Bills’ Ken Dorsey: We saw the ‘old’ Zack Moss vs. Colts

In his first season with the Buffalo Bills after being selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Utah, he found himself a contributor in late-game situations thanks to the emergence of Josh Allen’s passing game.

Often running out the clock in the later quarters behind a strong lead on the scoreboard, Moss was consistent in his role and kept the offensive drives moving.

In his second season, however, he did not see the same consistency.

Moss struggled throughout the year, in part due to a lingering ankle injury from the 2020 postseason and the surgery that followed.

With fellow RBs Devin Singletary, Duke Johnson, James Cook, and Tawain Jones in the mix at his position group, the 24-year-old returns to action following a dedicated offseason looking to re-establish himself in a role with the offense.

In Saturday’s preseason contest on Saturday, he began to do just that against the Colts, going for 37 yards on three carries including a 27-yard run.

“I think you kind of saw a little bit of the old Zack in terms of, one, the physicality,” Bills OC Ken Dorsey said while speaking to the media this week. “Like the first play of the game, he’s hitting that thing downhill, lowering his shoulder, getting tough yards (five) on a physical run. And then he comes back later in the game and he cuts one back and bounces out there, makes a guy miss, and extends a run that maybe he might not be able to do last year. It’s exciting to see kind of the health factor coming back.”

For the Bills running back, it’s a chance to get a fresh start and take a step forward after the injury and surgery impacted his 2021 season.

“I didn’t get cleared for camp until the day before camp started last year, so it’s something I’ve never had before, an ankle injury like that,” Moss said to the media following the game. “So it was different, it was hard to manage. Our trainer did a good job of having me at least feeling ready to go each and every week, but you know I feel way better and I was able to get this thing a lot stronger and feel a lot more confident in it in the offseason.”

The improvement in his health has shown thus far in his first appearance back on the field. And his play also impressed his head coach as well.

“He’s just in good shape, he’s focused – his focus is where it needs to be, it appears,” Sean McDermott said during his postgame press session. “I was impressed by his production and the small amount of carries, of course, but what he did when he got the ball in his hands was impressive, both in the run and the pass game which is nice to see. So, I think he’s off to a good start and again, I just think it goes back to the way he worked in the offseason.”

Story originally appeared on Bills Wire