MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Bills running back LeSean McCoy said he felt "a little pain" in his injured left hamstring while running a pass route in the third quarter of Sunday's 28-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins, and he decided to sit for the remainder of the game.
"I just tried to take off," he said. "The smartest thing to do [was to sit], instead of re-injuring anything or making it worse. I kind of felt it was a warning."
However, McCoy said he felt "amazing" in pregame warmups despite missing practice Thursday and being "very limited" in practice Friday. Coach Rex Ryan also defended his decision to start McCoy, saying, "We thought he was fine. ... I don't know that he wasn't 100 percent."
McCoy ran eight times for 11 yards and took the majority of snaps at running back until the Bills took a 17-6 lead in the third quarter, when the Bills announced his injury. McCoy, whose 1.4 yard-per-carry average was the third worst of his career, sat on the bench with an ice pack around his left thigh.
McCoy believes he has a chance to play next Sunday against the Patriots.
"It's not one of those major issues like last year -- deep, deep pain," he said. "It's something that just takes time. I think a full week of practicing and taking all the steps, I should be fine. We'll see what happens."
In addition to McCoy's injury, the Bills lost starting safety Aaron Williams, who suffered an injury to the head and neck area on a block from Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
The team tweeted that Williams went to the hospital during the game for a precautionary MRI but was then traveling back to Buffalo with the team.
Landry apologized for the block, said he wished he could take it back, and offered little defense when asked if the hit was dirty.
"Call it what you want,'' Landry said. "It's football.''
Bills center Eric Wood had told reporters that Williams was taken from the stadium in an ambulance. Williams was not in the locker room after the game, and team staffers were seen packing his belongings as the Bills departed for the airport.
Landry launched into Williams while blocking for Jay Ajayi on a 6-yard run in the second quarter. The Dolphins' top receiver was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play, but the Bills declined that penalty and instead accepted a holding call against Miami on the same play.
The unnecessary roughness penalty does not qualify for ejection under the NFL's two-strike rule for personal fouls implemented this season. Landry already had one strike in the game after being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct; he taunted the Bills after a 26-yard catch in the first quarter.
Landry remained near Williams as he was evaluated by medical staff, and the receiver walked over to Williams as he was being escorted off the field.
Williams, 26, is in his fifth season as a starting safety for Buffalo. After attempting to make a diving tackle in a Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots last season, Williams lost feeling in parts of his body and was transported off the field in an ambulance. He was later placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery to shave vertebrae in his neck.