That’s the Buffalo Bills we know and love! They took care of business Sunday, throttling the Las Vegas Raiders 38-10 during the home opener. The game was only close early in the first half as Buffalo began to get into a rhythm, scoring 17 unanswered points to pull away and close out the day.
Unfortunately, there were several notable injuries and scares throughout the game that could affect Week 3. Below are all the injury notes and concerns following the Week 2 win.
In-game Injuries
CB Dane Jackson (Concussion check)
Jackson went to the sidelines after this kickoff return play for a concussion check as seen below.
The team never officially announced anything, but several beat reporters noted that Jackson went in for a concussion check, was cleared, and returned to the game.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Right upper arm)
Kincaid received a rough hit to his right arm/upper rib cage area in the end zone while trying to haul in a touchdown catch right before the end of the second quarter. He was briefly seen crouching down on the sidelines afterward before the team went in for halftime.
When he came back out, he had some type of sleeve on his right upper arm without any additional bracing hardware. It’s possible he suffered a laceration or turf burns to the area that required protection. It would not shock me to see him show up on the injury report with sore ribs as well, but this doesn’t appear to be a big issue heading into next week.
C Mitch Morse (Uniform issue)
This is only highlighted as Morse had to exit for several plays while Ryan Bates took center duties late in the third quarter. The concern was that Morse had suffered another injury, potentially another concussion which isn’t always apparent during the broadcast view. Fortunately, the team announced that Morse had a “uniform issue” and returned shortly afterward.
LB Leonard Floyd (Right ankle injury)
Floyd quietly exited the game early in the fourth quarter on a pass play in the backfield. In the clip below, you can see Floyd start to provide pressure to the pocket before an offensive lineman knocks him off course and off balance.
Floyd possibly rolled his ankle out of the broadcast view. He was later seen on the sidelines talking to training staff before the team announced that he was questionable to return.
Looking at this tweet by Matt Bove of Channel 7, you can see the shoelaces undone as he walks up the tunnel, indicating the right side was injured.
Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News asked Floyd about the ankle injury and like many other players, downplayed the injury. It’s possible he suffered a low ankle sprain trying to regain his balance if he stepped awkwardly. Considering how he was walking, it appears to be a mild sprain.
It’s important to highlight that Floyd has battled several previous right ankle injuries in 2021 and 2022 with the Rams with the latter requiring surgery. See below for more details.
While he is considered I do expect Floyd to be on the injury report this week. Considering he has had several injuries to the area prior, it may be a chronic injury that he exacerbated which means some rehab and tape may allow him to go. His practice participation will dictate his availability come Sunday.
S Micah Hyde (Right hamstring)
Possibly the biggest injury of the day, Hyde attempted to pull up near the sidelines as DaVante Adams slid out of bounds trying to haul in a pass. Christian Benford is next to Adams and Hyde as they all collide but if you watch the video, Hyde begins to fall, either because he felt his hamstring go or he wanted to avoid a late hit.
With Hyde falling, he took Benford out as well who came up uninjured. At the tail end of the video, Hyde is walking gingerly with training staff, favoring the right side.
After the game, Hyde downplayed the injury saying he just needed to rehab and he’ll be good to go for next week.
However, Hyde did have a back designation ahead of Week 1 as he dealt with that and some “other stuff”. It’s possible the hamstring was bothering him prior to this and he tweaked it. If that’s the case and he was playing on the injury, then that may explain why he said that. The team has historically been conservative with soft tissue injuries with many players missing on average one game and receiving treatment for just over two weeks for a hamstring.
While Hyde is considered “day-to-day”, this will be the biggest injury to watch heading into Week 3, but if Hyde needs some extra time off, Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin can get through next week.
WR Gabe Davis (Hard hit/Cup check)
Davis had to briefly exit the game early in the fourth quarter after a pass to the right side when he got pulled down by the defender. On first view, it looks like he hit his buttocks and back with Davis slow to get up.
However, from other angles, you can see that the defender’s leg comes flying up and hits Davis in the groin as he rotates over the defender. At the end of the clip, you can see Davis crouching down in obvious discomfort.
Any dad who’s been hit by their child in the groin knows this pose and the feeling associated with that. Keep in mind, that NFL players don’t wear cups.
Other Notes
DE Von Miller (Right ACL)
Von posted an update of him getting into football shape in the first clip. I then compared clips to what we saw previously in camp plus the addition of left thigh tape suggesting he had a muscle strain at some point which could have explained the absence earlier in camp.
Final Observations
After enjoying two mostly injury-free weeks, the Bills are working through several injuries, but have the depth to account for any potential absence. The ones I am watching are Hyde and to a lesser extent, Floyd.
There may be other surprises on the injury report come Wednesday, but things are shaping up to be decent for Week 3 as they face the Washington Commanders.
Top Photo Credit: @Sara_Larson on X
