Despite being held to a stingy 2.6 yards per carry on 43 attempts in yesterday's season-ending, 22-17 win over the New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills end the 2015 NFL regular season with the league's top-ranked rushing attack.
The Bills averaged 152 rushing yards per game this season, a clean 10 yards per game more than the second-ranked Carolina Panthers, who were the only team to average more rushes per game (32.9) than the Bills (31.8) this season. Buffalo's 2,432 team rushing yards paced the league, as did their per-carry attempt average of 4.8 yards (tied with Tampa Bay) and 19 total rushing touchdowns (tied with Carolina and Kansas City).
Buffalo's ground game was paced by Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 895 yards and three touchdowns despite missing four games due to injury. First-year starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor pitched in with 568 yards and four scores himself; his yardage total ranked second in the NFL among quarterbacks, trailing just Cam Newton (636 yards, 10 touchdowns).
Karlos Williams was the Bills' third 500-yard rusher, gaining 517 yards and a team-leading seven rushing touchdowns despite logging just 91 carries in an injury-riddled rookie season. Late-season addition Mike Gillislee padded the stat line with 267 yards and three touchdowns on 47 carries spread out over the final month of the season, as well. Little-used runners EJ Manuel and Boobie Dixon also ran for touchdowns for the Bills in 2015.
The @buffalobills now have three players with more than 500 rushing yards (Tyrod, Karlos, Shady) for the first time since 1962.
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) January 3, 2016
We knew the Bills would be a run-heavy offense from the moment that Rex Ryan and Greg Roman were hired as coaches last January, and that proved to be the case this year. And, indeed, the Bills improved drastically in this category, as they finished just 25th with 92.6 yards per game (at 3.7 yards per carry) in 2014, the last year of Doug Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett. You can safely bet that the Bills will continue to be a run-heavy offense heading into the 2016 season, as well.