Buffalo Bills: The sad state of the running game in 2018
The Buffalo Bills have been nearly nonexistent in the running game through four games. That is a problem that must be addressed right away.
Just how bad have the Buffalo Bills been on the ground in 2018? Josh Allen leads the team with 116 rushing yards through four games.
It seemed obvious that the offense would run through LeSean McCoy throughout the 2018 season. That has not been the case through four games.
McCoy has appeared in three games and has racked up only 85 yards on 21 carries. Those would be average numbers for one game. For three games, that is just unacceptable.
But it’s not like McCoy is getting a lot of opportunities. The most carries he has had in a single game is nine, which came in the Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He did miss the big win against the Minnesota Vikings, when Chris Ivory finished with 20 carries.
Ivory was another name brought up often as a key part of the offense, and he only has 81 yards on 31 carries. Marcus Murphy follows with 70 yards on 17 carries.
The quarterback leading the team in rushing is fine if it is a player like Cam Newton and the running is a designed part of the offense. It is not a good sign when the quarterback hasn’t even appeared in every game and there is a star running back on the roster.
The Bills clearly have a lot of problems on offense. It is easy to say that the backs should just get more carries but when the team keeps getting into early deficits, it is natural to start relying on the passing game. That is even more true when the offensive line is struggling.
I’m not sure if there is an easy solution for this problem. Brian Daboll most likely wants to run the ball more, especially with McCoy in the backfield. It’s just not that easy when the team is trailing by double-digits early in the second half, or even the first half.
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The good news is that it has only been four games. The mistakes made so far can be corrected, hopefully, and Daboll can come up with a way for the running game to be more than just Allen scrambling when his protection breaks down.