The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs square off on Sunday at 4:25 in one of the biggest regular season contests this year. The Bills come into this contest 8-2 and the Chiefs are a perfect 9-0 and two-time defending Super Bowl Champions. This matchup has become this generation’s Manning vs Brady, Young vs Farve,or even Bradshaw vs Stabler.
Since Sean McDermott took over in 2017, the Bills are 4-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season, but 0-3 in the postseason when it really counts. Sunday is the latest chapter in this rivalry which has all the makings of another fantastic game.
Below are the full injury reports for each team along with projected inactives, and final thoughts.
Buffalo Bills Injury Report
OUT
WR Keon Coleman (Right Wrist)
Coleman was immediately ruled out on Monday ahead of the Week 11 matchup against the Chiefs. The team has been stating all along that this is potentially a multi-week injury and giving Coleman two more weeks to get right.
It still isn’t clear what the exact injury is, but considering we have seen the swelling over the top of the hand, he has had to wear a brace on the area intermittently. I had originally thought this was a contusion, but how quickly they rule him out has me pivoting back to a non-displaced fracture. Where the fracture is isn’t clear, but giving him two games plus the bye may be enough to allow the area he injured to heal up.
This will be something to watch coming out of the bye with no guarantee that he will be ready for San Francisco. The hope is there but we need more info than what we have for a better timeline.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Left Knee)
Kincaid was unable to practice all week after suffering a left knee injury late in the first quarter as noted below.
The hope was that this was a bursitis that worsened throughout the game but considering he had to wear a hinged brace and his knee appeared to be catching more of a PCL sprain.
Knowing how the Bills have managed PCL tears in the past, it’s not surprising that Kincaid will miss Sunday. The bye comes at the perfect time and the hope is that he can return in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers.
QUESTIONABLE
WR Amari Cooper (Left Wrist)
Cooper has missed the last two games dealing with a left wrist injury that has required him to wear a cast on the area. We haven’t gotten too much new information since last week, but both Cooper and McDermott have reiterated that this is a pain issue.
Below is the clip of the play that Cooper describes where he injured his wrist. He was able to finish the game but this became an issue the first practice after Seattle.
Looking at everything over the last two weeks, this could be a fracture, but he’s been catching balls the entire time and practicing. We’ve seen players like Dawson Knox play through a scaphoid fracture but eventually required surgery. I’m not certain this is something they blame pain on.
This leaves a ligament or cartilage issues. Ligament tears would be more of an instability issue and not a pain issue. This leaves the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) as a culprit.
This is what I said about this injury last week:
“This leaves a TFCC tear or an avulsion fracture to the triquetrum. The triangular fibrocartilage complex or TFCC is an area of cartilage on the ulnar aspect of the hand. It acts as a shock absorber and stabilizer of the wrist to the forearm. If this is torn, he would have difficulty gripping, clicking, and instability. Cooper did not that he didn’t have issues with grip, but the cast was impacting his ability to catch the football.”
Frankly, I focused too much on the grip portion of this. This is one of the few injuries that is more of a pain issue according to the literature. “Patients will present with point tenderness between the pisiform and ulnar head. They will get ulnar sided wrist pain that often gets worse with activity.
Rest, physical therapy, and corticosteroids are the first line of management. For elite athletes, if there is no distal radioulnar joint instability, one week of rest with splinting and re-examination after one week is reasonable.”
All that information lines up with Cooper based on what we see right now. He has had the cast on for two weeks now but they’ve never closed the door on his availability to play like they’ve done with Bernard, Johnson, or Coleman. This appears to be an injury that Cooper will continue to play through for the rest of the season. Even when/if he gets surgery, results are generally favorable.
He could realistically try to gut it out for this game knowing that he can rest and rehab it after this game. A promising sign on Wednesday was when Cooper was taking passes from the JUGGS machine, a step up in speed from the last two weeks where he has taken light passes during individual drills.
In the next clip below, he notes that he was catching passes from Josh Allen and he believes that he can play this weekend.
RT Spencer Brown (Right Ankle)
Brown suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter when blocking as noted above. He was able to get the ankle taped and return to finish the game but unable to practice on Wednesday.
He was optimistic on Wednesday that he could play but it was too soon to tell. Considering this is his kick step leg on the outside playing right tackle, he better be able to demonstrate the stability necessary to plant the leg back during pass rushes. The big issue is that we haven’t seen him do much with the ankle to tell us which way he is leaning.
