The Buffalo Bills head out to face the Philadelphia Eagles in a crucial Week 12 matchup for both teams. The Bills need every win possible to maximize their playoff chances and lead to a better seed. The Eagles are still fighting for the top seed in the playoffs for the much needed bye.
Both teams come in with injury issues including the Bills secondary and the Eagles tight end room. Each team will still bring their best in order to make sure they control their playoff outlook.
Below are the injury reports for each team, projected inactives, and final observations.
Buffalo Bills Injury Report
OUT
CB Dane Jackson (Concussion)
Jackson was unable to practice all week until Friday with a limited practice, getting ruled out on Friday. This came after suffering a concussion late in the second quarter as a result of a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jets TE Jeremy Ruckert. This is Jackson’s first concussion and will require at least another week to fully recover.
S Taylor Rapp (Neck)
Rapp was unable to participate in Wednesday’s walk-through due to the neck injury that appeared to be a significant stinger. The injury forced him to leave the field on a stretcher before going to the locker room and undergo further testing the following day.
On Monday, there was hope that he could play pending he was symptom free. He was limited on Thursday but appeared to have a setback that led him to be ruled out on Friday prior to practice. Whether this was due to initiating contact or some type of movement, Rapp will have the benefit of an extra week with the bye to get fully right.
ACTIVE
CB Taron Johnson (Concussion)
Johnson suffered a concussion with a brief fencing response before being evaluated by training staff, ruled out quickly following the injury.
However, the fact that he was unable to practice in a walk-through wasn’t initially great for his chances to play on Sunday. He got a limited practice in on Thursday which kept his hopes alive. Fortunately, he was able to clear the concussion protocol in under a week the previous three times and this latest time was no different. The secondary will get a huge boost from his presence come Sunday.
Something worth noting was, the tweet above were the instances where a player did not practice during the first practice but played the following game. Not too many instances since 2017 initially made Johnson’s chances slim.
It’s also worth noting that this was Johnson’s fourth documented concussion since entering the league.
QB Josh Allen (Right Shoulder)
Allen continues to work through his right AC joint sprain suffered in Week 6 against the New York Giants. The last time he had an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing arm, he was on the injury report for six weeks, similar to what we are seeing now. I do not anticipate that he is on the injury report following the bye, barring a reinjur.
S Micah Hyde (Neck/Stinger)
Hyde is once again working through a stinger, his second in three weeks after he suffered the injury late in the third quarter. He came up following a routine tackle favoring the left arm as seen below.
He is limiting his contact during the week in order to be ready to play Sundays. The nerve either in the neck or shoulder remains irritated and needs some time to fully rest so he can move past this. He will be able to play on Sunday but he may further aggravate the nerve when he hits or tackles.
DB Cam Lewis (Right Shoulder)
Lewis took a hard shot to his right shoulder, appearing to aggravate his shoulder injury from Week 6. He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday before practicing in full on Friday. He needs to be as healthy as he can be in order to play the slot cornerback position with Taron Johnson out.
WR Trent Sherfield (Left Ankle)
Sherfield was able to practice in full all week after suffering a left ankle injury in the closing moments of the first half against the Broncos. By video, it was difficult to determine what he did, but he was able to play last week, seeing his usual complement of special teams snaps and some work in the offense.
LB Dorian Williams (Right Knee)
Williams suffered a right knee injury on a punt early in the fourth quarter against the Broncos. He was able to finish the game and was on the injury report as well last week. This was also the same knee that he suffered a hyperextension injury on the final play against the Giants. This appears to be an injury he is working though and potentially aggravated but will continue to play through.
INJURED RESERVE
RB Damien Harris (Neck)
Harris continues to work back from his neck injury but it remains a physical and mental effort to return. There was concern about this several weeks ago when the injury happened and with a child on the way, he may be thinking about his post-football career.
Philadelphia Eagles Injury Report
OUT
TE Dallas Goedert (Forearm Fracture)
Goedert suffered a right forearm fracture in Week 9 when he was tackled out of bounds, landing with his full body weight on the arm. Despite the Eagles not placing him on injured reserve, Goedert was not expected to play in this game as he needs more time to heal.
He underwent surgery immediately after the injury and was expected back in early December.
DT Milton Williams (Concussion)
Williams suffered a concussion in Monday’s game and was unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday until he got a limited practice in on Friday. However, a return from a concussion on a short week was not enough for Williams to be cleared and he will be out on Sunday.
TE Grant Calcaterra (Ankle)
Calcaterra suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter in the win over the Chiefs on Monday and was unable to return. This comes after being on the injury report last week due to a concussion. He has seen an increase in snaps due to Dallas Goedert being out with a forearm fracture.
S Justin Evans (Knee)
Evans’ practice window opened up last week after he was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered in Week 5. He was limited all week and not activated yet after missing practice on Wednesday.
QUESTIONABLE
WR Quez Watkins (Hamstring)
Watkins practice window opened on Wednesday after being placed on injured reserve on October 14 due to a hamstring strain. He missed five games and an additional two after suffering the same injury earlier in the year.
OT Lane Johnson (Groin)
ACTIVE
WR AJ Brown (Thigh)
Brown appeared to suffer a thigh injury during Monday night’s contest, limited in his practice participation Wednesday and Thursday.
WR Julio Jones (Knee)
While there hasn’t been any specific details about his knee injury, Jones was limited early this week due to the injury. He did have a PCL tear in his knee last year with the Buccaneers which may be possibly giving him some issues and required maintenance.
RB D’Andre Swift (Ankle)
Swift was a new addition to the injury report this week with an ankle injury and limited Wednesday. He has had a lengthy injury history throughout his NFL career but this does not appear to be an injury that limits him this week.
WR DeVonta Smith (Knee)
Smith was a late addition to the injury report Friday and was unable to practice but has no designation.
CUT
DE Derek Barnett (Personal)
Barnett has been inactive for the last two games as he has dealt with a personal issue. On Friday, he was released.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
CB Dane Jackson
S Taylor Rapp
OL Alec Anderson
DT Poona Ford
OL Germain Ifedi
LB AJ Klein
Call Up: CB Ja’Marcus Ingram
Philadelphia Eagles Projected Inactives
TE Dallas Goedert
DT Milton Williams
TE Grant Calcaterra
RB Rashaad Penny
S Sua Opeta
QB Tanner McKee (Emergency QB)
Final Observations
Every win from here on out is a must-win. While this is an NFC opponent and they don’t matter as much for tiebreakers, this win needs to replace a win that was supposed to be over the Broncos, Patriots, or even Jets in Week 1. This win will also help re-establish a winning streak, especially heading into the bye. Sean McDermott is 6-0 in his career coming off the bye in his career and 3-1 against the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season. However, they are 3-3 with the game that leads into the bye.
Moving to 7-5 heading into the bye with the Eagles win and with the potential to move 8-5 with the above-mentioned record, especially against a faltering Chiefs offense is appealing. I know this is counting your chickens before you hatch, but good things can happen on both sides of the bye. Things happen when your back is up against the wall — that’s where the Bills are at and need to sense the urgency in order to live up to their potential.
Top Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated
