It's not the kind of single-season statistic that quarterbacks are often gunning for, including Tyrod Taylor. But the Bills quarterback has always said he will do whatever it takes to win. With two games to play Taylor has a chance to eclipse an all-time franchise mark set by Doug Flutie.
Taylor is just 26 rushing yards short of Flutie's single-season rushing record by a Bills quarterback that he set back in 1999. That season Flutie, in 15 starts, rushed for 476 yards and a touchdown during the team's 11-5 campaign.
Coming off last week's game when Taylor ran for a career-high 79 yards on nine carries, the Bills quarterback now has 450 rushing yards on the season, good for second on the team. Some of his runs last Sunday were scrambles off broken plays, but there were also designed runs out of the read option.
"We had some designed runs for Tyrod and we did want him to start escaping the pocket more," said head coach Rex Ryan. "He does have that escapability and I was happy to see the way he created and made plays for us and keep drives going."
Five of Taylor's nine runs went for first downs and he also ran for a two-point conversion last Sunday.
"A couple of those were screen plays that the defense did a good job of getting in front of the screen, and I can't throw the ball down field, so I make a play with my legs," said Taylor. "There were a couple of times with the way they were rushing, the passing lanes, I had to make a play with my feet. It was just something that I had to do to keep the chains moving."
Taylor also has a chance to post a single-season best in team history in passer rating. His current mark of 101.8 would be a franchise best just ahead of Jim Kelly's 1990 season (101.2).
He's also just one big play shy of the team mark for most pass plays of 25 yards or more in a season. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jim Kelly are tied for franchise record with 29. Taylor has 28 with two games to play.
