ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The NFL world will soon get its formal introduction to Anthony Dixon.
A change-of-pace running back for the San Francisco 49ers for the past four seasons, Dixon signed with the Buffalo Bills last offseason and now will be thrust into the spotlight after C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson were carted off with injuries in Buffalo's 17-16 win Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings.
Spiller has a broken collarbone, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported, and is out for an “undetermined time,” Marrone said. Jackson will have further tests on his injured groin Monday but his body language as he was taken off the field suggested a more serious injury for the Bills' team captain.
"It's time to step up and be great," Dixon said after the game. "It's what I've been waiting for for a long time, getting that workhorse role and I just tried to take advantage."
Once Jackson went down in the first quarter, the Bills split the six plays on their next drive between Dixon and Spiller. Then Spiller -- after a 53-yard gain on his first carry of the game -- landed hard on his left shoulder and might miss significant time, if not the remainder of the season.
As the Bills' final healthy running back who dressed for the game, Dixon rushed nine times in the second half, gaining 31 yards. He finished the day with 51 yards on 13 carries.
His role will undoubtedly increase. Known for his special-teams prowess -- he blocked a punt earlier this season -- and as a short-yardage option, Dixon is out to prove he's more than that.
"I feel like I didn't really get labeled right coming out of college and high school. People tried to do something else with me, make me somebody that I really wasn't," Dixon said. "I've been a workhorse like that all my life. I've been making plays like that all my life."
How was Dixon being labeled?
"[They] put me in a short-yardage [situation], they were just making all these type of stuff -- I can't run routes, I don't got hands. So I'm looking at them, like, 'What?' I don't see what they see," he said. "But yeah, I'm ready now for that opportunity.
"They never gave me a chance to get this opportunity [in San Francisco]. That was one of the reasons why I had to get out of there. I was looking at this opportunity. I really wanted to get back in that workhorse role and I think I'm almost there."
