Bills Replay
Bills backs live up to ‘beast’ reputation
Running backs take pride in not going down after initial contact with defenders. The Bills have two guys who do it as well as anyone in the NFL.
Marshawn Lynch describes his determined running style and physical attitude as going into “Beast Mode.” We don’t know if backup Fred Jackson has a name for his own hard-driving approach, but whatever it is, it works.
Lynch (20 carries for 79 yards) and Jackson (nine carries for 56 yards) set the tone for the Bills’ offensive outburst in Sunday’s 54-31 thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs.
There is no official statistic for running backs gaining yards after contact, but if there were, Lynch and Jackson would be among the leaders.
They’re not just threats when getting the handoff. They are also good receivers and great outlets for quarterback Trent Edwards because of their ability to turn short catches into long gains.
“They are both very athletic, as you’ve seen, as we’ve all seen,” head coach Dick Jauron said. “They do run really good routes and they do catch the ball well most of the time. Everybody has their drops, and they’re included in that, but once they get it in their hands, they are formidable runners. It’s a weapon we planned on using, that we’re using, that we’re learning how to use more and more and more effectively. We feel very fortunate to have the two of them.”
Seven plays on the Bills’ first possession were prime examples of Lynch’s and Jackson’s tackle-busting talent:
First-and-15 at the Bills’ 34- yard line: Lynch takes a sweep to the left and is grabbed by Chiefs DE Tamba Hali at the line of scrimmage. But
Lynch carries Hali and LB Rocky Boiman 5 yards before going down. Total gain: 5 yards. Yards after contact: 5.
Second-and-10 at the Bills’ 39: Lynch catches a short pass in the right flat at 40-yard line. CB Brandon Flowers is set for the tackle, but Lynch delivers a jolting stiff arm and escapes down the sideline. FS Jarrad Page dives and gets enough of a shove to knock Lynch off balance at the 42, but Lynch tightropes the sideline and doesn’t go out of bounds until he reaches the Chiefs’ 48. Total gain: 13 yards. Yards after contact: 12.
First-and-10 at the Chiefs’ 48: Lynch bursts through a hole created by great blocking by his offensive line. He’s 5 yards up the field before being grabbed by SS Bernard Pollard at the 43. Lynch almost gets away but falls forward at the Chiefs’ 37. Total gain: 11 yards. Yards after contact: 6.
First-and-10 at the Chiefs’ 37: Jackson leaks out of backfield and turns around at the line of scrimmage. Edwards has TE Derek Schouman open to his left, but dumps the pass off to Jackson, who makes the catch at the 35. He turns and is face-to-face with Boiman. Jackson fakes to his right, which gets Boiman off balance. Boiman gets a hand on Jackson at the 32, but can’t hold on. Jackson takes a hit from LB Derrick Johnson and Page at the 27, but they need three more guys before Jackson goes to the ground at the Chiefs’ 23. Total gain: 14 yards. Yards after contact: 9.
First-and-10 at the Chiefs’ 23: Jackson takes the handoff, runs left and then cuts back to the middle behind RT Langston Walker, who caved in that side of the line and WR Lee Evans, who seals off Hali. Jackson isn’t touched until CB Brandon Carr grabs him at the 13. Carr can’t bring Jackson down, but slows him up enough for Page to wrestle Jackson down at the 8. Total gain: 15 yards. Yards after contact: 5.
First-and-goal at the 8: Lynch toward the middle of the line and breaks outside as TE Derek Fine and Walker have sealed off the right side. Lynch cuts inside of a nice block by WR Josh Reed. Pollard sheds Reed’s block and lunges at Lynch’s legs. Pollard makes the hit at the 4, but Lynch falls forward to the 2. Total gain: 6 yards. Yards after contact: 2.
Fourth-and-goal at the 1: A good lead block by FB Corey McIntyre helps, but Lynch also powers through a couple of tacklers and stretches the ball across the goal line for a touchdown. Total yards: 1. Yards after contact: 1.
Lynch and Jackson accounted for all 61 yards on the drive. A whopping 40 came after encountering a defender. They weren’t finished.
On the Bills’ next drive, they had a third-and-2 at the Chiefs’ 20. Dockery and C Duke Preston bury defenders and LT Jason Peters jams up another. The crease is small, but Lynch pops through. Boiman seems to have a good hold of Lynch’s right leg at the 15, but Lynch gets away. He cuts back inside off a nice downfield block by TE Derek Fine at the 10. Carr chases Lynch down at the 7 and wraps up, but Lynch keeps fighting and carries Carr inside the 5. Carr hangs on and finally spins Lynch down at the 3. Total gain: 17 yards. Yards after contact: 12.
On a draw play in the third quarter, Lynch breaks through a hole and collides with two defenders a yard shy of the first down. He spins away and is hit by another Chief. But Lynch’s legs never stop moving and he carries to defenders 2 yards past the first down marker. Total gain: 7 yards. Yards after contact: 3.
On the same drive, Jackson swings out of the backfield on third-and-7 and catches a pass in the flat. He’s still behind the line of scrimmage when Carr goes low and grabs Jackson’s left leg. But Carr can’t hold on. Jackson lowers his head as he smashes into three defenders and goes down a yard shy of the first down. Total gain: 6 yards. Yards after contact: 7.
The Bills use the Wildcat formation on fourth-and-1. Lynch takes the direct snap and gets hit a yard behind the line of scrimmage and suddenly disappears briefly under a mass of bodies. Everyone goes to the ground except Lynch, who regains his balance and lunges forward to get the first down with room to spare. Total gain: 4 yards. Yards after contact: 5.
Lynch was so hard to stop that after a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter, he was drilled late by Pollard, who was called for unnecessary roughness. That was about the only way the Chiefs slowed Lynch or Jackson down all day.
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