Absolute cinema!!
What an absolute wild game and finish as the Buffalo Bills won 37-34 in overtime! Like a game of ping-pong, back and forth, back and forth, the lead changed rapidly, with the Rams tying it with seconds left in the game. Overtime took nearly the entire time, and the Bills seemed destined to drop to 3-2 on the season until Greg Rousseau managed to block what would have been the game-winner had it gone in.
Fortunately, Josh Allen drove down the field. He set Tyler Bass up for the game-winner, an incredibly redeeming kick for Bass after missing all of last year as he recovered from his core muscle repair and missing an extra point earlier in the game. The Bills move to 4-1 on the season as they look to take on the upstart Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7.
Unfortunately, the Bills did suffer several injuries that you can read more about below with full analysis.
In-Game Injuries
OT Spencer Brown (Back)
Brown exited with 6:22 left in the second quarter after a routine play in which he blocked, rotated to his right, and took several more steps before going down to the turf holding his back. Athletic trainers tended to him and brought him back to the locker room to work on his back.
He was initially questionable to return before being downgraded to out. Unfortunately, Brown has had back issues since 2021.
2021: Back injury, missed 2 games, Weeks 8-9
2022: Microdiscectomy in May
2025: Started season on PUP due to a flare-up trying a new lift, activated on 7/31.
Last year, Brown had noted that he had several flare-ups that were not reported, and he notes that this is something that he has dealt with. It’s very possible that the block and twist flared his back up again. The team did note during the broadcast that they did not want to rule him out as they were still working on him, but ultimately he was unable to return.
The hope is that there may be some irritation at one of the facets, the area where the back connects at the next vertebrae. Irritation there is basically a sprain to the ligament and can become problematic until it calms down. There is also a possibility of a disc issue where he had the microdiscectomy, but I don’t believe that what we saw on film was enough to cause a disc herniation or even a bulge. This also leads to the possibility that he injured it on another prior play.
According to the Banged Up Bills injury database, offensive tackles miss 1.1 games with a back injury, so Brown may miss next week if the Bills medical staff can’t get his back calmed down. Considering the bye is the following week, this may be the best plan to let him get things back under control. We will have to see how things look this week, but we could see a scenario where the Bills are getting Tylan Grable ready to suit up in Week 6.
Additionally, we did see him in the locker room following the game in sweats indicating that his back calmed down enough to celebrate.
S CJ Gardner-Johnson (Knee)
I missed badly. CJGJ took down RB Blake Corum to save what would have been a likely touchdown with 1:13 left in the third quarter. He stayed down and began pointing to his right knee, as I noted in my first tweet below. It’s also worth noting that he had a sleeve on the knee prior to the play; this was the same leg that he injured back on August 10.
Looking at a better video review from friend Dr. David Chao, that left knee planted and shifted rather violently. I agreed with what Dr. Chao had said. At that point, my thoughts shifted to what I saw on film.
CJGJ was able to limp off, and I believed that his night was done for. Miraculously, he was able to return. This is the second week in a row that an injury on video has appeared to look worse than it really was with Landon Jackson last week.
I aim for transparency and really do my best not to cause alarm, but I missed on this one. We may still see CJGJ appear on the injury report this week, but he appeared to avoid serious injury.
LB Terrel Bernard (Wind Knocked Out)
Bernard briefly had to leave Monday’s game after he landed on the offensive player tackling him with 10:46 left in the fourth quarter. Due to needing to be checked out, he was forced to be removed from the game for at least one play. He sat out while he waited to return and then was able to reenter the game. A more hurt than injured situation.
CB Christian Benford (Right Toe)
Benford was forced from the game at 10:03 in the fourth quarter when he took down WR Puka Nacua and hit his right toe off the turf. This was the same one that he injured in Week 3, and that forced him to miss last week.
Fortunately, after limping off, he was cleared to return just after the two-minute warning and was able to finish the game. I’m expecting him to be on the injury report again this week but he may be on track to play in Week 7.
Final Thoughts
They managed to secure the win despite missing DJ Moore, his first game missed since 2019 due to injury. The Bills made the right decision by sitting him, knowing they need to get the shoulder healthy and that this is a long season. They also did this without Dee Alford at nickel cornerback, with the Bills potentially taking the same approach to get him healthy as they signed Anthony Kendall to the active roster.
The Bills will be out of their element this week as they stay out west, which means they won’t have their normal resources for rehab and recovery, though I’m sure they’ll still get their work in. They have a shorter turnaround since they played on Monday night, but the lack of travel should help.
I will note that I looked at the questionable rates of play for a team that’s heading into the bye to see if teams were more aggressive knowing they had a bye on the other side. This isn’t really available as a product in the Banged Up Bills injury database, but the difference is two percent more aggressive heading into a bye. That’s rather insignificant, and while it’s good information, it tells us that the Bills aren’t going to be too aggressive about getting guys back onto the field heading into the break.
The Bills somehow managed to secure the win as they look to take on the 3-2 Las Vegas Raiders in a crucial game to move to 5-1 and secure another conference win. Make sure to check back for the latest injury news coming out of One Bills Drive as the team gets back to practice on Wednesday.
Top Photo Credit: SportsNet
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