List of injuries for the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys
Sean McDermott said that Bills S Micah Hyde (neck stinger) as well as DE A.J. Epenesa (ribs) would not be able to play against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Epenesa and Hyde were informed they would be healthy again in a week or two, but no one knows when they will be able to play again.
TE Dalton Kincaid (shoulder) as well as CB Taron Johnson (ankle) had been both limited this week on Wednesday and Thursday, which is a good thing. On Friday, both players are likely to train again.
Officially, the Dallas Cowboys have said that starting nose end Johnathan Hankins will not be able to play against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15. Hankins hurt his ankle.
The Bills offense has been fairly good at running the ball, so it will be hard to make up for his absence. After 14 weeks, both their EPA and rate of achievement put them in the top five for running offenses.
Mike McCarthy has known about the news since Wednesday, but it still comes as a surprise to many. Dan Quinn will have to work hard to make up the 6-2, 320-pound giant on his defensive line.
The clear answer is Mazi Smith, a youngster picked in the first round. Smith’s first year in the NFL did not go as planned, as shown by his low snap count of 26%. However, it takes time for middle tackles to really get used to playing football on Sundays.
Mazi is waiting for his chance because Hankins’s play in Dallas is so well-known. This is his best chance of the year, even though the conditions aren’t ideal. A promotion because of injuries against a top-level attack.
Smith still has a lot to learn, but he’s shown glimpses of the great power that made him a first-round pick. He is 6-3 and weighs 337 kilograms, which makes him the heaviest player among the 53-man squad. Hankins is in second place.
Cowboys Nation won’t get to see the whole Mazi Smith on Sunday. That’s more likely to happen in 2024 or 2025. But it will be fun to witness him play a bigger part against a strong team like the Bills. We hope that he can go above and beyond.
Defense tackle Johnathan Hankins, who has a high ankle sprain, is the only player who has been officially called out.
But a number of other players have been officially classified as doubtful. These include receiver Brandin Cooks as well as cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who both missed practice on Friday because they were sick.
The Bills, on the other hand, have some serious medical problems of their own. As of now, defensive end A.J. Epenesa along with safety Micah Hyde are not going to play. Cornerback Kaiir Elam as well as receiver Justin Shorter are still doubtful.
Given what happened with Parsons last weekend, it seems likely that Gilmore, Cooks, and Tolbert will be ready for the game. Cooks has been a big part of how the Cowboys’ game has changed over the years.
He’s become the deep danger the team wanted when they dealt for him in the offseason. One reason is that he made a 30-yard catch that led to a score two plays later.
Tolbert has also become a crucial part of the attack. Even though his stats aren’t amazing, he has played in 44% of the snaps over the past seven weeks as well as has been very important for the squad’s blocking. In both the rushing game and the pass defense.
The three names above may be the most well-known players who aren’t going to practice, but they may not be the most important. Instead, they have free safety Malik Hooker, who hasn’t practiced in two weeks because he hurt his shoulder.
What time Hooker can play on Sunday is going to be very important. The Cowboys like to play Cover 3 or Man Cover when they zone.
That means Hooker is a centerfielder, and his job is to stop the other team’s deep passing game. He has to deal with a lot of strain both up and down and side to side.
Arjun Menon says that the Cowboys allow the ninth most powerful plays in the NFL. That might be different if someone didn’t do the work in the background that Hooker did.
Josh Allen will be more than happy to throw the ball deep, and if he knows that the team’s starting free safety is hurt, he might let the Cowboys pay for it.
His work is often overlooked because cornerbacks Gilmore as well as DaRon Bland, as well as Micah Parsons and his friends up front, do better. This could be one of the worst hits to the defense.