball and when he gets the ball he knows what to do with it and he can create plays. Some of those plays he made out there from the backfield position, there are only one or two guys, maybe just him who can do that in the National Football League. I'm glad to have him behind me and glad to be on the team with him fighting each and every day."
In total, the Bills had 312 yards rushing, which were the most since Buffalo had 315 against the Atlanta Falcons in 1992. The franchise record is 366, set in 1978.
"I'm trying to be like the Bills of the 90s," McCoy said.
Even after he was subbed out late, the running game didn't miss a beat. Mike Gillislee tacked on a 44-yard touchdown run and rookie Jonathan Williams had some touches as well. McCoy credits that to the play of the Bills offensive line.
"If you want to give any game balls out, you give it to the offensive line," McCoy said. "They made my job real easy. Every once in a while, I made a guy miss or shed a tackle here or there. Other than that, they did great. They are on a big roll, and I'm just going to ride that train."
McCoy added that the offense knew exactly what to expect from the 49ers defense. Buffalo wanted its running backs to get to the second-level of that defense, and they did.
McCoy now has 290 rushing yards over his last two games. For the season, he has 587 yards and six rushing touchdowns. He had three all of last season.
McCoy was criticized in the offseason for his subpar play and some off-the-field mistakes, but that is in the past now.
"Talking to LeSean, he was really disappointed (with) how he played last year," Rex Ryan said. "And I've told him several times, like all of us here in Buffalo, we think, 'Hey man, you've played great.' And he's like, 'No, I can play better.' And I guess he was right but we would have been happy with how he played last year. But he was driven, he wants to win, and he wants to be the best player he possibly can be and he's in great shape."
McCoy is again looking like the running back that led the league in rushing with the Eagles in 2013. He is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and has shown the explosiveness and cuts that have again made him a back that teams have to build their entire defensive game plans around. He says that the conversation should be on the Bills offense as a whole, and not just him.
"We do so much I think for offense in the running game for sure," McCoy said. "It can be at you, around you, misdirection, option, power, fake, I mean our quarterback can run. We have a lot, so when you prepare for us, you have a lot to prepare for. You know we have the athletes to get into open space, and then it's tough to tackle."
