At 5-5, the Buffalo Bills are fighting for their playoff lives in the AFC as they see a once-promising season slip away. Key injuries in the defense plus a rigid offensive game plan every week have led to plenty of shortcomings for the Bills. Firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday will hopefully provide a spark in offensive playcalling, but the concern is that this was too late.
While the Bills’ playoff hopes are dwindling and on life support, they’re not eliminated by any means. Season-ending injuries to the Cleveland Browns’ DeShaun Watson (Right Shoulder), Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow (Right Wrist), and Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews (Ankle) have kept the door open for the Bills Wild Card chances. The hope is those teams in the AFC North begin to fade while the Bills continue to win.
The AFC playoff picture will be incredibly interesting as the end of the regular season gets closer. Let’s hope the Buffalo Bills are still in contention by that point. Below are the injury reports for each team along with projected inactives and final thoughts.
Buffalo Bills Injury Report
QUESTIONABLE
DT Jordan Phillips (Right Knee)
Phillips suffered what appeared to be a right knee injury early in the second quarter of Monday’s game. On initial view, it appeared as though he fell and got the wind knocked out of him after he hit the turf with his head and shoulder especially after he returned a short time later.
However, he appeared on the injury report this week with a knee designation. After looking back at all his snaps, there were several instances where he did have hard falls to the ground but did not linger or need additional assistance. Going back to that knee injury early in the second quarter, this appeared to be the most likely culprit as to the original injury. It’s admirable that he continued to play through the injury despite the collision with McGlinchey early on.
He was limited all week but able to get a full practice in on Friday and questionable. His availability may come down to a pain issue and whether they can get by without him or call someone else up.
WR Trent Sherfield (Left Ankle)
Sherfield left the game just before the first half ended with an ankle injury that was initially questionable but quickly ruled out. He injured the ankle on the two-point conversion to Gabe Davis late in the second quarter that got the Bills to a 9-8 deficit. The issue with the injury was that he was on the opposite side of the end zone and the camera panned away, preventing a clean look at how Sherfield injured the ankle.
Fortunately, he was able to practice limited Thursday and Friday, making him questionable heading into the game. Had he suffered a high-ankle sprain, he would have not been able to practice all week. This may be more of a generalized low ankle sprain, but with the depth available to the team, it may be best to sit this one out to get healthy for the stretch run.
ACTIVE
QB Josh Allen (Right Shoulder)
Allen was a late addition to the injury report Friday with his shoulder designation that has kept him on the report since suffering the injury in Week 6. According to reports, he wasn’t on the field for most of the media viewing portion for stretching. His appearance on the injury report may have also been to save face due to the Joe Burrow news with the NFL investigating possible injury report mismanagement.
CB Christian Benford (Right Hamstring)
Benford missed last week’s contest with a right hamstring strain originally suffered in practice prior to Week 9. He tweaked it in the game just prior to halftime and did not play the second half despite being healthy enough to play. He was limited all week except Friday. While he will play, the team expects to see him more in a backup role, suggesting that he may not be fully healthy, but healthy enough to play if needed.
S Micah Hyde (Neck/Stinger)
Hyde was once again limited all week with a neck/stinger designation with the team playing it safe coming off the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion last season. He may still be dealing with residual nerve pain which could be an issue from potentially another disc issue or even down the line into his shoulder. An ideal situation is if he has some numbness/tingling in his left shoulder that is originating in his shoulder versus his neck.
Wearing a non-contact jersey all week allows him to avoid irritating the still-healing nerve issues. Fortunately, he removed the jersey and will play Sunday.
DB Cam Lewis (Right Shoulder)
Lewis suffered what appeared to be a stinger late in the fourth quarter when he collided with several teammates making a tackle. He grabbed at his right arm coming off and was limited this week with a non-contact jersey, similar to Micah Hyde.
He was also on the injury report heading into Week 7 with a shoulder designation also due to a stinger. Hopefully, there aren’t any underlying issues present and this is more incidental.
LB Dorian Williams (Right Knee)
Williams appeared to suffer a right knee injury early in the fourth quarter when he banged his knee on the punt, limping downfield. He continued to stay in the game and play in a limited defensive role and on special teams.
It looks as though he gets hit on the outside portion of his knee which would suggest an IT band issue or even proximal fibula contusion. This appears to be an injury that he will continue to play through, but this was also the same knee that he had hyperextended on the final play of the Giants game. It would not surprise me to hear that he is still working through the prior injury that was not reported, this latest one only adds to the difficulty of playing.
Other Notes
DT DaQuan Jones (Right Pectoral)/LB Matt Milano (Right Knee)
Sean McDermott gave important updates regarding the injury status of two key Bills defenders. He noted that there was an outside chance that DaQuan Jones would be able to return this year whereas Matt Milano doesn’t look like he will be able to return based on what they know.
This was in line all along with what I had said here at Banged Up Bills about their potential outlook following their injuries. There was precedent for Jones having gone through this before whereas Milano, there were a few case studies but not as much consistent success.
