- (Reuters) - Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson will miss the rest of the National Football League season with a broken bone in his lower right leg, dealing a blow to the team's once-promising playoff hopes.

The loss of Jackson, who was having a breakout campaign, creates a gaping hole in the running game for a Bills team that had a surprisingly strong start to the season but has since dropped to 5-5 after losing three straight games.

"Further tests on Fred's injured leg have shown that he has a broken bone in his leg, so that's disappointing news for our team and certainly for Fred," Bills head coach Chan Gailey said in a statement.

"The process for Fred to return to the field would most likely take him through the end of the season, so we have made the difficult decision to place him on injured reserve."

Jackson suffered the injury during Buffalo's 35-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, which he left during the third quarter. He had a career-high six rushing touchdowns through 10 games this season and is currently third in the NFL in rushing and second in the league in yards from scrimmage.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ian Ransom)