The Buffalo Bills already have Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry in their rear-view mirror. But one just as good, potentially even better, might be on deck.
The Bills (6-3) host the Indianapolis Colts (5-5) and running back Jonathan Taylor on Sunday in Week 11.
Overshadowed by Henry a bit in terms of the ranking of the NFL’s best rusher? Likely yes, but Taylor is very good.
On Wednesday, Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer said he might even put Taylor in the same tier as Henry.
“A guy who runs extremely hard,” Poyer said via video conference. “Probably the hardest runner we’ve seen all season, breaks a lot of tackles.”
The architect of the Bills defense, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott went a step further. The coach chuckled a bit during his explanation of Taylor’s game, almost realizing he sounds like he’s constructing the perfect running back in a lab.
“The running game, I think, is tops in the NFL,” McDermott said via video conference. “If you could build a back that way… he’s got size, power vision, balance, home run speed. You don’t always… it’s hard to find that all, all those traits in one back. He’s got ’em all.”
Poyer went on to explain that Henry and Taylor have both similar and different traits about their game. Fans will notice these pretty quickly on Sunday.
“Derrick Henry is a big, big guy, not saying that Jonathan Taylor isn’t, but Jonathan Taylor is a little bit faster, a little more center of gravity, breaks a lot of tackles,” Poyer said. “They do some things similar, but Jonathan Taylor is a very good running back. We’re going to have to play well.”
Taylor currently leads the NFL in rushing, but there again is another way he is similar to Henry. The two are tied at the top of the league’s rushing chart with 937.
Henry hasn’t played since injury struck after Week 8 and he’ll be out an extensive period. However, Taylor has 161 less rushing attempts compared to Henry’s 219.
Regardless, Poyer and McDermott have plenty of reason to talk so highly about Taylor. He also has a highly touted offensive line in front of him in Indianapolis.
But for all the numbers that can be pulled out, the wins and losses are the only ones that really truly matter.
And speaking of which, Indy’s record is directly connected to Taylor as well.
In the five games he has rushed for over 100 yards? The Colts have won them all. In their five losses, Taylor has been held under the century mark.
It’s pretty easy to see who the Bills will be focusing on this weekend.
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