To read more about each injury, make sure to check out the links for DaQuan Jones and Matt Milano by clicking on their respective names.
CB Tre’Davious White (Right Achilles)
In light of what Sean McDermott noted about both Jones and Milano, we did get a brief update on the status of Bills CB Tre’Davious White. Former defensive coordinator Leslie Frasier went on the Zack Gelb show and spoke with him for just over 15 minutes. They cover a variety of topics around the league, but at the 10:40 mark, they begin to discuss the Buffalo Bills.
One of the brief highlights involves the nugget that Tre’Davious White underwent surgery out in Los Angeles and has been rehabbing out there. Frazier spent some time with White and while he didn’t go into great detail, that is important to hear the updates as to why we haven’t seen White around the facility. This also suggests that he had surgery with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the preferred surgeon for many orthopedic injuries in the NFL.
I don’t expect to see White anytime soon unless he is spotted on the sidelines during the playoffs or more likely during OTAs. An important update, as small as it may be.
New York Jets Injury Report
OUT
LB Sam Eguavoen (Hip)
Eguavoen was ruled out early Friday with a hip injury suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders in the final minutes last Sunday. He is primarily a special teams contributor but a loss for depth at the linebacker position.
LB Chazz Surratt (Ankle)
Surratt suffered an ankle injury in Week 8 that frankly, does not have much information available. Considering he has been unable to practice suggests that this is a high-ankle sprain. He has been ruled out for a third consecutive game.
OL Billy Turner (Finger)
Turner missed Week 10 after he underwent surgery to repair a fracture within his hand and did not have a return-to-play timeline. Considering they did not place him on injured reserve indicates he should return sooner than later, but two weeks out from surgery even with a club seemed premature to play as he was ruled out early Friday.
TE Kenny Yeboah (Hamstring)
Yeboah has been on injured reserve following roster cutdowns after suffering the injury in the second preseason game back on August 19. He returned to practice this week and despite getting full practices in all this week, has been ruled out, not yet ready to return.
OL Duane Brown (Hip/Groin)
Brown continues to work back from his hip/groin injury originally suffered in Week 2. After he was placed on injured reserve, he opened up his 21-day practice window two weeks ago. Despite practicing in full the last two weeks, Brown has not been activated and the team has yet to decide whether to activate him for Sunday.
QUESTIONABLE
CB Michael Carter (Hamstring)
DE Will McDonald (Ankle)
McDonald suffered an ankle injury in practice last Friday and was unable to play in Week 10. He was able to practice with limited designations all week before receiving a questionable designation heading into Sunday.
WR Garrett Wilson (Right Elbow)
Wilson is officially questionable heading into Week 11 but has indicated that he’ll play. The original injury occurred early in the third quarter as seen in the play below. The concern was a hyperextended elbow that he continued to play through, even participating in a trick play.
During interviews, he is observed sporting kinesiotape on the medial aspect of his elbow. That tape placement would further support a hyperextension injury, possibly a UCL sprain. While Wilson states that he will play, he may struggle to haul in passes or maintain possession as a result.
I wouldn’t expect him to stink up the place, but if he can be pressured and have to fight for every catch, a key drop or incompletion could be the difference between a touchdown or not Sunday.
OL Mekhi Becton (Left Knee/Wrist)
Becton has been a mainstay on the injury report with a left knee designation limiting his reps during the week to be ready for Sundays. A wrist designation was added to the injury report for Becton this week on Friday but was able to get a full practice in.
DL John Franklin-Myers (Knee)
Franklin-Myers was a new addition to the injury report this week with a knee designation but no information on the specifics is available. He practiced in full all week and has no gameday designation.
LB Quincy Williams (Knee)
Williams appeared on the injury report heading into Week 9 with a knee injury before getting a full practice each Friday with no gameday designation. He had the same outcome heading into Week 11.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
DT Jordan Phillips
WR Trent Sherfield
OL Alec Anderson
OL Germain Ifedi
S Damar Hamlin
LB Baylon Spector
Call Up: WR Andy Isabella
New York Jets Projected Inactives
LB Sam Eguavoen
OL Billy Turner
LB Chazz Surratt
WR Randall Cobb
DB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
Final Observations
If the Bills are serious about keeping their playoff streak alive, they find a way to take care of business this week. The Jets offensive line is not what it was in Week 1 and they are missing plenty of depth. The defensive line needs to pressure Zack Wilson all day and cover Garrett Wilson like a blanket. While the run game is still dangerous for the Jets, they can minimize the impact with the bend but don’t break philosophy.
The Bills need this win to stay in playoff contention. The division is still a possibility but even a Wild Card spot is still very much in play. The conference injuries listed above open the door for the Bills to move up in the standings as the offense is still mostly intact. Let Josh Allen run and get unpredictable to string together some wins especially against some formidable opponents in the coming weeks.
Top Photo Credit: USA Today
