The 4-2 Buffalo Bills take on the 1-4 Tennessee Titans on Sunday in a Week 7 matchup. The Bills are coming off a 23-20 win over the New York Jets while the Titans are coming off a 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Titans are coming up north as they rebuild under new head coach Brian Callahan with their only win coming in Week 4 over the Miami Dolphins. The Titans have several key players dealing with injury and with a youth movement are a big reason they are currently a +9.5 underdog.
The Bills are coming off a solid divisional win and are looking to stack wins over the next few weeks. They are getting healthier weekly and looking to maximize their chances at a top seed.
Below is the full injury reports for both teams along with projected inactives, and final thoughts.
Buffalo Bills Injury Report
QUESTIONABLE
RB Ray Davis (Calf)
Davis was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday with a calf designation with limited participation and again on Friday. Based on Sean McDermott’s conservation on WGR, it did not appear as though Davis would suit up given the late week injury. Despite his questionable designation, I do not expect him to play.
S Mike Edwards (Illness)
Edwards did not practice on Friday as he dealt with an illness. While most players who have an illness on the injury report play, Edwards may not only because he has been inactive most games.
ACTIVE
LB Terrel Bernard (Left Pectoral)
Bernard continues to limit his workload during the week as he still recovers from his left pectoral strain. While he wears a red non-contact jersey to avoid unnecessary contact, he has no limitations heading into Sunday’s contest. Up to this point, he has looked fantastic over the last two games.
RB James Cook (Left Toe)
Cook returned to practice on Thursday without a red non-contact jersey and went through drills on a limited basis. Although his agency stated that he would play on Monday, he ultimately missed with a left toe injury that appears to be turf toe.
Whether this is truly is turf toe or a painful toe contusion, it appears that Cook will get to try and play come Sunday. As I mentioned last week, I would expect him to get more in the passing game and let Ty Johnson or Ray Davis, if he is active, get involved. Fortunately, Cook does not have a designation heading into the game.
FB Reggie Gilliam (Hamstring)
Gilliam popped up on the injury report this week with a hamstring designation after appearing in 24 total snaps. Most of his snaps were on special teams which limit his workload. However, he does not have a designation heading into the game and should see his normal workload.
WR Mack Hollins (Left Shoulder)
Despite playing last week, Hollins continues to wear a red non-contact jersey during practice. It appeared as though he suffered a left shoulder injury falling on the final offensive series against the Houston Texans. If this is a mild AC joint sprain, avoiding contact to the area and a gameday injection will help him heal and play.
CB Taron Johnson (Right Forearm)
Johnson continues to avoid contact in practice with a red non-contact jersey after he was able to return Monday after missing four games with a forearm fracture. While there were instances where it appeared as though the forearm bothered him, he came through in the clutch to secure a game-winning interception. Fortunately he has no designation and is improving.
DR DaQuan Jones (Foot)
Jones appeared in 45 defensive snaps during Monday’s game and had no in-game injury designations. He was on the injury report last week with a shoulder and with a foot injury this week coupled with a veteran rest break, this may be more of a maintenance issue.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Collarbone)
Kincaid was an interesting addition to the injury report as the team designated him with a collarbone injury. They have not used that designation since I began covering the Bills which makes this a different injury.
The video above appears to be the best possible instance of when he suffered the injury. Considering there is not much you can do to the collarbone, there is only a fracture, AC joint sprain, SC joint sprain, or direct contusion. We can easily rule out the first two as Kincaid would not be practicing with a fracture and AC joints are historically classified as shoulders.
This leaves an SC joint sprain or direct contusion to the area. He took a hard shot to the right side when Clemons fell on him which has me believe this is more of a painful contusion than an SC joint sprain. He does take the blow to the anterior shoulder but since his back is on the ground, that doesn’t allow much movement to pull on the SC joint.
Given that he popped right back up too suggests this as well. The collarbone is an area with minimal tissue protection so like other areas like the shin, it may be more susceptible to damage. Regardless of the specific injury, he does not have a designation heading into Sunday.
DT Ed Oliver (Left Hamstring)
Oliver returned to practice on Thursday after missing the last two weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in practice. He can see working the blocking sled on Thursday and did not appear to have any limitations.
While he is at an elevated risk to suffer an aggravation, the team usually takes their time in returning players back from hamstring injuries. Rarely do players deal with lingering soft tissue injuries which indicates Oliver should be good to go moving forward.
QB Josh Allen (Left Hand)
Allen continues to spend time on the injury report with a left hand injury dating back to Week 1. Whether the area was fractured or sprained, Allen has improved his game every week removing the tape that bound the fingers prior to Week 5. Ahead of Week 7, Allen removed the protective glove during practice
He has already been feeling better as evident in the picture above where he was blocking with his left hand.
DT Austin Johnson (Left Oblique)
Johnson continues to practice in full after suffering a left oblique injury against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4. He played in 29 percent of defensive snaps and should potentially see an increase this week.
C Connor McGovern (Left Shoulder)
McGovern appeared in every offensive snap on Monday but appeared to suffer a mild AC joint sprain as noted in the play below. You can see him grab the front portion of his left shoulder after falling directly onto the area.
