The Buffalo Bills head down to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football in what could be one of the top AFC matchups this season. The Bills enter the game 5-3 whereas the Bengals enter at 4-3 with both teams still very much in the thick of their respective division races. This game will be huge for playoff seeding and could be the difference in homefield advantage.
This will also be the first time that Damar Hamlin returns to Cincinnati following his cardiac arrest in January. It is expected to be an emotional moment for him and his family for a story that had such a positive outcome. If you wish to read more about what happened in January, click here.
Below are the injury reports for each team, projected inactives, Banged Up Bills Best Bet, and final observations.
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Buffalo Bills Injury Report
OUT
LB Baylon Spector (Right Hamstring)
Spector will miss his second consecutive game after he aggravated his hamstring injury originally from late August in the Week 7 loss to the New England Patriots.
LB AJ Klein (Back)
Klein tweaked his back in practice on Wednesday which led to him sitting out on Thursday and Friday, officially ruled out Friday morning.
ACTIVE
QB Josh Allen (Right Shoulder)
Allen briefly put some worry into the fanbase Wednesday when he didn’t practice due to his right shoulder injury. During his Wednesday press conference, he highlighted how this was part of his recovery process and that trainers thought it was best that he took the day off.
He will continue to require either injections to manage the pain or just play through the discomfort. He’s very likely working through an AC joint sprain that simply needs more time to heal.
CB Christian Benford (Hamstring)
Benford was a late addition to the injury report with a hamstring but does not have a game-day designation. I suspect that he felt something during a rep, had it checked out, and officially missed some time, leaving him limited. Anytime a player does not take his normal amount of reps, it is considered limited whether it is 1 percent or 99 percent of reps.
S Damar Hamlin (Illness)
Hamlin missed Wednesday’s practice with “flu-like” symptoms but returned to full status on Thursday and Friday.
TE Quintin Morris (Right Ankle)
Morris suffered a right high-ankle sprain against the New York Giants several plays before his game-winning touchdown in Week 6. He has missed the last two weeks but was able to practice in full on Thursday and Friday. He is still likely not 100 percent, but healthy enough to play.
INJURED RESERVE
CB Kaiir Elam (Ankle)
Elam was officially placed on injured reserve on Thursday following the signing of DT Linval Joseph. His injury originally was suffered in training camp and since aggravated prior to Week 7. Considering the timeline, I suspect that he has some type of bone bruise that continues to produce edema and pain when playing through the injury. Had it been a ligament or even muscle strain, there would have likely been more of an acute presentation or something notable on film. It remains to be seen whether Elam will even come back this season.
NEW SIGNINGS
To read about each of the new players signed to the roster this week, click on the name below.
Cincinnati Bengals Injury Report
OUT
DT Josh Tupou (Shoulder)
Tupou missed practice all week due to a shoulder injury that he appeared to pick up against the San Francisco 49ers. He has been ruled out and the specifics of the injury are not known.
QUESTIONABLE
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (Knee)
Davis-Gaither has been on the injury report dating back to Week 2 and missing the last four games plus the bye week. There aren’t any specifics as to how he suffered this latest knee injury, but draft reports following his final collegiate season indicated that his knee was “bone-on-bone” which is possibly why he’s having a hard time being available to play. He is officially questionable heading into this game after getting a limited practice in on Friday.
G Max Scharping (Knee)
Scharping was a late addition to the injury report on Friday with a knee designation. He is officially questionable but without additional details, difficult to determine if this knee injury is serious enough to miss.
RB Joe Mixon (Chest)
Mixon appeared on the injury report this week with a chest designation but did not receive an in-game designation. Whether this is a minor pectoral strain or contusion is only a guess, but he was able to practice in full on Thursday and Friday, indicating that he will play.
ACTIVE
DE Trey Hendrickson (Left Foot)
Hendrickson suffered a left foot injury on Sunday when he was inadvertently stepped on as seen in the clip below. He was initially ruled questionable with a left ankle injury but appeared to return as he finished with 66 percent of defensive snaps. This injury appears to be more pain-related but could be aggravated should the foot get stepped on again.
OT Orlando Brown (Groin)
Brown has been playing through a groin injury that he appeared to originally injured in Week 4. He was on the injury report for Week 5 before being removed the following week but missed the second half of the Week 6 contest against the Seahawks. Following the bye in Week 7, Brown was placed back on the injury report for the same injury. He continues to need maintenance days during the week to be ready for Sundays. He has only missed one game in his career and the lack of a designation continues this trend.
LB Devin Harper (Hamstring)
Harper has been on the injury report for a hamstring injury since Week 6, implying that he suffered the injury in Week 5. He missed the Week 6 contest against the Seattle Seahawks after receiving a questionable designation but has since played through the injury, limited at times throughout the week.
INJURED RESERVE
S Tycen Anderson (Knee)
Anderson tore his ACL early in the game last week and somehow played through the injury. He was unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday before the team revealed that he tore his ACL and was done for the season.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
LB Baylon Spector
LB AJ Klein
G Germain Ifedi
OL Alec Anderson
S Damar Hamlin
Cincinnati Bengals Projected Inactives
OL Jackson Carman
C Trey Hill
CB DJ Ivey
G Max Scharping
DT Josh Tupou
Banged Up Bills Best Bet
This game should be close and it may come down to who has the ball last. Last’s week bet got me back in the win column but the close spreads have been tricky to navigate. The Bills will either keep this one really close or win outright. This makes my bet 1 unit on the Buffalo Bills to cover the spread -2.0 (-110) at Caesars.
Record 4-4, -1.5 units
Final Observations
There is certainly a level of emotion to return to the place where Damar Hamlin collapsed last season and nearly died. Fortunately, there were a lot of positive outcomes including Hamlin returning to football and the widespread education of CPR and AED use. This storyline will overshadow the actual game, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Once the ball is kicked off, the hope is that both teams play at the top of their abilities and this turns out to be a competitive game. This could easily be a playoff matchup preview and this game could help unlock the keys to win that game for the Bills for a deep playoff run.
Top Photo Credit: Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK
