McCoy tops milestone as Bills move closer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With his personal chase for 10,000 career yards rushing out of the way, LeSean McCoy can turn his focus on reaching an even better destination: the playoffs.
McCoy scored twice and became the 30th player to hit 10,000, while keeping the Buffalo Bills firmly in the AFC playoff picture following a 24-16 win over the Miami Dolphins yesterday.
“I’m happy it’s done,” McCoy said of his personal accomplishment. “Now I look forward to trying to get in these playoffs. We took care of business today.”
Tyrod Taylor showed no signs of a bruised left knee that sidelined him for one game. The quarterback went 17-of-29 for 224 yards passing and a touchdown. He added 42 yards rushing and scored on a 9-yard scamper in a game Buffalo never trailed.
On defense, Buffalo intercepted Jay Cutler to end Miami’s first two possessions of the second half. Then, rookie Tre’Davious White sealed the win with an interception with 28 seconds remaining — and a play after Miami punter Matt Haack recovered an onside kick at Miami’s 37.
The loss all but mathematically eliminated Miami (6-8) from playoff contention.
Buffalo improved to 8-6 to match the team’s best record through 14 games during the team’s 17-year playoff drought — the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.
Buffalo’s 6-2 home record was its best finish at Orchard Park since 1999.
The Bills hit the road, closing the season at the Patriots on Christmas Eve and at Miami on Dec. 31.
Frustration began to settle in for the Dolphins. They were undone by familiar inconsistencies at quarterback and on defense, while looking nothing like the team that stunned the Pats 27-20 on Monday night.
“We just made too many mistakes,” Ndamukong Suh said of a defense that allowed the Bills to convert 7-of-15 third-down opportunities after limiting its past two opponents to convert 1-of-24.
McCoy opened the scoring with a 4-yard run to cap Buffalo’s opening drive. Then, he put Buffalo up 14-6 with a 16-yard catch with 6:05 left in the second quarter on a drive during which McCoy became the 30th player to break the 10,000-yard rushing milestone.
The ninth-year player reached the plateau with a 14-yard burst off right guard. He scored two plays later. McCoy finished with 50 yards rushing, upping his career total to 10,011, and had four catches for 46 yards.
“If I would’ve told you guys we’re going to be 6-2 at home back in August, I think you guys would have laughed at us,” said guard Richie Incognito. “No one’s laughing now. We’re cruising, man. All eyes on the prize.”