The Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots 29-26, dropping to 3-1 on the season in an incredibly frustrating finish. There were bright spots during the game including James Cook and Keon Coleman, but injuries began to mount along with poor play from the secondary, this allowed the Patriots to hang around and capitalize on turnovers and mistakes to win the game.
Read below for the injuries coming out of Sunday’s game.
In Game Injuries
C Connor McGovern (Undisclosed)
McGovern briefly went to the medical tent shortly after the James Cook touchdown early in the second quarter. Looking at the video below, it’s not clear what he did, but he went in and came out very quickly. He is not one to miss time, but notable when he does enter the tent.
WR DJ Moore (Left Shoulder)
Moore exited Sunday’s game with 1:48 left in the second quarter when he landed on his left shoulder. He was initially questionable to return before being downgraded to doubtful and did not return.
By video, he suffered a left AC joint sprain, the same one that he injured two weeks ago against the Detroit Lions. This was a concern of playing through the injury whether he could take another shot to the shoulder or protect himself. I don’t question whether he could protect himself or whether it was smart to play, but this is the risk of playing through this injury. Had he missed last week, this could have still been the same result landing on the shoulder, but he may have had more time to let the shoulder heal.
With the re-injury, you do worry about potential other structures being injured such as the rotator cuff, labrum, or even the brachial plexus, the collection of nerves that innervate the arm. Re-injury to the area creates pain, weakness, and inability to move the arm with confidence in every direction. He has gotten pre-game injections to help mask the pain, but that only manages the pain, not the underlying structures.
Moore is reportedly going to get an MRI to assess for further damage but I’m not certain that they’ll find much more than what they already know.
While this appears to be good news from Adam Schefter and confirms the aggravation of the AC joint sprain, it’s more of a neutral statement as it doesn’t offer much of a timeline.
With a shorter timeframe until Week 5 on Monday night, could Moore play? I believe he could, but should he? It’s a long season, he would benefit from getting that shoulder right. Wide receivers miss .87 games according to the Banged Up Bills injury database and Moore bucked that trend last week.
It’s no benefit to the offense if he’s in there for one quarter, hurts the shoulder again and then the offense gets stale without him in there. We’ll see how things look when they get back to practice Thursday, but I’m not certain that playing next week is the best idea.
CB Dee Alford (Right Ankle)
Alford left Sunday’s game with 9:28 left in the third quarter when he went down with a right ankle injury near the goal line. He backpedaled for several steps before he hopped off screen and sat down for athletic trainers to assess him.
It’s difficult to tell at this angle whether he rolled the ankle while he was blocking or if he injured it another way. If this had been a general low ankle sprain, taping it up and returning would have been the likely outcome.
I don’t see a clear high-ankle sprain mechanism, though when he is blocking between the two and one yard hash marks, he does turn his foot outward as he gets pushed backwards with his foot in dorsiflexion or foot pointed upward. It’s possible that he suffered the injury then and there, but considering the team is looking to do an MRI tomorrow, there is concern for additional damage such as the high-ankle or even a bone bruise.
CB/DB’s miss on average 1.26 games according to the Banged Up Bills injury database. We need to see how his practice participation looks, but I’m not feeling great about next week.
DT Ed Oliver (Left Knee)
Oliver quietly left the game with 10:43 left in the third quarter when he had his left leg taken out by former teammate FB Reggie Gilliam near the sidelines.
Due to the camera cutting away and not needing medical attention to get off the field, it wasn’t apparent initially that he had suffered an injury. He was later spotted on the sidelines without his gloves and helmet and later deemed questionable to return with a knee injury though he never did.
Following the game, he was spotted walking with a minor limp but no wrap on the knee or notable swelling. I expect it to get worse later but he may have avoided a more serious injury due to the fact that Gilliam hit him from the back and outside. He still suffered an injury, likely to the MCL, but this may be a day-to-day injury versus a week-to-week, though we don’t get those designations anymore. According to the Banged Up Bills injury database, defensive tackles with knee injuries miss 1.18 games on average.
We’ll have to see how Oliver progresses through the week but the team may have to prepare without him unless they can brace him up.
CB Te’Cory Couch (Hamstring)
Couch left sometime during the first half on what I assume was a special teams play. He was initially questionable to return before being downgraded to doubtful.
He has been battling what looks to be a hamstring injury during the preseason and during practice with his right leg either taped up or wearing a sleeve.
Based on the designation between cornerback and defensive back, they miss between 1.52 and 1.75 games according to the Banged Up Bills injury database. Considering he was a practice squad call up, he won’t be on the injury report, but he won’t be available for future call ups for the next few weeks.
DE Landon Jackson (Right Knee)
Jackson went down with a right knee injury with 2:19 left in the third quarter and was immediately emotional as the medical staff tended to him.
By video, there was concern for an MCL or even ACL injury and that’s what I was bracing for before we got reports than he was testing his knee out and returned after a brief absence. Frankly, I don’t know how he got that lucky, but I’m glad he did. This was the same knee that he suffered the MCL and PCL injuries last year that required surgery for the MCL. I expect him to be on the injury report this week after the swelling sets in, but he got real lucky.
Other Observations
LB Terrel Bernard (Undisclosed)
Bernard briefly left the game with 3:33 left in the third quarter and sat out at least one series before later returning in the fourth quarter. Looking at the film doesn’t reveal anything notable either. It’s entirely possible that the defense wanted to see if Kaleb Elarms-Orr had anything better to offer or if Bernard needed a few moments.
He came into the game with a knee injury and has required veteran rest breaks the last two days, but it’s not clear if this is related to this absence.
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t a good game. This was an opportunity for the Bills to really take charge of the division but instead, they let the Patriots back into the race. And what’s difficult to rationalize is that the Patriots will likely be healthier heading into the next game after they played without AJ Brown, Christian Gonzalez, and Christian Barmore.
All the Bills can do is review the film, get the guys in the training room, and regroup to prepare for next week. Check back for updates and news as the Bills prepare for Week 5.
Top Photos Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Discover more from Banged Up Bills
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
