The Bills secured a virtually expected win with a score of 24-9 on a cold Sunday afternoon at New Era Field. The Washington Redskins hung around a little longer than most people would have liked with the score 17-9 until the very end but a win is a win. The Bills still moved the ball effectively with the run game & held rookie QB Dwayne Haskins in check in his first NFL start. In addition to the win, the Bills move to 6-2 for the first time since 1993 when they started 7-1. Along with the excellent record, little to no injuries occurred during the game which should prevent altering the game plan for Cleveland.
Prior to the game, it was announced that both OT Cody Ford & CB Levi Wallace were both active as I had predicted. Wallace was able to play in 100% of defensive snaps but Ford did not appear in any offensive snaps. He did appear in 4 special teams plays consisting of extra points which show he was able to play, but with how well OT Ty Nsekhe played, the coaching staff may have made the determination that he plays in the event that Nsekhe was injured. To note, he was wearing padding with what appeared to be bracing on the left elbow, fitting the expected protection he required in order to play.
DE Trent Murphy (left shoulder/neck)
Murphy, who for the most part, has been incredibly healthy this year following an injury-plagued 2018 season suffered a minor injury early in the 2nd half. The play occurred with 10:54 in the 3rd quarter on a routine run play. Murphy got sucked into the middle and got hit/stepped on under a pile of bodies.
Trainers quickly reached him on the field with Murphy repeatedly motioning to his left trapezius/shoulder area as he walked off. He went to the medical tent to get assessed and was briefly out, able to return later in the game.
He may be day to day with a minor neck/left trapezius muscle strain but shouldn’t cause any long term issues. It’s incredibly promising that he was able to return but he may be sore this week.
S Micah Hyde (right knee)
When Hyde had to be assessed by trainers early in the 4th quarter, it put a scare into all fans that thankfully didn’t appear to be serious. Video review showed that he got clipped by a cleat in the right knee as he went down. Football players are tough, but getting clipped is painful no matter which way you look at it.
This isn’t an injury that would likely appear on the injury report unless he is dealing with some swelling. This may be more pain-related but like Murphy, he was able to return to continue playing. Barring any new updates, he should be fine for Sunday.
WR Andre Roberts (left hamstring/quadricep/calf)
Shortly after Micah Hyde went out, Roberts suffered a minor injury of his own. At 10:18 in the 4th quarter, he ran up to catch the punt, kneeling down on his left leg to fair catch the football. He briefly walked around before trainers checked him out. Reports indicate that he was motioning towards his hamstring but broadcast video available doesn’t show this. It’s possible that he tweaked his hamstring running up to catch the ball, attempting to slow down, but there’s always a chance he suffered a minor quad or calf injury.
As with the others above, he was later able to return indicating that this may also be minor. Unless there is a better view or media reports, then this is what we will be working with. While the team is conservative in managing hamstring injuries, I do not believe that this may be anything to be concerned with as Monday’s press conference did not highlight the injury. I am not convinced that he suffered a hamstring injury based on the video alone.
This Bills team isn’t built to blow out teams, this isn’t a team that imposes its will on any team it wishes, but it is a team that finds ways to win. Considering the coaching staff is solidified & most of the team positions aren’t experiencing high turnover, this allows the team to stack wins rather than trying to piece together a game plan to just survive. We’ll see how the week progresses but things are looking up injury-wise as they move onto Week 10 against Cleveland.
Top Photo Credit:
Washington Post
