The Buffalo Bills are expected to be without a star defender in their Week 4 NFL game against the New England Patriots.
Buffalo is off to a 3-0 start and is coming off a comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers. It wasn’t the team’s best performance, but they grinded out a win.
The Bills will host the Patriots in Week 4 on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Buffalo Bills Predicted to be Without Christian Benford
The Bills are dealing with key defensive injuries ahead of their Week 4 home game.
Buffalo’s No. 1 cornerback Christian Benford is dealing with an injury, and his status for Sunday is up in the air. However, Bills analyst Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic predicts Benford will be inactive.
“When Christian Benford suffered an in-game toe injury on a rep with little contact, it wasn’t exactly a promising sign for his short-term outlook,” Buscaglia wrote. “Neither was Benford walking gingerly, at best, after the injury, then being spotted in a walking boot after the game. Through two days of practice, Benford did not participate in either session and is at legitimate risk of missing the Patriots game altogether. …
“Given their issues at inside linebacker against the run and at boundary cornerback without Benford, the Bills will need Walker to step up in a big way yet again. Projected inactives: WR Skyler Bell, OL Jude Bowry, OL Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL T.J. Sanders, OLB Mike Danna, CB Christian Benford, S Jalon Kilgore.”
Benford has struggled at times this year, but he is still the Bills’ No. 1 cornerback. If Benford can’t go, which seems likely, Buffalo will rely on Maxwell Hairston and Davison Igbinosun at cornerback.
Buffalo Focused on Patriots
Whether or not Benford plays is uncertain, but with or without him, the Bills have their sole focus on the Patriots.
Although New England has struggled this season, Bills head coach Joe Brady knows the Patriots are still a tough out.
“It’s a hard team to game plan for, and they do a great job of understanding who they are, their tendencies, switching it up, and that you’re playing a game, both the players and the coaches, the entire game,” head coach Joe Brady said. “They do a tremendous job, and it’s obviously gonna be a tough matchup for us.”
The Bills are expecting Drake Maye and the offense to be better, which will make them a tough opponent.
Buffalo is a 7-point favorite at home.
Buffalo Bills Get Bad Injury Prediction on Star Cornerback Ahead of Pats Game