The Buffalo Bills closed out Highmark Stadium with a dominating 35-8 win over the New York Jets. This put the Bills final regular season record at 12-5, good enough to clinch the sixth seed for the AFC Playoffs. They will take on the third seed Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm on Sunday.
While the game did not mean much to the standings, the stats for contract incentives, seeing, and injuries were all very much important and will have a notable impact on the playoffs with several injuries more concerning than others.
Read below for all the latest injuries coming out of Sunday’s win.
In Game Injuries
RB Ty Johnson (Right Ankle)
Johnson tweaked his right ankle on a run up the right side with 9:02 left in the first quarter when his fore foot got stuck in the turf and he rolled over. This had the initial mechanism for a high-ankle, but considering his weight was rolled away rather than over the ankle, this was a far milder injury. He was able to return for the next series and continued to play throughout the game.
This may be a more hurt than injured situation but the fact that he returned suggests this shouldn’t be a big issue moving forward.
Update: Johnson is day-to-day.
OL Tylan Grable (Left Finger)
Grable appeared to dislocate one of his fingers, potentially his middle finger on a run play with 5:55 left in the first quarter. You can’t see much as to what happened on the initial play.
However, you can see one of the athletic trainers trying to manipulate Grable’s hand and at one point had him kneel down for leverage. At this point, it looks like the athletic trainer is gripping the middle finger before the hand disappears from view.
This was a rather minor issue overall and this caused Grable to miss three total offensive snaps. I’m not certain that he even sees the injury report this week considering he returned and most lineman tape their fingers as it is.
K Matt Prater (Right Quad)
Prater may be one of the most significant injuries of the night when he was ruled out for the third quarter.
Looking at Prater’s last kick, there isn’t anything notable about the kick or his landing from what we can see from broadcast.
Even prior to the kick, he had jumped up with both legs, something that would have been difficult to accomplish on an injured quadriceps muscle. Looking back at his extra point, it pulled to the right but it appeared to be a routine delivery. Following Prater getting downgraded, Mitch Wishnowsky handled kickoff duties and the Bills went for two after touchdowns.
Hindsight says that the Bills should have kept Michael Badgley one more week but Prater probably was feeling good and knows his body after 20 years of football. This will be the injury to watch this week as I’m not certain Prater will be fully able to go. We will have to see who the Bills bring in to get through the Wild Card game.
Update: Prater is day-to-day and could potentially play this weekend.
CB Cam Lewis (Left Hamstring)
Lewis had to briefly exit with 7:46 left in the third quarter when he appeared to aggravate his left hamstring on the kickoff trying to back up and then get back into the group trying to take the returner down.
This has been an injury he has been working through since injuring the muscle in practice ahead of Week 16. He has been playing through the injury but it has clearly affected his ability to perform and be available. He never received an in game designation, but I was able to capture video from my seats showing Lewis running and trying to keep warm on the sidelines to return to the game.
I fully expect Lewis to be on the injury report this week and his availability in question for the playoffs until we get more information.
S Darnell Savage (Undisclosed)
Savage left with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter on an undisclosed injury as he gets hit in the right shoulder going out of the frame.
He sat out one play due to walking off with training staff before he was able to return. The All-22 footage will have a better view as to what happened, but considering he only missed one play, this may be nothing moving forward.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Right Ankle)
This may be the injury that has the second most impact on the Bills playoff run following Matt Prater’s injury. Hairston went down on an awkward play trying to tackle the Jets Quentin Skinner. It looked as though Hairston tried to redirect where he was going to tackle and adjusted at the last second, pushing off the left foot. He grabbed Skinner and the force of Skinner plus Hairston’s body weight placed all the weight over Hairston’s forefoot and rolled to the right, pinning his foot to the turf. The initial mechanism of injury strongly suggests a high-ankle sprain though his heel was not on the ground which we see more commonly with more significant cases.
Hairston immediately went to the locker room and was doubtful to return. Following the game, Hairston was spotted wearing a walking boot on his right leg. This is a common response following any foot or ankle injuries and doesn’t necessarily indicate severity, but it does tell us that the injury isn’t nothing.
If this is a high-ankle sprain, we have seen several players return after missing one game such as Khalil Shakir and Dion Dawkins, but more often, they miss two games. Considering this is also the same side that he injured his LCL in the summer, the team doesn’t want to risk any further compensation injuries.
Until we hear from Sean McDermott on Monday, I’d expect Hairston to be labeled week-to-week and to miss at least next week and potentially the divisional round should the Bills win. This one I would love to be wrong on.
Update: Hairston has been designated as week-to-week and he isn’t expected to play against Jacksonville Sunday.
Final Thoughts
It’s a shame the game didn’t mean much other than what could be the final game at Highmark Stadium. Unfortunately, the injuries suffered Sunday have a real impact on the playoffs moving forward, most notable Prater and Hairston.
We will have to see how the Bills move forward with these injuries and others. It’s worth highlighting that the Bills have an additional two designation to return for injured reserve. They have used five so far this season (Grable, Hairston, Davis, Hardman, Sanders) which means they have five more they can use. They also can elevate anyone from the practice squad using only two per game which means those out of elevations during the regular season can play in the playoffs despite being on the practice squad.
Those will come in handy with several of these injuries.
Top Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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