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Ground game carries the load again

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The Bills exceeded even their own expectations on the ground Sunday.

Facing the 31st-ranked rush defense, Buffalo was able to have their success, rushing for 280 yards and punching in three rushing touchdowns.

The 280 yards were the second-most on the season, only behind the 313 yards Buffalo had against San Francisco in Week 6.

The Bills had four players with over 30 rushing yards, and set some individual and team milestones in the process.

LeSean McCoy had another MVP caliber game, totaling 153 yards on the ground on just 19 carries. He got things going early, with 44 yards on the team's first drive, and had 91 yards by halftime.

McCoy went over 1,000 yards in a season for the fifth time in his career, and ran for over 100 yards in a game for the sixth time this season. That is the most for a Bills running back since Fred Jackson had six such games in 2011.

After the game, his teammates were still in awe of another dominating McCoy performance.

"Where do I start," tight end Charles Clay asked about the feature back's performance. "Probably his ability to set up the block. I say it's second to none to anybody in the league the way he can just maneuver defenders. Obviously the quickness and the shiftiness is well-documented, but that's probably the biggest thing I noticed."

"He is awesome," center Ryan Groy said. "He is the kind of guy that is working out there all the time, and he gets you going. He get so excited out there on the sidelines and on the field. We feed off of that. When he gets going busting off nine, 10-yard runs, it gets you excited, gets you wanting to keep grinding these guys down."

McCoy added a three-yard and an eight-yard touchdown run to give him 12 on the season. McCoy's second touchdown of the afternoon set the new franchise mark for rushing touchdowns in a season with 27. The previous record was 26 set by the 1975 Bills with O.J. Simpson in the backfield.

"We are nothing like the Juice (Simpson) as far as playing ball... so it's definitely cool," McCoy said. "I think records are meant to be broken and you always just try to do your best. When you have a line like that, it makes life easier for the backs. I'm excited to be here."

McCoy wasn't the only one to get in on the rushing fun on Sunday. The Bills were creative in their play calling, featuring several direct snaps and an end around.

Mike Gillislee scored the game's first touchdown on a three-yard run in the first quarter. That was his 10th career rushing touchdown, and seventh of the season.

The longest rush of the game belonged to Brandon Tate, who took an end around from Gillislee on a direct snap for 30 yards.

Gillislee continued to add onto his impressive season, contributing nine carries for 37 yards on Sunday.

The duo of McCoy and Gillislee has been nearly unstoppable when both are healthy this season.

"McCoy's out there razzling and dazzling," Incognito said. "He's got a good feel for it. Then we've got 'Touchdown Mike' who's a great change of pace guy for us. Everything was rolling."

Per usual, Tyrod Taylor was a threat with his legs running from the pocket. He picked up 49 yards on the ground to pass Jim Kelly for the second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in team history. He needs 89 yards to pass Joe Ferguson for the most in team history.

The NFL's number one rushing offense controlled the clock and wore down Cleveland's defense. The Bills had a 10-minute edge on time of possession and ran 17 more plays than the Browns did on their way to place exactly the way they wanted to.

After McCoy's second touchdown, he gave the ball to Incognito for him to spike it. It was just a small token of McCoy's appreciation for an offensive line that has paved the way for the NFL's number one rushing attack, and a way for McCoy to try to bring the team together in what has been a trying couple of weeks.

"Just a thank you, because they've been blocking great all year," McCoy said. "There was so much heat going on about our coach, about the team, this and that. We talked a lot about just going out there and dominating. It's a game we should win, well let's play like it. A lot of times on paper a team is supposed to win, so we wanted to come out here and actually showcase that."

 
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