This past Sunday the Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime, capping off the greatest playoff game in NFL history. With three go-ahead touchdowns in the last two minutes and 998 total offensive yards, it’s safe to say that these two teams are set to be fierce rivals in the AFC for the foreseeable future. Based on the statistics their passing offenses are comparable, but the Bills one dimensional rushing offense could not compete with the Chief’s dynamic rushing attack. Using a variety of players, the Chiefs amassed 182 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on 6.7 yards per carry, while the Bills only had 109 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 4.5 yards per carry.
Josh Allen accounted for 68 of the Bills’ 109 yards on the ground. Outside of Allen, the Bills have no power run game to rely on when the passing game doesn’t work. Devin Singletary is not elite enough to be a true starting running back on a championship roster, and his limitations were exposed against the Chiefs. Singletary got a push from the offensive line into the endzone for a 1-yard run in the first quarter, but failed to produce anything substantial after that, posting a meager 26 yards on 2.6 yards per carry. The fact is, the Bills need an elite running back for the 2022 season if they want a chance to win the Super Bowl.
Buffalo’s General Manager Brandon Beane stated that the organization is looking to improve their run blocking for 2022. He believes that this will be the solution to their shortcomings in the playoffs, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Singletary has failed to amass more than 1000 rushing yards or 10 rushing touchdowns in a season after three years in the league and lacks elite playmaking ability.
Singletary fans might say that his lack of production is due to lack of volume, since he has never carried the ball over 200 times in a single season. However, a closer look at what he did with those carries proves that he is far from becoming a star running back. He is shifty when he has blocking and spacing on the outside, but he lacks the power to run between the tackles. As an inside runner, he is unable to produce consistently. This season he averaged 2.78 yards after contact, making him the 28th best running back in that category. Against stacked fronts, he averages 1.7 yards per attempt, making him the 60th best running back in that category. Those rankings on par with second or third string running backs, not a 3-down workhorse that can anchor a playoff team.
His inability to power run becomes even more apparent in the red zone. He averaged only 2.71 yards per attempt in the red zone this season and received only 4 goal line carries out of 56 total for the Bills this season. The numbers show that even though he is effective when given space, he is not a reliable power back unlike every other elite, championship-calibre running back in the league.
Additionally, his athletic potential is simply non-existent. At 5 foot 7 with a 4.6 40-yard dash, he is the least athletic running back in the league on paper. You can teach vision, but you can’t teach athleticism, and because he lacks athletic potential, he has already reached his ceiling. If the Bills want to win a championship, they must acquire a running back with both power and speed. A running back that is shifty and can run between the tackles.
In my opinion, their best option would be Carolina running back Christian McCaffery. He has shown time and time again that he is the ultimate swiss army knife at running back. At 6 feet tall and 205 pounds, he is strong enough to run between the tackles effectively. Yet, he is shifty enough to be an effective receiving option no matter what formation you put him in. In his last full season, he had a total of 2392 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns. That year, he was one of three players in NFL history to have 1000 rushing yards and 1000 receiving yards in the same season. Adding him to the roster would easily make the Bills offense just as dynamic, if not more dynamic, than the Kansas City Chiefs offense. McCaffery could be the final piece of the puzzle that would help the Bills offense evolve into an unstoppable force of nature.
There have been some injury concerns with McCaffery, but this is largely due to the Panthers offense relying on him so heavily. Before suffering an ankle injury in week 7, he was averaging 14.1 carries per game and 5.3 receptions per game, putting him at 19.4 touches per game. If he had played a full season, he would have ranked third in total touches this year. Only Jonathan Taylor and Najee Harris had more total touches, and neither of them suffered a major injury the year before like McCaffery did. When McCaffery suffered his first major injury in 2020, he was averaging a staggering 25.4 touches per game. If he had played a full season in 2020, he would have received approximately 406 touches that season, making him the NFL leader in touches for the second year in a row. Not to mention he’s also been the Panther’s primary kick and punt returner throughout his NFL tenure. Since he was drafted by the Panthers, McCaffery has been the sole offensive weapon they can rely on to produce consistently. They do not have enough offensive firepower to ease McCaffery’s usage and limit his injury risk.
The Bills, on the other hand, have more than enough weapons to balance the offensive workload. With superstars Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs plus a capable supporting cast, the Bills can balance their offensive attack and use McCaffery efficiently and effectively with minimal injury risk. Though he would be costly in a trade, the Bills would be the undoubted front runner to win the super bowl in 2022 if they acquire McCaffery this offseason.
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