Outside of needing a gameday injection and possibly a shoulder harness, McGovern will suit up on Sunday.
TE Quintin Morris (Right Shoulder)
Morris continues to require treatment for his right shoulder injury suffered against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason. Based on the shoulder harness and timeframe, there is a strong suspicion that he is dealing with a labral tear.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right High-Ankle Sprain)
Shakir returned on Sunday after missing one game due to a right high-ankle sprain. While it was excellent to see him get back out there, his production was quiet with 2 catches for 19 yards.
As he is feeling better, I do expect his route tree to grow and production will follow. There is concern for him to re-injure the area should he get rolled up on again but for him to miss only one game after a suspected high-ankle sprain is impressive.
QB Mitch Trubisky (Left Knee)
Trubisky continues to require treatment on his left MCL sprain suffered in the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
INJURED RESERVE
RB Darrynton Evans (Left Hamstring)
Evans opened up his practice window last week after he was placed on injured reserve on the final roster cut downs.
Despite practicing in full again this week, the Bills will need to complete a corresponding roster move to bring Evans back onto the roster. He has another week of practice before he either has to be put on the roster or back on IR for the season. While he is doubtful, I do not expect him to play.
Tennessee Titans Injury Report
OUT
DL Keondre Coburn (Knee)
Coburn suffered a knee injury in the first quarter against the Dolphins and was unable to return to the contest. Following his bye in Week 5, he still missed Week 6 and according to head coach Brian Callahan, he will end up missing Week 7 as well.
WR Treylon Burks (Knee)
Burks appeared on the injury report with a knee injury this week after appearing in 14 total plays, 9 on offense and 5 on special teams. However, it was revealed that Burks suffered a knee injury on Wednesday and did not practice Thursday and Friday, ruled out with the possibility of going on injured reserve.
RB Tyjae Spears (Hamstring)
Spears only saw 12 snaps on Sunday grabbing six carries for 27 yards before exiting with a hamstring injury. Reports came out the following day that he is week-to-week which is a fairly typical designation given his positional demands.
He was unable to practice all week and ruled out ahead of Sunday. Julius Chestnut and Jordan Kelley are next up for snaps behind Tony Pollard.
QUESTIONABLE
CB L’Jarius Sneed (Quad)
Sneed played in 99 percent of the defensive snaps in the Week 6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Looking at the video, this was the last play before he motioned to come out and then had one more play after that.
It would not surprise me if this is a quad contusion that tightened up on him after the game and following days, preventing him from practicing. He was unable to practice all week and given how much speed is necessary at his position, I do not anticipate him suiting up on Sunday.
QB Will Levis (Right Shoulder)
Levis has been playing through a right AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder after suffering the injury against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4. He was unable to finish that game and even with a bye week, Levis is still feeling the effects of that injury completing just 59 percent of his passes, his lowest since Week 1.
Although he has not missed extended time due to the injury, he is still not 100 percent. His accuracy is already compromised due to the injury and if the Bills defensive line can apply pressure early and often, this will force him to scramble, thus decreasing his accuracy further. There is a possibility that he could take another hard hit to the shoulder which could lead to him exiting the game again early. I would expect that he plays on Sunday, but if he doesn’t, then Mason Rudolph would get the start.
ACTIVE
LB Ernest Jones (Illness)
Jones was unable to practice on Wednesday due to an illness before upgrading his practice status on Thursday and Friday, having no designation for Sunday.
NT T’Vondre Sweat (Knee)
Sweat was a new addition to the injury report Thursday as he worked through a knee injury that he appeared to suffer in practice. However, this does not appear to be an issue has he returned to practice in full on Friday and has no designation.
INJURED RESERVE
LB Cedric Gray (Shoulder)
Gray has been on injured reserve since roster cut downs at the end of August. While his practice window was opened last week, it does not appear as though the team is ready to activate him to the roster yet. He has one more week to practice before they need to make the determination to activate him or keep him on injured reserve for the season.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
RB Ray Davis
OL Will Clapp
LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
S Mike Edwards
DT Zion Logue
Tennessee Titans Projected Inactives
CB L’Jarius Sneed
WR Treylon Burks
RB Tyjae Spears
DL Keondre Coburn
TE David Martin-Robinson
OL Jaelyn Duncan
Call up: RB Joshua Kelley, WR Tay Martin
Final Thoughts
The Buffalo Bills are the clearly better team on paper. Outside of defensive line and wide receiver, the Bills have better players at every unit. With that being said, the Bills still have struggled with teams that they should walk all over. The Bills run defense is always suspect and if the passing offense can’t get going like was seen against the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. If those two things crop up again, this could be a long afternoon for the Bills.
If the Bills get the passing offense going and work in James Cook and Ty Johnson for those tough yards, then the defense doesn’t have to be the reason the Bills stay in this game. The Bills will need to put pressure on Levis from the first snap and make him use that injured arm. If he somehow doesn’t play, Rudolph is the healthier quarterback, but there’s a reason he’s the backup as well.
The Bills need to go out and take care of business leaving no doubt who the better team is on Sunday. They also need to avoid anymore of the early season injuries that have cost them wins that could affect their seeding come playoff time.
Top Photo Credit: David Dermer/AP
