“Break on through to the other side, break on through to the other side” – The Doors
That’s exactly what the Buffalo Bills did Sunday night, they broke on through to the other side of the divisional round defeating the Baltimore Ravens 27-25 in a thrilling matchup.
In a game where the Buffalo Bills were the betting underdogs, they capitalized on several key turnovers including a timely forced fumble by Terrel Bernard. It was incredibly close at the end especially with a late score by the Ravens and a dropped two-point conversion by Mark Andrews.
This game came down to several plays and the Bills capitalized to earn a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. With such a physical game, there were injuries coming out of this one.
Read below for all the injuries coming out of the game and analysis
In-Game Injuries
C Connor McGovern (Right Shoulder)
McGovern suffered a right shoulder injury when he fell onto his right elbow early in the game and grabbed at his right shoulder as the pile got away from him. He was down for several moments before getting back up and finishing the series.
He did not miss a snap and was still quite effective throughout the game. He did not appear to require any new bracing or tape on the shoulder as he had it there previously. He also suffered a left AC joint sprain back in Week 6 against the New York Jets which required him to wear a shoulder brace then. I was mistaken in that he re-injured the same shoulder when in fact it was the opposite shoulder.
He was on the injury report for his left shoulder injury ahead of Week 7 but had no designation. This will be an injury he continues to play through but it would not surprise me if he is on the injury report this week as he works through the issue.
LB Terrel Bernard (Undisclosed)
Bernard was briefly observed walking out of the blue medical tent early in the game after the Lamar Jackson fumble ran back by Von Miller. Looking back at the film, there isn’t anything notable which would have caused an injury and looking at the prior plays in the series didn’t reveal anything either.
Camera caught him late in the game using a massage gun on his left thigh area. This was the same side and location that he suffered his quad injury in Week 17 against the New York Jets. Use of the massage gun helps keep the muscle loose and promote blood flow to the area. Whether this was the reason he went to the medical tent earlier isn’t clear, but something to watch on the injury report this week. Even if his quad is still bothering him, this would not be enough to stop him from playing or being effective next Sunday.
S Taylor Rapp (Right Hip)
This might be the most consequential injury coming out of the game when Rapp quietly exited following the Von Miller fumble recovery in the second quarter.
Video shows that he collides with Damar Hamlin at his right shoulder/trunk and then Hamlin slides over Rapp’s back. This pushes the trunk forward and with Rapp’s right foot on the ground, this hyperflexes the right hip. His right knee hits the ground and drives the head of the femur into the acetabulum. He can’t push off his right leg when he gets up but returns to play for another five plays and moves fairly well, even securing a tackle before he had to go to the medical tent.
He had difficulty placing weight through his right leg and needed to take the cart up to the locker room where he was questionable before being downgraded to out.
By video, there is concern for a hip labral tear. Both could occur together or separately. Direct trauma such as how we saw Rapp injure his hip could have sheared the femoral head against the acetabulum and pinched the labrum with the hyperflexion. This could have also caused chondral damage to the femoral head or acetabulum.
The labrum of the hip is cartilage on the rim of the hip that helps keep the femoral head in place within the acetabulum. it also acts as a joint lubricator, shock absorber, and distributes pressure within the hip.
Typically hip labral tears occur with hip hyperextension or external rotation but the direct trauma could have led to this as well. Fortunately, this is an injury that he appears that he can play through. There is not a lot of research available for players playing through labral tears and days lost.
I was able to find five different players who suffered hip labral tears during the season but did not miss any games. They are QB Kurt Warner (2008), WR Brandon Marshall (2008, 2009), S Ed Reed (2012), TE Cameron Brate (2018), WR Jarvis Landry (2019). All required surgery after the season but did not miss any games.
There were two instances where players suffered labral tears and missed time but they had extenuating circumstances. OT Lucas Niang suffered a hip labral tear in 2019 and missed five games. However, this was his senior season and this may have been a self preservation for the draft and to get it repaired.
The other one is Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase. He suffered a right hip labrum tear and hairline fracture in 2022. He missed four games mainly due to the hairline fracture needing to heal.
The one study I did find on hip injuries in NFL players forced players to miss an average of 12.3 days but that’s combining every injury including hip strains and hip pointers among other issues.
