The Buffalo Bills traveled out to Chicago to face the Bears in a preseason game on Sunday night, losing 38-0. This was part of several days in the Windy City, which included a joint practice on Friday.
While the outcome was irrelevant, individual performance and injuries were the big concerns as cut-down day approached.
Read below for all the injuries coming out of Sunday’s loss and full injury analysis.
New Injuries
DT TJ Sanders (Right Ankle)
Sanders rolled his right ankle late in the second quarter which required a tape job on the sidelines. After the injury, he did not return for the second half but this injury is a garden variety ankle sprain and should not have any long term bearing on his availability.
DB Jordan Hancock (Right Shoulder)
Hancock went down after a tackle with 9:59 left in the third quarter with athletic trainers quickly tending to him. He was able to walk off under his own power and went to the bench for further evaluation.
Unfortunately, he was quickly ruled out. By video, it looks like he was kicked in the shoulder.
After the game, he said he was feeling fine and did not receive any imaging at Soldier Field. It’s important to note that he had tape on the shoulder prior to the game and that’s what you see in the video afterward. This tape job suggests a prior AC joint sprain that he aggravated when he tackled the Bears player.
We may see him miss a practice or wear a red non-contact jersey but this was a far less severe injury than originally anticipated.
C Kendrick Green (Right Arm)
Green looked to take a funny hit early in the second quarter when he engaged with his defender and hit his helmet and disengaged. He stayed with the play but once it was over, he was rolling out and shaking his arm as though he suffered a stinger. It’s possible that this is what it was, but he did not require attention from athletic trainers nor leave the game.
Other Observations
C Connor McGovern (Right Hamstring)
McGovern sat out of Sunday night’s game in street clothes with the rest of the injured players with a previously unknown issue. He was spotted with a wrap on his right thigh area during joint practices as noted below.
Following Sunday’s game, he told reporters that he tweaked his hamstring which is why he was held out.
Beat reporters did not note that he required attention from athletic trainers. This is an injury that McGovern could play through, but considering this is the preseason, it won’t surprise me to see him sit out for another practice to make sure this will not linger. Overall, I have little concern for a hamstring for a lineman considering the positional demands compared to a speed player.
S Cole Bishop (Left Quad)
Bishop was the only projected starter who started Sunday night, as he needed the live reps more than anyone else after missing the last two weeks with a left quad injury dating back to July 29. Much was said about how he got burned during the opening drive, but he looked healthy running, tackling, and leaping during his time on the field.
Did it look pretty that he got burnt? No, but I’d hate to see him not move well and get beaten because of injury. He is working his way back, and this is why he needs to play preseason football.
It’s also important to note that he was on a pitch count to avoid aggravating the quad injury, ending his night early.
Final Thoughts
Thank god this was preseason football because that was ugly. The Bills are much more capable but it’s a little concerning when the backups perform that poorly.
They certainly have work to do but they came out of this one pretty clean injury wise. The Bills have to rest up and prepare on a short week as they head down south to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. Be sure to check back often for the latest injury updates.
Top Photo Credit: Buffalo Bills
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