Sad to hear: I believe the Buffalo Bills are completely suffering as a result of…
ORCHARD PARK: The Buffalo Bills’ injury report may not be as bad as it appeared earlier in the week, but it is still cause for concern ahead of their playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night in the AFC divisional round.
The game will not feature safety Taylor Rapp, linebacker Baylon Spector, wide receiver Gabe Davis, or cornerback Christian Benford, according to coach Sean McDermott’s announcement on Friday morning.
Positively, punter Sam Martin, linebackers Terrel Bernard and Tyrel Dodson, and cornerbacks Taron Johnson and Rasul Douglas may be able to play, though we won’t really know until 90 minutes before to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on game day.
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Unexpectedly, McDermott also mentioned that wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ practice participation on Friday will be “limited at best” because of a foot issue. Although it is anticipated that he will play, you have to question how serious the injury is. Diggs said say he will be alright in the locker room on Friday.
The Chiefs in Kansas City, meantime, are in excellent shape as they only have one injured significant player on their roster: nose tackle Derrick Nnadi. Wide receiver Skyy Moore and offensive guard Wanya Morris are also sidelined. Bryan Cook, their safety, won’t be available either, although he hasn’t played since suffering an injury more than a month ago.
Who will start for the injured Bills instead of?
Benford, Christian (47).is one of the four Bills who have already been declared out of Sunday’s playoff matchup with the Chiefs.
Benford will be replaced by Dane Jackson at first, then Kaiir Elam will have to take over if Douglas is unable to play. Johnson told reporters that while he is still in the concussion protocol and needs to clear one more test on Saturday, he believes he will be fine to travel.
Although McDermott stated that Bernard had a shot, it still appears improbable. After being dragged off the field during last week’s game against the Steelers, he was using crutches and an air cast. X-rays came back negative, but he didn’t practice all week, so it would be a significant accomplishment if he played on Sunday.
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The Bills will likely turn to AJ Klein, a veteran, to be the middle signal caller if Bernard is unable to play. After only returning to the team’s practice squad the previous week, Klein was added to the game day roster, played the majority of the game against Pittsburgh, and led the Bills with 11 tackles.
It would be crucial for Dodson to be able to return to his outside position because if he can’t, rookie Dorian Williams will most likely have to start. Tyler Matakevich, a vital special team player who is essentially limited to an emergency linebacker, would be the only other healthy linebacker.
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Trent Sherfield will again take over for Davis at wide out. As the season progressed, Davis’ primary contributions were running clear-out routes to draw attention away from Stefon Diggs and Dalton Kincaid’s coverage and blocking for the run. Sherfield can accomplish that with ease, as we observed when we looked at the Dolphins and the Steelers (after Davis’s injury).