The last time Brown suffered an ankle sprain, he missed two games but that injury was much more significant back in 2022.
Brown stated that he wanted to continue to test out the ankle until Saturday to determine whether he can play.
Common sense says that he doesn’t play, but if he thinks he go, he’ll play.
ACTIVE
QB Josh Allen (Left Hand)
Josh continues to require some type of treatment on his left hand that he hit with his right elbow scoring a touchdown in Week 1.
CB Christian Benford (Right Wrist)
Benford returned to the lineup after a one game absence following a wrist injury that he has been dealing with for several weeks now. He wore a brace in practice last week but did not require it during the game.
LB Terrel Bernard (Left Pectoral/Right Ankle)
Bernard continues to require rehab for his right ankle sprain that he suffered in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans. This is the primary injury that is limiting him as his left pectoral strain from Week 2 should be close to, if not fully healed by now.
CB Kaiir Elam (Left Shoulder)
Elam continues to require rehab on his left shoulder injury originally suffered against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. He states that he dislocated his shoulder and required training staff to reduce it. He is wearing a shoulder harness now but he is susceptible to further instability events.
FB Reggie Gilliam (Hip)
Gilliam has missed the last two games after suffering a hip injury in practice prior to Week 8. He was able to practice in full all week and has no designation.
WR Mack Hollins (Left Shoulder)
Hollins continues to require rehab on what is thought to be a left AC joint sprain suffered back against the Houston Texans in Week 5. He has not missed any games but is occasionally limited during practice.
DT DaQuan Jones (Foot)
Jones has been on the injury report due to a foot ailment dating back to Week 6 against the New York Jets. His snap count has fluctuated anywhere between mid-40 percent to mid-70 percent, but this appears to be more of a game plan rather than injury.
TE Quintin Morris (Right Shoulder/Hamstring)
Morris has been on the injury report since Week 1 due to a right shoulder injury dating back to when he was injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason. He continues to wear a shoulder harness suggesting a labrum tear. He has also been working through a hamstring strain dating back to Week 8.
S Taylor Rapp (Left Foot/Shoulder)
Rapp has been working through a left foot injury dating back to Week 7. He has had the foot taped up and worked on by training staff at practice. He popped up with a shoulder ailment this week with it possibly being a right shoulder based on the pictures from Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins.
A fellow Bills fan noted that Rapp seemed to work his right shoulder out after every hit which is notable considering he was wearing a brace. As to the specific shoulder injury, that part isn’t clear, but is worth watching as the season progresses.
WR Curtis Samuel (Right Pectoral/Foot)
Samuel is still working through a right pectoral strain suffered against the Tennessee Titans back in Week 7. He missed the following week and returned in Week 9 on a pitch count, playing in just 17 snaps.
He increased his workload last week, playing in 89 percent of offensive snaps. He picked up a foot injury that may have been an aggravation from the foot injury dating back to Week 5 against the Houston Texans. He was officially designated as a toe but was indicated with a foot during press conferences. At this point, both are chronic issues that he will play through.
DE Casey Toohill (Left Knee)
Toohill has been dealing with a left knee injury he tweaked against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. He is wearing a hinged knee brace with the mechanism of injury showing a mild MCL sprain.
LB Dorian Williams (Left Knee)
Williams has been dealing with a left knee sprain dating back to the Tennessee Titans game when his knee was hit in a pile midway through the fourth quarter. He has worn a hinged knee brace and played through the injury.
INJURED RESERVE
LB Matt Milano (Left Biceps Tear)
Milano opened his 21-day practice window this week after suffering a left distal bicep tear while hitting a tackling dummy on August 13. This is roughly three months from the date of surgery as they would have performed surgery immediately after the injury.
Opening the practice window is a little sooner than I had anticipated, but considering the team can use all three weeks to slowly bring him back adds time onto his return. I had thought they’d wait closer to the four month mark before bringing him back but Sean McDermott highlighted how Milano attacked his rehab.
While his return from the biceps tear is more predictable which will have him return with a hinged elbow brace. What I will be more curious about is how his right knee looks moving around on the field. He’s had an additional three months to rehab the knee without irritating the bone and tissues. He was improving as he began his road back with some issues with deceleration and pushing off the right side, but things were getting ironed out.
You can see the difference below in the tweet.
This won’t be All Pro Matt Milano but if he can get back to 60-75 percent of what he once was should suffice for the Bills for the playoff run. 2025 will be a different beast but this is the ramp up period to that. I’m looking forward to the return of Matt Milano.
