Bills Circling the Wagons Ahead of Sunday's Rematch With Patriots
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Wednesday saw the Buffalo Bills understandably get spooked by what's happening across the NFL with COVID-19 outbreaks all over the place.
They reacted by holding a completely closed walk-through practice with virtual media availablity instead of the usual in-person kind and refusing to talk about what's happening with their squad, which features seven players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, or anyone else's.
Quarterback Josh Allen, who has declined to discuss his vaccination status, was asked if he had an overall view of how the issue is affecting the league, particularly in the wake of 15 New York Jets players and head coach Robert Saleh being sidelined by infections or close contact.
"Not particularly," he replied. "I've got my views as well as everybody else in the nation that have the right to their own views, and I'm just trying to be the best quarterback that I can be for this team and set aside anything that I can't control nor should affect us. So we're just trying to go out there and have a good week of practice."
Earlier, coach Sean McDermott was the same when asked about the most recent and most important infection that will keep star slot receiver Cole Beasley from competing in Sunday's crucial rematch with the New England Patriots, who took over first place by themselves by winning the previous meeting.
"I'm not going to get into that," McDermott said, repeating the team's COVID-19 mantra for approximately the 500th time. "“Obviously we've talked before about mutual respect and people's opinions and people's choices. So that’s where I'm going to leave that at.
"... Other than that, I really can’t get into the COVID situation and protocols. I’m focused on the Patriots and the guys in the building and certainly with all the guys we have out with COVID, I think seven, Cole being one of those. We want them back as healthy as possible and as quickly as possible. You know, that’s where we’re at."
Allen said talking about Beasley would be pointless because he'd definitely be out for this next game whether he had been vaccinated or not.
That's not necessarily the case, however, thanks to recently relaxed league COVID-19 protocols.
Beasley will need to be out for a minimum of 10 days following his diagnosis on Tuesday because he's not vaccinated. Had he been vaccinated, he'd be eligible to return in time for Sunday's game with one negative test and no symptoms.
Beasley reported on his Instagram account on Tuesday that he was "feeling fine with mild symptoms."
The Bills can regain a share of first place by beating the Patriots and would win the division by winning all of their remaining three games even if the Patriots wound up with the same record because of the second tiebreaking criteria: Division record.
To a man, the Bills expect a close game, which has to be scary considering their 0-5 record in one-score games this season.
But Allen sort of brushed that talk to the side as well.
"I guess that's football," said Allen, who noted that "it was almost the opposite last year."
The difference being that last year's games were played in all or mostly empty stadiums. The Bills haven't been very good in either bad weather or noisy conditions this year, with a 4-3 record at home.
"So part of it's the game. The other team gets paid too. But at the end of the day, we've got to continue to try to make plays and execute a game plan to put ourselves in position to win football games instead of not winning them."
The loss of Beasley, who is on pace to finish with the most receptions of his career, may not sting as much if Emmanuel Sanders (knee) can answer the bell at New England. He couldn't go last week in a 31-14 win over Carolina, but Gabriel Davis filled in more than adequately with team highs of five receptions, 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Allen and the Bills know what the score is, what's at stake and how to quiet the biased crowd in Foxboro, Mass.
Whether they'll be able to do it is a matter for debate.
"These types of games, the ebbs and flows and momentum, you can't see it but you can definitely feel it," Allen said. "So that type of energy and that juice, you're able to either have that energy from the crowd and it can push you, or you ... instill that [on the crowd]. So we've got to be aware for that and we've got to be ready for the moment."
McDermott was asked again in light of the recent COVID spikes about possibly isolating an extra quarterback like they did with Jake Fromm last season. The Bills have resisted going that route again but are considering everything now at this point, according to the coach.
"To me, the focus is on this game," he said. "... The facts are the facts, and I respect each and every one of our players and the decisions that they make. We have a job to do this week, and really that's where my focus is and that's where I want my focus of the team to be as well."
All of this comes back to Allen and his unknown vaccination status and what it portends if he has to go on the COVID list.
The timing could be crucial.
Beasley, for instance, won't necessarily have to miss more than one game because he was diagnosed on a Tuesday.
But if Allen produces a positive test, say, on a Friday, he'd be forced to miss a minimum of two games if unvaccinated. On the other hand, if vaccinated it's possible he wouldn't miss any games because of the league's relaxed protocols.
So even if the Bills haven't reached the point where they can't breathe, they're at the very least holding their collective breath.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
