Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills hit the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, and head coach Sean McDermott revealed ahead of Friday’s practice session that the team will not have left tackle Dion Dawkins (concussion), right tackle Spencer Brown (right shoulder) in action a few hours south of Orchard Park, NY.
Despite the extra time to recover following Thursday Night Football, Allen will have to adapt to a new offensive normal for at least one weekend in Pittsburgh. Allen is set to play without both starting bookend tackles protecting him for the first time since Dawkins and Brown ascended into their starting roles. That could prove challenging in trying to hold back a Steelers defensive line that features edge rusher T.J. Watt.
Dawkins was evaluated for a concussion during Buffalo’s Week 12 road game against the Houston Texans, but cleared to return to play. Against the Texans, Dawkins allowed three quarterback pressures and two sacks on 32 pass-blocking reps — a 15.6% rate that ranked him last among all starting left tackles in Week 12, per Pro Football Focus. Dawkins’ false start in crunch time that turned a 4th & 1 into a 4th & 6 and ultimately ended with his surrender of another pass rush were among the most glaring concerns in the game’s aftermath.
This will be just the third game ever that Dawkins misses since entering the NFL as a second-round pick of the Bills in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Spencer Brown was also injured in action against the Texans, with him in visible pain and gutting it out far longer than most believed was necessary. Ultimately, Brown was taken to the sideline and ruled out late in action. There’s some concern, though not officially verified, that Brown could miss several weeks with the shoulder injury.
Also ruled out ahead of the game in Week 13 were linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow), and wide receiver Curtis Samuel (elbow, knee).
