LeSean McCoy racks up 156 yards in a blizzard

It turns out even a blizzard couldn’t stop Buffalo Bills running back and Pitt product LeSean McCoy, as he ran for 156 yards and a touchdown in whiteout conditions at Buffalo’s New Era Field on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Shady saw the lion’s share of the action on offense, as the limited visibility, slippery conditions and wind brought on by the snowstorm all but guaranteed difficulties in the passing game. Those conditions would complicate matters for a team with an All-Pro under center, let alone the Bills, who were forced to play their backup on Sunday.

That backup, of course, was former Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman, who stepped in for the injured Tyrod Taylor for the second week in a row. He saw limited action and ultimately ended up with 57 yards and a touchdown after completing five of his 10 throws. He also left the game with a head injury after taking a shot from Colts linebacker Antonio Morrison in the third quarter and is now in the concussion protocol, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.

As Peterman’s stats indicate, the Bills’ plan was clearly to run the ball and avoid turnovers. That showed in the box score, as they rushed 51 times on Sunday and opted to throw just 16 passes. The Colts leaned on the same strategy but to lesser effect, as their rushers collectively averaged 3.5 yards per carry and never found the end zone.

McCoy, on the other hand, racked up 97 yards on the ground by halftime and tacked on 59 more before the final whistle, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. When all was said and done, he’d run the ball a career-high 32 times and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime of a 13-7 win that ESPN called an “instant classic.”

With his huge performance Sunday, McCoy secured the sixth 1,000-yard season of his nine-year career and inched closer to the milestone of 10,000 career rushing yards. He now sits 39 yards shy of the mark with three weeks remaining in the season.