Bills ground game has historic breakout in Week 10

#Bills ground game has historic breakout in Week 10:

The Bills are winners once again, bulldozing the Jets on Sunday in a lopsided 45-17 victory following an off-performance against Jacksonville.

While seeking consistency as they prepare for the remainder of their regular-season opponents, the team had a game more like the kind fans have grown accustomed to seeing from Josh Allen and company.

There was also a significant development that stood out during the win, one in an area of offense that has been criticized often over the past year.

The Bills ground game came alive. And they did so in historic fashion.

A week after Josh Allen and the offense failed to make it into the endzone, they did just that and more. While the QB went 21 of 28 for 366 yards and two passing TD’s, it was the personnel that got it done on the ground who turned some heads.

This year’s kickoff return man, McKenzie got in on the action, taking the ball for an eight-yard TD capping a 75 yard, five-possession drive to start the second half. 

Then, also in the third quarter, Matt Breida and Zack Moss joined him, as did Devin Singletary in the fourth quarter, all adding touchdowns of their own.

The four different player carries for scores was a Bills franchise first.

And that wasn’t the only franchise mark set, as the Bills’ total points on the season increased to 280 setting a new team record for the first nine games of a season (278 in 1964.)

In the winning effort, Buffalo’s 54 offensive plays had an average of 9.1 yards for a season-high 489 yards. It was the second-highest single-game yards per play total in team history (9.3 ypp at Seattle on 12/23/2000, 579 yards on 62 plays.)

Hopefully, this encouraging development is a sign of things to come.

Moss and Singletary had previously struggled to perform to the level many have expected. Shaking off some of the rust and criticism, the two third-round picks from consecutive NFL Drafts each made an impact in the final score.

And another name that jumped off the stat sheet paper was Matt Breida’s.

The free-agent signee and former 49er was active for the first time since Week 2. In those first two contests, he only had four carries. On Sunday he had six total carries and two TD’s for 15 yards each, one of which was a first-quarter pass from Allen.

Head coach Sean McDermott spoke complimented their performance. “We ran the ball I thought effectively, in particular in the second half, mostly in the third quarter, ” McDermott said while addressing the media after the game.

He also noted Breida was a part of their plans for Sunday all along. “He [Breida] was gonna be in the plan it was just a matter of how much,” Mcdermott added. “He gave us a spark.”

Josh Allen spoke about how the RB’s speed was a big factor in his ability to make plays.

“He’s able to make one cut and go. You see it in the passing game too,” Allen said alongside Breida during the postgame press conference. “First drive, saw what I saw, darted upfield, and we were on the same page there. This is a guy that hasn’t had many opportunities throughout the year, but he made the most of it today. It was good to see.”

The Bills will now turn their attention towards facing the Indianapolis Colts, against whom they will look to find similar success at home in Orchard Park next Sunday.

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