Bills could be without McCoy vs. Jags
Could the Bills be without their most dangerous offensive weapon when they travel to Jacksonville on Sunday to play the Jaguars in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs?
Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals helped lift the Bills into the playoffs by upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday but Buffalo could be without its biggest star.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports LeSean McCoy (ankle) will be a “game-time decision” for Sunday’s Wild Card matchup with the Jaguars. MCoy left Sunday’s Week 17 game against the Dolphins with a sprained ankle and did not return. In fact, he was carted off the field in the third quarter but fortunately his X-rays came back negative.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Jaguars are now 9-point home favorites to beat the Bills, who opened as a 7.5-point underdog on Sunday evening. The total, meanwhile, has dropped to 39.5 after hitting the board at 40. As of this writing, 52% of betting tickets are on the Bills, which is somewhat surprising given McCoy’s health.
If McCoy is healthy, then the Bills could take advantage of a Jaguars defense that allows 4.5 yards per rush, which ranks 29th in the NFL in that category. If they struggle to move the ball on the ground, good luck to Tyrod Taylor trying to move the ball against the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL through 16 weeks.
Either way, it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Bills to move the ball without a healthy McCoy. Buffalo has the NFL’s third-worst offense per DVOA and McCoy accounted for more than 32% of the Bills’ yards this season (which is the third highest percentage in the NFL according to Sports Insights). For the Bills to move the ball, they’ll need to force a turnover or two and play exceptional defense.