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LeSean McCoy unlikely to play in Week 16

By John Buhler

Dec 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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LeSean McCoy is unlikely to go in the Buffalo Bills’ Week 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan said on Thursday that his starting running back LeSean McCoy is unlikely to play on Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys. McCoy is week-to-week with a torn MCL.

McCoy did not practice either Wednesday or Thursday and had a noticeable limp to his gait on Wednesday at the Bills’ team facility. Ryan told the Buffalo media, “We’re practicing like we won’t have him, but if he’s ready to roll and the docs think he’s good, then obviously we’ll reconsider.”

McCoy was limited to only 29 rushing yards on 10 carries in the Bills’ road loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 15. In his first season in Buffalo since being traded to the Bills by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, McCoy has had 895 rushing yards on 203 carries and three touchdowns. He is still a great receiving back with 32 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

While McCoy was not named to a Pro Bowl in 2015, he has averaged 74.6 yards per game in his 12 games for the Bills this season. Since McCoy is 27 years old and in the back-end of his prime as a tailback, it may be in the Bills’ best interest to keep McCoy out of the lineup for the rest of the season, as the Bills are 6-8 and out of playoff contention in the AFC.

A running back can only take so many hits before his useful live comes to an end in the NFL. Not forcing McCoy to play in essentially two meaningless games for the not-playoff bound Bills may allow the team to enter 2016 at full strength and end their league-worst 16-year playoff drought. The Bills’ last playoff game was the crushing Music City Miracle defeat in Nashville to the 1999 AFC Champion Tennessee Titans.

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