Getty Wide receiver Gabe Davis of the Buffalo Bills.
The Buffalo Bills will be without wide receiver Gabe Davis for their January 14 playoff game, an absence that fellow receiver Stefon Diggs may have revealed early.
Stefon Diggs spoke to reporters about Davis on Thursday, saying that the team is motivated to play in his honor and hinting that he would not be back on the field until at least the divisional round.
“I feel like he’s staying positive throughout his process,” Diggs said, via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. “We’re just trying to win for him so he has something to play for when he can come back. Just staying positive.”
The Bills officially ruled out Davis close to a day later, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported, adding that the Bills will be missing another key player.
“#Bills WR Gabe Davis has been ruled out with his PCL sprain, a big loss for Buffalo. S Taylor Rapp, who made the game’s biggest play last week, also ruled out,” Rapoport wrote on X.
Bills Hit With Injuries
Though the Bills came out of their Week 18 game against the Miami Dolphins with a win that clinched their fourth straight division title, the team lost a number of key players during the game. Davis went down with a knee injury while cornerback Rasul Douglas and running back Ty Johnson both came out hurt and missed practice during the week.
There were other signs that Davis would not be able to play on Sunday. He was held out of the team’s first two practices this week, and CBS Sports predicted that another absence on Friday would likely seal his fate for this weekend’s wild card round.
Coach McDermott has ruled Gabe Davis and Taylor Rapp out for Sunday’s game.
#PITvsBUF injury report: t.co/SZLiP8tcok
“With consecutive absences from practice to begin the week, Davis doesn’t appear to be trending toward being available for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Steelers,” the report noted. “Davis, who exited the Bills’ Week 18 win over the Dolphins with a PCL sprain, will likely need to get back on the practice field in some capacity Friday to have any shot at suiting up this weekend.”
Gabe Davis Had Big Game Against Pittsburgh
Davis was a productive contributor to the Bills’ offense this season, though inconsistent. He finished second on the team behind Diggs with 746 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, but went cold for long stretches during the season. Davis had five games without recording a catch and was targeted just three times in a two-game span late in the season.
Davis torched the Steelers when the teams met last season, making three catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns including a 98-yard touchdown that tied the franchise record for longest receiving score.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said he hasn’t forgotten about the big game from Davis.
“I still got nightmares about him from last year,” Austin said, via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
The Bills could be forced to adopt a run-heavy approach in Sunday’s game, as the forecast calls for winds and heavy snow in Orchard Park during game time. The Bills sharpened their ground game this season, with lead back James Cook topping 1,000 yards, the first Bills running back to do so since LeSean McCoy in 2017.