He will need to rest the hip and begin working on range of motion and stability exercises to get through the game. Limitations in cutting/pivoting movements with a dull ache and catching in the hip will be noted. A corticosteroid shot to assist with pain will likely be indicated to help him get through this game and potentially the Super Bowl.
We will need to see how Rapp progresses through practice this week but there is a fair chance that he could play on Sunday.
On Monday, Sean McDermott noted that he is day-to-day which fits what we saw above with other labral tears.
CB Taron Johnson (Left Shoulder)
Johnson scared everyone when he landed on his left shoulder awkwardly with his arm fully extended late in the fourth quarter as seen above. He slid out of bounds and grabbed at his shoulder as training staff tended to him. He remained on the ground as Dr. Bisson began working on his shoulder as seen below performing what looked to be the Kocher Method to reduce the shoulder.
The mechanism of injury strongly suggests a subluxation of the shoulder which is a partial dislocation. It’s possible it was fully dislocated but the fact that he returned to the game suggests it was a subluxation.
This is not the first time that a player has returned to the same game with a shoulder subluxation/dislocation this season. Kaiir Elam suffered the same injury tackling Tyreek Hill back in Week 9, had the shoulder reduced, and returned to the game. I expect Johnson to be limited throughout the week but play with a shoulder harness and still be effective in coverage. Tackling may at times be an issue if he has to extend, but he can still be a problem for any offense.
He did play most of his rookie season with a right shoulder labrum tear which means he is no stranger to managing the injury. The Bills training staff will have him ready for Sunday.
On Monday, Sean McDermott noted that Johnson is sore but didn’t give him a designation.
LB Matt Milano (Right Thigh/Knee)
Milano was not in for the final four plays of the game after he collided with Lamar Jackson with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter. By video, his right knee makes contact with Jackson’s right leg and once Jackson gets knocked backwards, he hops on left leg and out of bounds.
Dorian Williams subbed in for the final plays which ended with the Mark Andrews two-point conversion drop. The video sideline view doesn’t reveal the exact injury that Milano suffered, but this is something worth noting. For what it’s worth, Twitter user HotBillsTakes noted that Milano was on the sidelines standing on both legs throughout the final plays which means that this may be more of a minor issue.
We need more information as to the exact injury and what things look like Wednesday.
UPDATE: One thing I forgot to mention initially was that this was the same side that he suffered his tibial plateau fracture last year. The way he hit and what we saw afterward strongly implies that he didn’t do anything to mess with that prior injury.
CB Christian Benford (Concussion)
Benford was announced to be in the concussion protocol, a minor surprise considering he played in 98 percent of defensive snaps on Sunday.
Considering the timing of the play, it makes sense why we didn’t hear about anything until Monday afternoon. This is Benford’s first publicly reported concussion so it remains to be seen how long he’ll be out and if he clears protocol in time.
Final Thoughts
That was one exciting game that lived up to expectations and the Bills came out on top. Next week is a re-match with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills have taken care of the Chiefs in the regular season but have not found the same success in the postseason. This is also a rematch of the 2020 AFC Championship game.
Looking back, in each of those games, the Bills came in beat up. 2020 had the wide receivers dealing with injury including Stefon Diggs with an oblique, Cole Beasley with a broken proximal fibular head, Gabe Davis suffered a high-ankle sprain in that game, and Zack Moss had broke his ankle in the Wild Card round.
In 2021 they were missing Tre’Davious White and Ike Boettger due to their season-ending injuries and Emmanuel Sanders working through a right knee injury.
2023 had everyone and their mother injured including Terrel Bernard, Tyrel Dodson, Sam Martin, Rasul Douglas, Matt Milano, Taylor Rapp, Micah Hyde, Jordan Phillips, Tre’Davious White, and Gabe Davis.
Every one of those years the Bills were right there with the Chiefs besides the 2020 season. 2021 the Bills should have won and they were right there in 2023. The Bills are markedly more healthier than any of those previous iterations even despite this week’s injuries and on a heater right now. The Bills can win next week. Period.
It doesn’t help that the Chiefs are also relatively healthy heading into this game but I think any fan would want both teams playing at the top of their abilities.
We’ll see how the week plays out but Buffalo could have their full starting lineup come Sunday. No one is totally healthy at this point but whoever has more key contributors can win the game.
Make sure to check back often for the latest injury information this week as the Buffalo Bills prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Top Photo Credit: Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
