The Buffalo Bills easily took care of business on Sunday, dispatching the New York Jets 30-10 to move to 2-0. The Jets were never really a threat during the game, scoring a late passing touchdown from Tyrod Taylor after Justin Fields left with a concussion.
This game was never really in question as the Bills led wire to wire leading to a stress free Sunday. However, there were several injuries of note that could affect availability for some on the short week against Miami.
Read below for the latest injuries coming out of the win along with detailed analysis.
In-Game Injuries
QB Josh Allen (Bloody Nose)
With 1:52 left in the first quarter, Allen dove forward for no gain but was hit in the facemask by Jets DE Michael Clemons.
Allen missed two plays as the athletic trainers applied ice to his nose and stuffed gauze up his left nostril. He was able to return quickly and finish the game.
After the game, Allen was seen with swelling and bruising already present on the bridge of his nose during the press conference.
At best this is a bloody nose and bruised area, at worst, a broken nose. Even if the nose is broken, I don’t anticipate Allen to miss any time since he’s played through so much worse. I expect that he wears a visor as well to protect the healing area.
In addition, the only two nose injuries that I can recall was LB Julian Stanford who missed Week 1 of the 2018 season with what was assumed to be a broken nose during the preseason. More recently, S Wande Owens suffered a bloody nose during the preseason against the New York Giants.
Allen may not be doing any commercials or photo shoots over the next few weeks while the bruising heals but I have no concerns for Thursday even if he’s limited this week.
LB Matt Milano (Right Shoulder)
Milano sat out the second half of the win for initially unknown reasons before Sean McDermott revealed that Milano got dinged up.
Originally, I thought he injured his hamstring as seen in the tweet below.
Hours after the game, I read Joe Buscaglia’s article at The Athletic where he noted that Milano was wearing an arm brace on the sidelines.
Looking through the broadcast, he was spotted by the panoramic view on the sidelines with a right shoulder harness.
Then looking at the video before halftime, it appeared that Milano injured his right shoulder instead as he chased Justin Fields as shown below. He trips or falls and lands on both hands but with his weight shifted to the right side more. He also pulled the right arm in closer to his chest as he reacted to the pain.
He was able to finish the series before he was seen on the sidelines in the second half with his helmet on.
Potential injuries for this include a posterior labrum tear or a rotator cuff strain. The shoulder harness and no in-game updates indicate that this is something he could have returned to the game if needed but did not due to the score.
For what it’s worth, both Milano’s pectoral strain in 2020 and biceps tear in 2024 were to his left side.
This new information drastically changes the outlook on Milano’s potential for time missed. The short week on Thursday against Miami doesn’t help things and it wouldn’t surprise me if he sat out.
Guys like Taron Johnson have played through labrum tears and not missed time such as in the playoffs last year against the Baltimore Ravens. Jordan Poyer did not miss any time with a rotator cuff strain back in 2021. However, guys like Jordan Phillips tore both the labrum and rotator cuff in 2022and did miss extended time.
This is a wait and see approach as to what Milano will do for Thursday. I don’t expect he practices on Monday but Tuesday and Wednesday will be the true test based on how injured his shoulder is and how much he can do in practice.
S Taylor Rapp (Undisclosed)
Rapp briefly went into the medical tent with 7:04 left in the third quarter after a Jets three-and-out punt. It wasn’t clear what he went in for. He did take a hard shot to his left shoulder as noted below but popped right back up and finished the series.
There wasn’t much contact on the remaining plays and he was not in the broadcast camera shot during the punt. This is an injury we need more information on or the All 22 angles which could show us something else.
CB Cam Lewis (Right Ankle)
Lewis left with training staff with just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter after trying to avoid a late hit on Jets QB Tyrod Taylor. As Taylor slid in, Lewis went high but had his right leg still in contact with the ground. Taylor appeared to kick Lewis in the ankle before limping off.
This might be a more hurt than injured instance, but worth noting should he appear on the injury report Monday.
This will be updated as more information becomes available.
Final Thoughts
The only mild surprise was that CB Taron Johnson did not suit up on Sunday as he was initially questionable due to a quad injury suffered in Week 1. This may have been precautionary knowing the Miami Dolphins have a better wide receiver corps on Thursday. It is also early in the season and if anyone can get healthy, they should.
The Bills are now 1-0 in the division and 2-0 overall as they prepare to host the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night football. This is always a tough turnaround but I would rather they get these games out of the way early.
The team is beat up after a tough preseason but is still pointed in the right direction. They will take on a Miami team that will be without their starting offensive tackle in Austin Johnson after he was placed on injured reserve. They also have their own injuries they are battling through and don’t have any immediate advantages.
Top Photo Credit: AP Photo/Adam Hunger
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