The Buffalo Bills will likely need to be perfect over their two remaining games for a shot at stealing the AFC East from the New England Patriots, and they’ll be shorthanded to start out the journey.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced on Friday that the team would be missing some key players, including safety Jordan Poyer. The Bills face the Philadelphia Eagles in what is likely a must-win game, with the Bills needing to win one more game than the Patriots over the final two weeks to win the division.
Bills Missing Starting Safety
Poyer was hurt in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns, suffering a hamstring injury that lingered during the week. The Bills also listed defensive tackle DaQuan Jones as out, which reporter Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle called a pair of big losses.
“These are both big losses for the Buffalo defense because Poyer – who played great against the Browns – has had a significant impact since taking over for Taylor Rapp, particularly with how he has helped second-year safety Cole Bishop,” Maiorana wrote. “And Jones is the Bills’ most accomplished defensive tackle with Ed Oliver on injured reserve, and his inactive status really cuts deep into the Bills’ rotation.”
The Bills brought Poyer back before the start of the season, reuniting with the former All-Pro after he was cut prior to the 2024 season and spent last year with the Miami Dolphins. He originally started on the practice squad but was signed to the active roster after a spate of injuries.
Poyer has regained his old form, starting nine games and making 70 total tackles with one interception and three passes defensed.
The Bills did get some good news as quarterback Josh Allen will be able to play on Sunday despite dealing with a foot injury.
Bills Stick With Michael Badgley at Kicker
The Bills also ruled out defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and kicker Matt Prater, who is now missing his second straight game.
The Bills are heading into Sunday’s game with veteran Michael Badgley at kicker. The former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts kicker had some struggles in the team’s win over the Browns, missing an extra point and leaving a kickoff short of the landing zone, allowing the Browns to start in good field position.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported that the Bills held workouts with other kickers on Tuesday, though appear to be sticking with Badgley.
“As the Bills wait for kicker Matt Prater to recover from a quad injury, they considered a few alternatives on Tuesday to current replacement Michael Badgley,” Florio wrote. “The Bills tried out three kickers on Tuesday: Younghoe Koo, Gavin Stewart, and Maddux Trujillo. None were signed.”
The Bills will need to beat the Eagles and New York Jets and hope the Patriots lose at least one of their remaining games if they want to win their sixth straight division title. That will be a difficult task, as the Patriots will face backup quarterbacks when they play the Jets and Miami Dolphins.
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