Left tackle Dion Dawkins takes Devin Singletary’s nickname quite literally. The Buffalo Bills running back, who goes by Motor, has had a strong end to the regular season. It continued Sunday, and Dawkins thinks it will help the AFC East champions in the postseason.
“It just means that Motor’s engine is started,” Dawkins said. "Literally that. Motor has started his engine. Motor is a younger guy trying to find his overall rhythm, and the fact that he’s found it – or, I think there’s still way more – and the fact that he’s found a certain kick, it just puts his best version of Motor in front of him.
“And helps us. Anytime that a kid can turn it on and do what he honestly does, shoot, it’s special.”
In their 27-10 win Sunday over the Jets, the Bills offense overcame a long, rough stretch, thanks, in part, to Singletary.
The third-year running back finished with 88 rushing yards on 19 carries, along with 24 receiving yards on two catches. He had two touchdowns: one rushing and one receiving on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter.
The Bills held the Jets to just four first downs, setting a franchise record. It was also the fewest allowed by any NFL team since 1998. The Bills also allowed just 53 net yards, which is the second fewest in franchise history.
He became the first Bill with consecutive multi-touchdown games since Fred Jackson in 2010. He also matched Jackson as the first Bill with a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games since 2011.
“I think we got the run game going,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “(Singletary) did a great job of just putting his head down, getting yards, getting north and making some guys miss. We've talked about the last few weeks of how well he's playing right now, he’s seeing things so well. But I think that's just kind of the main thing, we got him going.”
It wasn’t all Singletary. The Bills' offense put up 424 yards, their eighth time surpassing 400 yards this season. Allen threw for 239 yards and picked up another 63 on the ground.
Singletary was involved early. His longest run of the day, a 40-yard pickup on third-and-2, came on the Bills’ opening drive.
“Anytime that Motor can run that ball, spring off, show his stuff, show his speed, it gives us nothing but positive energy,” Dawkins said.
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But after a touchdown on the opening drive, the Bills didn’t reach the end zone again until midway through the fourth quarter. In the second and third quarters, they had a stretch in which they punted on seven of eight drives. Other than a 10-play drive that resulted in a field goal to end the first half, the longest of those drives was 23 yards in six plays. Five drives were nine yards or less.
“There’s times where it could have been better,” Dawkins said. “We had wind, we had weather, but when it came down to it, guys put their money where their mouth was, and we got it done.”
Allen had seven consecutive incompletions at one point in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Bills defense forced the Jets to punt 11 times Sunday, giving the offense plenty of time to sort things out.
In the end, it was more than enough to get past the hapless Jets, with some lessons for the postseason.
“Yeah, I thought Coach (Brian) Daboll and the offense really did a nice job working their way through it,” coach Sean McDermott said. “It's not always going to be smooth sailing, especially when you play a team more than once. So, we got off to a really good start, and then we stalled out a little bit and I was really impressed by how they worked through it.”
The final drive at the end of the first half was much more effective, though the Bills started the drive without any timeouts. They settled for a field goal, bringing kicker Tyler Bass out with four seconds left.
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It took until the fourth quarter to really get things going again. On Singletary’s first touchdown, a one-yard run, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie had a key block.
“Once I seen Isaiah get the block, it was no doubt in my mind that I was going to get in,” Singletary said. “Great block by Isaiah, by the way.”
The Bills’ ongoing effort to bolster their run game has been a storyline all season. The 170 rushing yards – knocked down just a little by backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky kneeling to end the game – mean the Bills have topped 100 rushing yards in six of the last seven weeks. The other game in that mix was 99 rushing yards.
Singletary now has eight total touchdowns this season, six in the last four games. Sunday brought his first receiving touchdown since Week 13 of his rookie year. He finished the regular season with 870 rushing yards, his three best games all at the tail end. It's coming at the right time, as the Bills look to the postseason.
“That’s what you need,” McDermott said. “That’s why it’s important to be two-dimensional, or the threat of two dimensions on offense, running and passing.”
