A matchup of 6-1 teams coming into the game, with the Bills running the best offense while the Vikings owned the best defense, the Bills’ offense prevailed in a 23-6 victory on Monday night. This game was much closer throughout most of the night until the Bills began capitalizing on mistakes from Carson Wentz before forcing him to the bench. The Bills also got the offense kicking midway through the game and also put Tyler Bass in position to get the points needed when the offense stalled out.
The Bills moved to 7-1 but dealt with several injuries in the game that could affect availability for next week. Read below for a full analysis.
In-Game Injuries
OT Spencer Brown (Undisclosed/Right leg)
Brown briefly went into the medical tent late in the first quarter and then re-joined his teammates on the bench. We never got an update as to why he went into the tent, but the fact that he has been battling his back injury had me briefly concerned. We didn’t see him require any further attention during the game, so this could have been a non-issue.
Brown also suffered another injury with about 9:00 left in the fourth quarter when James Cook hit his helmet into his right leg, knocking him to the ground. This appeared to be more of a hurt, not injured, but he will most likely be feeling that tomorrow morning.
CB Christian Benford (Right Wrist)
Benford went down with a right wrist injury with 27 seconds left in the second quarter trying to cover WR Justin Jefferson. He was carted to the locker room and initially questionable to return with a wrist, but was able to get back out there to start the second half.
He may have been carted due to the distance of the locker room from the field. It’s unusual to need the cart, but if that gave the Bills extra time to assess, then it’s to their benefit to take the cart.
He did come out to start the second half, with the broadcast noting that he had tape on the area.
Unfortunately, he did leave again in the third quarter with 5:23 left, as noted in the second clip above, when he took a block from the fullback, as seen above. I don’t have a good read on what he did to the wrist other than calling it a sprain, but he was unable to return to the game.
We’ll see how much he can do on Wednesday when the Bills return to practice, but I won’t be surprised to see him in a red non-contact jersey and potentially even miss a practice.
S Damar Hamlin (Cramping)
Hamlin was delayed to come out to start the second half due to needing an IV as he dealt with cramping.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Left Ankle)
Kincaid briefly had to leave after rolling his left ankle after losing his balance with 14:12 left in the fourth quarter on a pass to DJ Moore up the right side. Fortunately, he was taped up on the sidelines and returned after several plays.
This didn’t appear to hinder him for the remainder of the game, but I won’t be too alarmed if he shows up on the injury report later this week with an ankle designation, though I don’t expect him to miss any time.
Final Thoughts
The Bills ground out a win and forced the Vikings’ defense to wear down over time simply by keeping them on the field. When your starting quarterback continues to make mistakes and turn the ball over, even the best defenses get tired. I expect the injury list to grow a bit more this week as the team manages some of the various issues that came out of this game. They have two “easier” games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, but we’ve seen how the team has given up easy wins when they needed them the most.
They have to prepare for a short week to take on the Jets, but the fact that they got a win despite being without Dion Dawkins and Alec Anderson was promising. Hopefully both can return next week with both of their respective injuries and positions allowing them the possibility.
Make sure to check back for the latest injury news and updates in the coming days.
Top Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes
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