He didn't score a touchdown like Karlos Williams did… again. He didn't have the longest play from scrimmage. All LeSean McCoy did was keep drives alive long enough to put the offense in position to score points in what wound up being a tight, hard fought victory over the Jets.
McCoy rushed for 112 yards, duplicating his total from just four days prior against Miami, and caught five passes for another 47 yards for his third straight 100-plus yard day from scrimmage. That made him the first Bills player to do so since CJ Spiller's three-game streak in 2012.
"He did a great job in the running game and in the passing game," said Tyrod Taylor. "We were able to connect a couple of times in the air, but more importantly we battled as a team and he continued to keep battling and found a way to win."
McCoy 159 all-purpose yards represented 57 percent of the team's 280-yard total for the game. The Jets defensive front came into the game as the best run defense in the NFL, but Buffalo's feature back averaged almost six yards a carry (5.9 avg.).
He also delivered seven of the team's 13 first downs and seven of the team's 10-longest plays from scrimmage. But McCoy deflected credit to the men blocking for him.
"The guys up front they really took a challenge to it and they showed out," he said. "They really did, they opened up some big holes and made some key blocks on certain yardage and certain downs. To get this win is big. Coach (Greg) Roman had some awesome calls and we really made plays when we needed to."
One of McCoy's bigger plays was one of his shorter runs. With the team facing a 3rd-and-2 at the two-minute warning in the first half the give was to McCoy off right end. He took his run outside to the boundary, but seeing all the pursuit McCoy ducked, dodged, dipped, then cut the run all the way back across the flow of the defense leaving seven defenders in his wake before making a four-yard gain and a key conversion.
Six plays later Dan Carpenter booted a 41-yard field goal through as the half expired.
McCoy, who sets a high standard for himself wasn't happy with a few of his carries when he got bottled up.
"On some of them to be honest I wish I had them back," he said. "I feel like if I ran a little different… I feel like on a couple of runs there was too much dancing. Later in the game I was just looking to hit it, hit it, hit it. It's hard you see so much space and I'm used to just going the distance. Overall this offense especially the running game really ran well.
Buffalo's rushing total of 148 yards was a season high allowed by the Jets top ranked run defense.
"They're an excellent front seven, that's for sure," said Eric Wood of the Jets defensive front. "It was tough sledding early, we were able to pop a few and we stuck with it. Eventually we were able to get it going."
"They made some plays defensively," McCoy said. "They closed down some gaps and extra yards and actually played well so give them some credit."
Finally healthy McCoy is filling the role Buffalo's coaching staff envisioned for him right after he was acquired through a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. McCoy serves as the engine of the offense. He makes defenders miss, fits through the smallest of creases and moves the chains. And every so often he'll bust off a long scoring run.
The Bills offense to their credit was not the least bit intimidated to be facing the league's best run front. After all they came into the game with the league's number two rushing attack.
"Going into this game we had a bunch of check with me stuff in the run game at the line based on the different fronts that we saw in our film study and just preparation," said Tyrod Taylor. "So we spent a lot of time on that even in a short week. We spent a lot of time with Coach Roman just to get our offense into the right runs. We had to go out there and run the ball and we did it."
With McCoy leading the way.
