Bills RBs Devin Singletary & James Cook: New Offense Answer?
As the late, great Chuck Berry once sang in his 1958 holiday classic ‘Run, Rudolph, Run,’ “Santa, make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down.”
While the rock ‘n roll legend was motivating the most-famous of Kris Kringle’s reindeer, it might also be an appropriate tag line for the Buffalo Bills’ running game in their 35-13 Christmas Eve victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Buffalo collectively ran for 254 yards and averaged 8.2 per carry amidst the cold and windy conditions in Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Surprisingly, they did so without either of their top two rushers being quarterback Josh Allen.
Lead back Devin Singletary ran for 106 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown on a 33-yard run on the opening drive of the second half to put Buffalo on top. A two-point conversion from Allen to Khalil Shakir gave Buffalo a 14-10, which they would not relinquish.
Singletary became the first Bills player this season to hit triple-digit rushing yardage in a game this season; his first 100-plus yard effort since Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons in 2021. The 25-year-old has logged double-digit carries in six of his last seven games.
Bills’ rookie James Cook put out a solid effort, running for a career-high 99 yards, including 27-yard scoring run in the third quarter, set up by Bears’ running back David Montgomery’s fumble on the previous series. Cook’s score gave the Bills a commanding 21-10 lead.
Of course, Allen could not be kept down, as the Bills’ starter gained 41 yards on six carries and a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown to round out the Bills ground attack.
With the gusty Chicago winds forcing them to dial back, their potent passing game, Buffalo put the rest of the NFL’s playoff-bound teams on notice; proving that their offense can win games on the ground. In fact, top wideout Stefon Diggs caught just two passes for 26 yards.
Still, Buffalo’s running game helped the team compile 426 yards of total offense in a winning effort.
Following the game, Allen acknowledged the challenges of playing in the Windy City on a cold afternoon in late December.
“It's not so much the cold as it was the wind,” Allen said. “It just gusts. You don't know really where it's coming from. Sometimes the flags are blowing one way. The next, they're blowing the opposite way."
With the win, the Bills moved to 12-3 on the season, while securing their third-straight AFC East division title. In the process, they also remain on track for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Bills and the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs. Though the two teams have identical records, Buffalo owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after defeating the Chiefs in October.
While Buffalo’s road to and through the postseason will be challenging, their ability to win in multiple ways may just make the Bills the AFC’s most dangerous team heading into potentially cold and snowy conditions in January.
As such, they are poised to leave their competition “reelin’ like a merry-go-round” in the coming weeks.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL
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