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The Buffalo Bills take on the Indianapolis Colts in their first regular season game of the 2015 NFL season, which pits one of the leagues best offenses against one of the leagues nastiest defenses. Rex Ryan and co. have plenty to worry about in terms of stopping Andrew Luck, while also getting new starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor ready for his first NFL start. The last thing they need is to worry about how their ground and pound offense may struggle without star running back LeSean McCoy.
Per reports, that’s unfortunately the case, as the team is still not convinced McCoy will be fully 100% come September 13th.
When asked if he thought McCoy would be ready to take on the Colts in week one, Ryan simply said, “I hope” and then suggested if he’s not ready, the rest of Buffalo’s backup running backs will have to step up and get the job done.
Next Man Up
That next man up would go down to Karlos Williams or Bryce Brown, two backs that are plenty talented, while Williams even impressed during preseason play. Brown is likely the team’s third running back on the depth chart, but should McCoy be out or limited, he’d surely see quite a few touches in what would figure to be a rotating offensive backfield. Fred Jackson, a backup in Buffalo for the past several years, would have initially been a safer pick to pick up the slack, but the Bills opted for younger, fresher legs and cut the aging veteran loose just days ago.
Week 1 Odds
The Bills already are going to have a tough time taking down the Colts. Not only does their defense have to worry about big names like Luck, Frank Gore, T.Y. Hilton and Andre Johnson, but the Bills are no lock to move the ball on an improving Colts defense that boasts one of the best shutdown corners in the game in Vontae Davis. Throw in a less than ideal running game on a new team is expected to pride themselves in their ground attack, and Buffalo could have an even more difficult time getting out of week one alive.
This game was already looked at as a bit of a toss up, as it’s tough to gauge whether an elite defense can fully put the clamps on an elite offense. The Colts are tentatively looking like the early week one favorite (-2.5), but no McCoy could force NFL bettors to lean their way even more.
