After defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 in the wild-card round, the Buffalo Bills punched their ticket to the AFC divisional round. Next up, the Bills go on the road to face the No. 1-seeded Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately for the Bills, their injury list is long and growing. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, January 13, Bills head coach Sean McDermott revealed they lost another wide receiver as Tyrell Shavers tore his ACL. In the past week alone, they’ve lost Gabe Davis (ACL) and Josh Palmer (ankle).
There’s also concern over Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Allen took a beating in Jacksonville. After getting sacked by Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen and taking a blow to the head, he entered the blue medical tent in the first quarter for evaluation. Thankfully, Allen cleared concussion protocol.
The 29-year-old quarterback proceeded to hurt his throwing hand on a helmet and appeared to hyperextend his knee while getting tackled during a rushing touchdown. Allen limped to the medical tent but returned to the game. He didn’t miss a snap and continued to put his body on the line.
While Allen told reporters he was fine after the game, he was seen with a noticeable limp in the locker room.
Bills QB Josh Allen Listed as ‘Limited’ in Practice
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen appeared to suffer multiple injuries against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
McDermott revealed that Allen was still sore and limited in practice on Tuesday. Considering the Bills are technically on a short week, the news raised some eyebrows. The NFL scheduled the Bills-Broncos game for Saturday afternoon.
McDermott hinted that their superstar quarterback was not 100% immediately following the Bills’ defeat over the Jaguars. “When your quarterback is that type of warrior, that type of competitor, from a leadership standpoint, it goes through the whole team,” McDermott told reporters.
“We’ve got to get him healthy as we can though for next week. It’s not something we take lightly. He took some hits today.”
The Bills need Allen to be at his best against Bo Nix and the Broncos. Denver finished the season atop the AFC West with a 14-3 record. The Broncos finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the league in total defense. With Allen’s list of receiving weapons heavily depleted, the dual-threat superstar may need to go full Superman mode to snag a win.
The Bills are Considered Slight Favorites to Defeat the Broncos
The Broncos are the higher seed, earned an extra week of rest and clinched field advantage. Despite this, the Bills are considered 1.5-point favorites to win.
Action Network’s Evan Abrams posted, “If Broncos close as underdogs, it would be just 4th time in the last 40 years a team off bye in Divisional Round isn’t listed as a favorite.”
Buffalo took on Denver in the playoffs last year, as well. The Bills won 31-7 at Highmark Stadium.
Bills Announce Concerning Josh Allen News Before Broncos Game