The playoffs go on for another week in Western New York as the Buffalo Bills defeated the Denver Broncos 31-7 on Sunday. After a close first half, the Bills began to get key stops and pulled away late in the third quarter as they piled on and pulled away.
With the win, the Bills move onto the divisional round to host the Baltimore Ravens next week. One of the biggest concerns of the last few years has been injuries heading into this game and Buffalo was no exception to injuries during Sunday’s game.
Read below for all the injuries coming out of Sunday’s win along with analysis and any potential concerns heading into next week against the Ravens.
In-Game Injuries
CB Taron Johnson (Concussion Check/Neck)
Johnson put a scare into everyone when he attempted to go low on Broncos RB Javonte Williams with 6:30 left in the first quarter. He met him helmet-to-helmet and compressed his neck axially or top down. Johnson begins to fall down and gets hit by Williams knee again in the head before he falls down, staying there for several moments.
Trainers quickly tended to Johnson before he was able to get up and walk off under his own power. He went to the blue medical tent for evaluation before going to the locker room for a more thorough assessment. The team quickly cleared him of a concussion but he was questionable to return with a neck injury.
The direct compression of the cervical spinal cord was concerning for a lot of things initially but the fact that he was moving in all extremities and walked off the field indicated he avoided anything severe. He likely suffered a stinger and required some time to regain his range of motion in his neck and let the pain wear off. He was able to return to the game with 12:57 left in the second quarter and finished the game.
Following the game, Johnson stated that the bigger injury was the neck and that he was just sore. You can see his comments at the 28 minute mark in the link below. I won’t be surprised if he’s on the injury report this week but considering he finished the game, he should be good to go for Sunday with some maintenance.
OL Alec Anderson (Left Calf)
Anderson limped off the field with 3:23 left in the second quarter after a routine block. Looking at the video below, he came across the line and picked up his block, driving them backwards a step or two. During that block, Anderson came up lame and hurried off the field.
He was questionable to return with a calf injury which wasn’t great for an offensive lineman needing to anchor into the ground and run the jumbo package. He went to the locker room for further evaluation and treatment before coming out to play for the second half. He likely had the calf wrapped to help control for any swelling and to keep the area warm so that he could finish the game.
He has since been described as day-to-day which means he’ll be on the injury report this week as a limited participant but lineman appear to have more leeway to play through injuries than skill players. According to historical data, it’s roughly a 50/50 shot on whether a player suits up the week after a calf injury especially with lineman, though most of the calf injuries have been to defensive lineman as of recently.
He is another one to watch closely given how he is used in the offense.
RB Ray Davis (Concussion)
Possibly the scariest injury of the day was when Ray Davis suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit with 6:09 left in the third quarter trying to haul in an over the shoulder catch. He was unable to secure the ball, took the hit, and fell awkwardly. This concerned training staff to the point that they began bringing the backboard out to stabilize his neck and prevent further damage.
Fortunately, Davis was able to move and get up on his own, walking off the field. He was immediately escorted to the locker room for further evaluation before eventually downgraded to out with a concussion.
This is his first known concussion in college or the NFL which means this is new territory in how he responds to recovery and rehab. He did have access to his phone last night which suggests that he is at least asymptomatic at rest but someone else could have easily posted the message for him.
Sean McDermott confirmed that Davis is in the concussion protocol on Monday.
McDermott also noted that he is looking better from a human standpoint which is positive.
I’ll be looking for him to get a limited practice in by Thursday to give him a shot to play on Sunday. He will have to pass through the league concussion protocol, ramping up his activity and remain symptom free.
If Davis can’t go Sunday, I expect the Bills to have James Cook and Ty Johnson handle the workload while sprinkling in Reggie Gilliam as needed and calling up Frank Gore Jr.
CB Cam Lewis (Concussion Check)
Lewis required a concussion check after his hit as seen below early in the fourth quarter. He was down for several moments as training staff ran over to him and helped him into the blue medical tent for further assessment.
After a brief evaluation, he was cleared of a concussion and allowed to return to the game.
QB Josh Allen (Right Thumbnail)
Allen ripped his right thumbnail on his throwing hand on a hit from Nik Bonnito late in the fourth quarter. You can see on the replay how his nail appears to get caught on the jersey and Allen knows immediately something is wrong.
Trainers were appearing to put glue on the nail to allow it to adhere to the skin and stop the bleeding on the bench. Below is a dermatologist’s assessment of what happened who is also a Cover 1 Discord member.
Allen has a whole week to allow the area to heal and the big issue will be to ensure he can grip the football without pain. He has played through worse but this isn’t a nothing injury like we see some people making it out to be on social media.
Other Observations
WR Khalil Shakir (Right Arm)
The only reason why this was noteworthy was due to the eagle eye attention to detail by Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.
Looking back to see if there was anything there, Shakir did appear to be favoring his right hand throughout the rest of the drive after the tackle below.
It looked as though he hit his right elbow from a Broncos defender who tackled him, hitting the funny bone. The way he curls his ring and pinky finger suggest that especially if he continued to shake out the hand. This was not an issue later in the game but worth highlighting if he is on the injury report.
WR Amari Cooper (Left Wrist)
Cooper appeared to ditch the hard cast that he has worn on his left wrist after originally injuring the wrist back in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks. This is noteworthy as his wrist appears to be stable enough where he does not require the additional protection. He has worn it since Week 11, almost two months. He also was not on the injury report this past week.
WR Keon Coleman (Left Ankle)
Another issue noted by one of the Bills beat reporters, Andy Young of Spectrum News. Coleman looked to roll his left ankle as he jumped up to try and haul in the catch late in the fourth quarter. He did not leave the field nor did he require medical attention, just an observation to follow up with the reporting.
CB Brandon Codrington (Left Hamstring)
Codrington was trending in the right direction all week to potentially play on Sunday for kick and punt return, but the team ultimately held him out, likely as a precaution. Whether this was decided back on Friday or during warmups on Sunday isn’t known, but the team made the right decision to hold him out to allow him to be ready for the divisional round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens..
He is improving which is positive and there is a legit shot for him to play Sunday.
Final Thoughts
It was a close game until it wasn’t. This was a strong statement win that allows the Bills to move into next week maintaining their elite play. They also came out of the game pretty healthy with everyone expected to play next week as of publication besides Ray Davis and potentially Alec Anderson.
This next game against the Baltimore Ravens may be the biggest of the playoffs, even bigger than potentially the AFC Championship game. Many others have said this but the winner of this game will likely go on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The Ravens are pretty healthy besides WR Zay Flowers and the Bills will also be healthy.
Last time they met, the Ravens throttled the Bills 35-10 and they were without Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Taron Johnson, Von Miller and several other players were beat up.
These are two different teams now that match up very well and the Bills have the home field advantage. We’ll see how this week plays out injury wise for both teams but it’s shaping up to be a fantastic matchup.
Top Photo Credit: David Dermer/AP