To read more, click below.
Kansas City Chiefs Injury Report
ACTIVE
WR Juju Smith-Schuster (Hamstring)
Smith-Schuster has been out since suffering a hamstring strain back in Week 7. Head coach Andy Reid noted how he was improving and was on track to play this week.
DE Michael Danna (Right Pectoral)
Danna has been working through a right pectoral strain originally suffered back in Week 5. He missed three games before returning in Week 10, appearing in 59 percent of defensive snaps.
QB Patrick Mahomes (Left Ankle)
Mahomes has been on the injury report since suffering a left ankle injury in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was the result of him stepping awkwardly as seen below.
Despite the injury, Mahomes has played through the injury and that should not change come Sunday.
WR Mecole Hardman (Knee)
Hardman has been a mainstay on the injury report this season with a knee injury dating back to Week 5. However, he changed it up this week and was being treated for a shoulder and toe injury.
WR DeAndre Hopkins (Knee)
Hopkins is working through a knee injury that he appeared to pick up this week. He has had a history of knee issues dating back several years but this may be more of a maintenance issue.
RB Kareem Hunt (Knee)
Hunt picked up a knee injury on Sunday but was able to practice in full all week. He had been dealing with a quad issue dating back to Week 8.
DE George Karlaftis (Abdomen/Ankle)
Karlaftis appears on the injury report with abdomen and ankle issues following Sunday’s win with the ankle being the new issue. He was on the injury report last week due to the abdomen. He was able to practice in full all week and has no designation.
OT Wayna Morris (Right Knee)
Morris has been working through a right knee injury, specifically a bone bruise that he aggravated on Sunday. According to reports, he’s been dealing with the injury all season and continues to tweak the issue.
He could see his day end early if he tweaks it again which means Kingsley Suamataia would step in.
DT Derrick Nnadi (Triceps)
Nnadi has been on the injury report dating back to Week 1 due to his triceps injury and has played in every game. The injury actually dates back to the Wild Card game against the Miami Dolphins missing the three remaining playoff games.
He later started the season on PUP before being activated early in camp. He has appeared in a reserve role all season but should play.
Injured Reserve
RB Isaiah Pacheco (Right Fibular fracture)
DE Charles Omenihu (Right ACL Tear)
Pacheco and Omenihu continue to work back from their respective injuries being designated to return this week. Pacheco has been working back from a right fibular fracture suffered in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals and appears closer to playing in Week 12 or 13.
Omenihu tore his right ACL in the AFC Championship game against Baltimore Ravens last season.
K Harrison Butker (Left Knee)
Butker went on injured reserve for a left knee injury to undergo a meniscus trim after popping up on the injury report on Thursday. He has been kicking with an odd kicking style as noted below where he falls on the knee. This is due to a left ankle injury he suffered last year in Week 1 and he’s just kept with that.
This style does allow him to avoid placing pressure through the left knee and ankle, letting the hip fall out to the side and dissipating his momentum. This could have possibly contributed to the meniscal issue but it’s not clear.
This article was found by a Cover 1 Discord Member, @HotBillsTakes where Butker discusses how he worked with a biomechanist to adjust his kicking technique.
He will miss the next four games with the Chiefs signing Spencer Shrader off the New York Jets practice squad.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
WR Keon Coleman
OL Will Clapp
LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
WR Jalen Virgil
Call Up: TE Zach Davidson
Kansas City Chiefs Projected Inactives
DE Cameron Thomas
DT Marlon Tuipulota
OL CJ Hanson
OT Ethan Driskell
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Final Thoughts
As much as this game matters for playoff seeding, home field advantage, and overall record, this game will ultimately not matter. It’s a high likelihood that these two teams are on a collision course in the playoffs once more, hopefully in the AFC Championship game. I believe every Bills fan would gladly take a loss here if it meant beating the Chiefs in the postseason and denying them another trip to the Super Bowl.
While no guarantees can be made like that, the Bills will craft a solid game plan to win but not throw everything at them. Not having Keon Coleman may be a minor blessing in disguise because this allows him to take a step back, learn more in the classroom while getting healthier. Attempting to beat the Chiefs with a less than healthy roster will only help make the Bills more dangerous come playoff time.
I am expecting a fantastic game with several plays deciding the outcome. The season is not over win or lose, but a lot will be determined from this game.
Top Photo Credit: Rotoballer.com
