Getty Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary gets taken down during Buffalo's Week 8 matchup with the New England Patriots.
At the start of the game on Sunday at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, the winds were whipping, rain was coming down and the elements weren’t great for what the Buffalo Bills offense has been this year.
The Bills needed to become more than just a passing team on Sunday and they did just that as they squeaked out a 24-21 win over the New England Patriots.
Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and Josh Allen rushed for a combined 190 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, including Moss scoring the first two rushing touchdowns of his NFL career. It was the type of spark that the Bills offense needed after primarily being a passing team through the first seven weeks of the season and they knew they needed to get it going sooner or later.
“We were winning doing what we were doing through the first few weeks of the season,” Singletary said during his post-game press conference. “But, they say it’s time for real football between November and February, so I think that played a big part in it also as far as getting the run game going today,”
Buffalo’s rushing total of 190 yards and three touchdowns were its highest marks of the 2020 season and it also shows that the Bills can be more than just a passing team. With two young running backs in Singletary and Moss, along with a mobile quarterback in Allen, the Bills need to be able to run the ball in order to keep teams honest and they knew that going into Sunday.
“We play in Buffalo and this isn’t the last time we are going to have weather like this,” Allen said in his post game press conference. “We have to be able to run the ball when the other team knows we are going to run it. So, we have to continue to keep working hard and find ways to keep moving the ball, whether it’s through the air or on the ground.”
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Run Game Succeeds With a Little Help
It wasn’t just the two running backs and the quarterback that helped jump start the running game on Sunday though. The Bills got lineman Jon Feliciano back in the lineup, but did lose center Mitch Morse to a concussion on the first offensive drive of the game.
Feliciano brings a different type of energy to the offensive line and it showed on Sunday. He started the game at left guard but after Morse left the game, he moved to center and Ike Boettger took over at left guard.
“He was huge, in the run game especially, and you saw it on the first touchdown run with Zack, just the relentlessness of him trying to pull him (Moss) and drag him into the end zone,” Allen said. “It’s the toughness that he brings and the communication aspect, he was called to play left guard, and then he had to go to center. He stepped up and made some plays for us.”
While the Bills have been that pass happy team this season, heading into Sunday, Singletary said that there was a big emphasis on the running game in practice all week long. That preparation showed against the Patriots as the Bills had big run after big run and McDermott couldn’t be prouder of the way Feliciano and the rest of the offensive line contributed to that success.
“Jon is a big part of what we try to do here and he’s certainly a big part of the offensive line and we haven’t had him and I think that added to our identity today,” McDermott said in his post game press conference. “It’s never one guy though, I’m just incredibly proud of the offensive line and now we have to do it again because it has to be a consistent thing and a consistent mindset more than anything.”
Feliciano Talks Importance of Return
At the beginning of the season, Feliciano was placed on the injured reserve after suffering a pec injury and having to undergo surgery. He missed the first seven games of the season but according to his teammates, he had been working extremely hard to get back onto the field sooner rather than later.
Sunday was his coming out party for the 2020 season and although the Bills beat the Patriots at home for the first time in nine years, Feliciano said it was going to be an emotional game for him no matter what.
“It was obviously bigger than the game itself for me, regardless of who the opponent was,” Feliciano said in his post game press conference. “The grind that it took to get back here, two surgeries and there were a lot of things that made it a big game for me.”
Feliciano not only brings a sense of leadership on the line, but he also brings a different type of energy that gives the Bills an extra sense of toughness to allow them to establish a running game. He says that’s just the way he plays and hopes that it would rub off on the guys next to him.
“I just want to do all I can to help the Buffalo Bills organization win and hopefully I’m here for a long time and we can just keep grinding it out,” Feliciano said.
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