The Buffalo Bills moved to 3-0 with a 31-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, dropping them to 0-3. This game was much closer than expected with the Dolphins covering the spread that was double digits for most of the week. At last look, the spread was -11.5 with the Dolphins keeping it incredibly close throughout.
With the win, the Bills stay at top of the division as they head into their mini-bye ahead of Week 4. The division games always seem to be closer than anyone wants and with the Dolphins fighting for their jobs, they brought it and gave Buffalo a scare.
Fortunately, the Bills won and appeared to get out of the game without any serious injuries. Read below for notable injuries from the win.
In-Game Injuries
G O’Cyrus Torrence (Left Knee)
Torrence was briefly down with a left knee injury when he was run into from behind during a routine run play on 3rd & 2 with 14:10 left in the second quarter.
He was rolling around grabbing his left knee briefly before getting right up and returning to play. This may have been an instance where he was rolled up on but was more hurt than injured. He didn’t appear to have a brace on the knee later in the game.
CB Christian Benford (Wind Knocked Out)
Benford was the victim of a friendly fire hit from Taylor Rapp with 9:01 left in the third quarter. Rapp and Benford both go up for the ball with Rapp hitting him more in the chest.
The PR team reports that he got the wind knocked out of him and he was able to return in the next series.
DE AJ Epenesa (Right Hip)
Epenesa went down with 2:20 in the third quarter trying to secure a tackle at the line of scrimmage, but coming up short, landing on his right hip.
He was assessed by training staff on the sideline before returning to play during the next defensive series.
RB James Cook (Undisclosed)
Cook was seen coming out of the medical tent after the Khalil Shakir touchdown with 7:17 left in the fourth quarter to put the Bills up 28-21.
Looking back at the video, there isn’t much of anything of note that happened with Cook. He took two runs up the middle and landed on each shoulder, but didn’t appear to favor either side. His final play was off-screen as Shakir scored his touchdown. He was able to return in the final game-dealing offensive series.
Final Thoughts
The Bills are 3-0 and no worse for the wear. They smartly sat out Matt Milano and Ed Oliver as they prepare for the Week 4 contest against the New Orleans Saints.
The only other notable issue worth noting is Ed Oliver was walking around pregame without a boot on, though still not anywhere close to 100 percent.
While it is promising that he is out of the boot, he still appears a ways off from playing. I hope he can begin practicing next week but we could see him work to ramp up but need additional time until he’s ready to go.
There will not be an injury update until Monday at the earliest but several extra days to recover. Make sure to check back for updates as they come in and prepare for the Saints.
Top Photo Credit: Mark Konezny-USA Today
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