Bills Update: Secondary Still Not 100% and fumble rate is alarmingly high
The Buffalo Bills have been extra cautious with injuries since the beginning of their offseason program. So coach Sean McDermott announcing on Wednesday that cornerback Tre'Davious White would be limited in practice because "he's got a little bit of a shoulder" might not be cause for alarm.
Still, heading into perhaps their biggest regular-season game since McDermott became coach in 2017, the Bills Mafia would feel much more comfortable knowing all the defensive backs are healthy, particularly the top performer, who has made the last two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2019.
The good news is that cornerback Taron Johnson, who was forced to sit out Buffalo's 40-0 win over Houston last Sunday with a groin injury, is back to full participation. Safety Jordan Poyer, who also missed the Houston game with an injury (ankle), is limited — a sign that he's trending in the direction toward playing Sunday night against the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Another player trending in the right direction is guard Jon Feliciano, who missed the last game with a concussion. He was listed as limited, meaning he has cleared the important first step of the concussion protocol and almost certainly will play unless experiencing a setback.
As for the game, McDermott wants his players to focus only on what's immediately ahead of them, not on what happened in January, when the Chiefs beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
"What happened in that game does not affect this game," he said. "Those are two separate games and two separate teams. What we've got to do is get ourselves ready for this came coming on Sunday, and that means going out here and having a good practice and making sure we understand the plan and continuing ... to grow as a football team."
One issue of biggest concern to the coach is fumbles. His team leads the league in that category with nine, though the Bills have won three in a row.
But the Bills being able to recover most of their fumbles to this point is pure luck, and McDermott knows it. Eventually the recoveries will start to go the other way.
"We're living dangerously," McDermott said. "... You want to see a game turn fast? Put the ball on the ground and you'll see how fast it can turn. Just look at the stats in terms of what decides wins and losses. That [turnover ratio] is pretty consistent, year-to-year, week-to-week, of driving wins and losses."
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.
