Workhorse Drake can carry offense no matter weather

DAVIE — Could one of the hottest Dolphins suddenly go cold this weekend?

Kenyan Drake, coming off his second consecutive 100-yard rushing day, doesn’t think so, but until he walks out to warm up in Buffalo on Sunday, he can’t know for sure. See, Drake grew up in Georgia and, as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, he saw infinitely more steamy days than chilly ones while playing an SEC schedule.

“I’ve never played in snow, so that’d be interesting,” Drake said.

Drake

Yes, like everyone else, Drake saw the stunning images of Buffalo’s 13-7 overtime victory over Indianapolis in a driving snowstorm Sunday. The extended forecast for this Sunday has temperatures in the 30s and a good chance of rain, but that beats 6 degrees with the windchill at noon Wednesday, when workers were still shoveling snow from the Bills’ stadium for $11 an hour. It also beats earlier projections of more snow this weekend.

Still, it’s Buffalo and it’s December, so you never know.

“Just seeing it — it’s almost like you see stuff on TV growing up and you’re like, ‘Wow, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to play in it,’ ” Drake said. “Now, it’s reality and you’ve got to, so I feel like we’ll handle the challenge.”

Drake has handled everything else. After setting career highs with 23 carries for 120 yards a week ago against Denver, Drake rushed 25 times for 114 in the 27-20 victory over New England. He’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry the past two weeks after the Dolphins turned to him as their workhorse with Damien Williams injured and Jay Ajayi long gone to Philadelphia.

“No problems at all,” Drake said of how he felt when he woke up Tuesday morning.

Drake also caught five passes for 79 yards against the Patriots, giving him 193 yards from scrimmage while also giving the Bills something to think about.

“Drake, in particular, has been phenomenal,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “He runs hard and he’s playing at a high level, much like their entire offense.”

On one hand, the Bills can be grateful they no longer have to mess with Ajayi, who rushed for 200 yards against them twice last year.

On the other hand, they have to contend with the dual threat and explosiveness of Drake.

“My versatility is something I try to key on,” Drake said. “So making those mismatches against linebackers, safeties, whatever the case may be, just helping this team win in any way possible, is my main goal.”

Drake jump-started the effort with a 26-yard run on the second snap of the game against the Patriots, helping set up a field goal. Looking back, Drake used a word you don’t often hear in the Dolphins’ locker room: perfection.

“We just wanted to execute the game plan and the game plan was executed to perfection from all facets of the game,” Drake said.

Buffalo ranks 27th against the rush, so Drake should get ample opportunity to seek more perfection.

If there is more snow, that might not be a bad thing for Drake. In 2002, Ricky Williams took advantage of slippery conditions to rush for a team-record 228 yards, including touchdowns of 45 and 55 yards, in Miami’s 38-21 loss.

“Ricky Williams was a hell of a player,” Drake said. “He did it, but it’s easier said than done, obviously.”