Football is back and Week 1 is in the books! With a solid 21-12 win over the NY Jets, the Bills sit atop of the AFC East due to the Patriots loss Thursday night and Miami not playing due to Hurricane Irma. While it may be short lived, we must enjoy it while we can. The Bills running game looked solid, gaining nearly 200 yards on the ground and moving the ball well throughout the game. As this is an injury blog, I will be reporting the injuries sustained to the Bills during today’s win.
Prior to the game, inactives were Khari Lee, Vladmir Ducasse, Kaelin Clay, Tanner Vallejo, Greg Mabin, Jerel Worthy, and Conor McDermott. Worthy is still in the concussion protocol following the 4th preseason game and Vallejo is out with a knee injury that not much is known about.
During today’s game, only two Bills went down with injury that are worth noting. Early in the 4th quarter, LeSean McCoy dove for the end zone and came up appearing to injure his left wrist. He initially looked to be in significant pain and was assessed in the trainer’s tent. McCoy eventually came out 15 minutes later and appeared to not harbor any ill effects from the injury. More may be known over the next several days, but considering that he reentered the game so quickly signifies that this shouldn’t cause any long term problems.
Shortly after McCoy went down, E.J. Gaines went down with 11 minutes left with a shoulder injury. While there is no video that is available to truly assess what happened, it appeared that it shook up Gaines as he walked on the sidelines with trainers. It appeared that a trainer was assisting in supporting the left shoulder which may indicate instability. Without seeing video, my initial diagnosis may be a sprained shoulder due to direct impact. I expect to have a more concrete diagnosis in the coming days as more information becomes available.
While this is not an injury that occurred during today’s game, I would like to note that rookie Dion Dawkins shared reps with Cordy Glenn throughout today’s game. This was most likely done to expose Dawkins to the pro game along with limiting stress on Glenn’s ankle/foot, which has been well documented, including one of my first posts. I expect to continue to see Glenn dealing with this injury throughout the season and share time with Dawkins in order to keep both lineman healthy.
Buffalo continues to minimize the injuries and keep starters healthy on the field. As expected, there were other injuries around the league including: Jaguars Allen Robinson (Knee), Ravens Danny Woodhead (Hamstring), Cardinals David Johnson (Wrist), and former Bill, now Eagles Ronald Darby (Ankle) all exiting the game. Add in Chiefs Eric Berry (Torn Achilles) and Patriots Danny Amendola (Concussion) from Thursday’s game and there is already a sizable injury list with the afternoon games yet to be played.
Overall, it was a great day for the Bills getting their first win and minimizing injury. This allows them to bring a healthy roster into their Week 2 match up against Cam Newton and the Panthers. While this was a great start to the season over a hapless Jets team, I expect a much tougher test against McDermott and Beane’s former employer. I will continue to provide updates and detail E.J. Gaines injury once more information is know. Thank you for reading and continue to check back for further updates!
