Buffalo Rumblings
Buffalo sent two players to IR ahead of Sunday, and has five more with injury designations
The Buffalo Bills are intent on extending their win streak to five games this afternoon, but they have to do so with an injury-riddled roster taking on the Indianapolis Colts. Four key pieces of the Bills’ defense are now on Injured Reserve (IR) with another strong depth player added on Saturday afternoon. As for Wide receivers? The Bills better hope they don’t need them, because they’re quickly running out of viable options.
Here’s a look at how injuries could impact the outcome of Week 10.
Injured Bills: WR Keon Coleman (OUT), WR Amari Cooper (questionable), FB Reggie Gilliam (questionable), WR Mack Hollins, TE Dawson Knox, TE Dalton Kincaid, TE Quintin Morris, WR Curtis Samuel (questionable)
Injured Colts: LB Zaier Franklin, DE Dayo Odeyingbo, ON IR – DE Tyquan Lewis, LB Jaylon Carlies,
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady said that Buffalo’s offense is an “everybody eats” unit, but, apparently, they’re also sharing the injury bug. Having as many as three starting receivers in jeopardy of missing Week 10 is far from ideal.
Coleman will be out for weeks (plural), Cooper has already been out a game, and so has Samuel (although not the same one). With the Bills signing Jalen Virgil to their active roster this week and then elevating two more receivers on Saturday, it’s looking like they could both be out this afternoon. Add to that the fact that Mack Hollins is back to being limited throughout practice with a shoulder injury he’s had for over a month, plus all of the tight ends on the roster getting continued care — and it’s looking like the Bills better have a run game ready for Indy.
In an effort to be sure that everyone eats, the Bills have had 11 different players score a touchdown this season, and they may just have to break that record by letting Virgil, along with K.J. Hamler and Tyrel Shavers — the two receivers elevated for Week 10 — have a piece of the pie.
It may be a good week for Buffalo to test out some new receivers. The Colts are 26th in the league in passing defense, giving up 233.8 yards per game and 14 touchdowns so far this season.
On the other hand, the Bills could just opt to run the ball for most of the afternoon. With three strong running backs in James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson – all of whom have had their share of both big plays and scores this season — they’ll match up well against a Colts defense that’s ranked 31st in the league against the run.
Indianapolis has allowed 149.8 yards per game on the ground and has given up seven rushing touchdowns in the first half of the 2024 season. To be fair, they have played without veteran defensive end Tyquan Lewis since he headed to IR with...
