Week 16 Injury Report: Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears - Buffalo Fanatics NetworkThe Buffalo Bills are 11-3 and on a five-game winning streak. This upcoming matchup is looking like a lump of coal, as the weather appears to be a factor again. Luckily, nothing decks the halls like Josh Allen’s (foot)balls. The injury bug has earned a spot on Santa’s naughty list for what it’s done to the Bills this season. DE Von Miller, CB Christian Bendford, WR Jake Kumerow, WR Jamison Crowder, OT Tommy Doyle, and S Micah Hyde are on the IR.
Injuries have certainly contributed to the issues on offense but that only tells part of the story as this unit lacks quality depth across the board. Overall, Chicago boasts the No. 1 rushing offense in the league (186. 9 ypg), thanks in large part to its quarterback, but is dead last in passing yards per game (137. 1). That translates to less than 324 yards (23rd overall) and only 20. 7 points (17th) per game. The formula for both offenses is simple. Buffalo will follow Allen's lead and attack the Bears with multiple looks and weapons while Chicago needs someone other than Fields to step up. 2. The challenges for both defensesThe first task is to overcome being shorthanded on this side of the ball because of their injured lists.
OUT C Mitch Morse Morse left last week’s Dolphins game early in the third quarter with a ‘concussion’. This is troublesome, as Morse has had several documented concussions throughout his career with the Chiefs and the Bills. He has been DNP all week and will miss this game. It is unknown how fast he will recover, but he will need to go through the NFL’s concussion protocol. NFL. com This is now Morse’s sixth concussion in eight seasons. He suffered two concussions in 2015, his rookie year with the Chiefs, which caused him to miss three games (one regular season game and two postseason games). In 2018, he sustained his third concussion with the Chiefs and missed five games.
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Hurts, arguably this season's front-runner for MVP, threw for 315 yards (with two interceptions) and also had three rushing touchdowns to lead his team to a 25-20 win in Chicago last Sunday. Allen shares many similarities with Hurts in that he can win games with his arm or his legs and he's also an MVP candidate. However, both also are prime examples of what the Bears' offensive could possibly become if the team continues to build a stronger supporting cast around Fields. Allen is fifth in the league in passing (3, 857 yards), third in touchdown passes (30), and passer rating (97. 3). He does have 11 interceptions but is one of the few quarterbacks in the league who can get away with mistakes.
Put the pieces all together and you get the No. 2 total offense (400. 6 ypg) and fourth-ranked scoring offense (27. 5 ppg) in the league, an attack that ranks in the top 10 in both passing (265. 7) and rushing (134. 9) yards per game. Meanwhile, Fields continues to be a one-man show for the Bears' offense as the injuries pile up. Last week he became the first quarterback in franchise history and just the third ever (Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick) to reach 1, 000 rushing yards in a season. Fields is seventh in the league in rushing and is just 206 yards away from tying Jackson's single-season mark from his 2006 MVP season. In the loss to Philadelphia, Fields accounted for 247 total yards (152 passing, 95 rushing) but his net passing yards were 91 due to six sacks. The offensive line has been an issue all season and right now the challenge is just putting together a complete unit.
TV broadcast map for Bears vs. Bills in Week 16The Chicago Bears (3-11) will battle the Buffalo Bills (11-3) on Saturday, where they’re looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. But they’ll be facing another powerhouse Super Bowl contender. After keeping things close with the one-loss Philadelphia Eagles last week, the Bears showed they can keep things close with even the best teams in the league. We’ll see if they’re up for the challenge against a Bills team looking to lock up the AFC East. Perhaps the weather conditions will work in Chicago’s favor. Let’s see if the Bears will be on in your part of the country. If you live in the green area of the map, you’ll be able to watch Bears-Eagles locally at Noon CT on FOX (via 506sports. com).
Fortunately, he was able to practice in ‘Full’ the rest of the week. The Bills dodged a bullet with this one, and it is just another example of the injury resilience of Josh Allen. Bills QB Josh Allen on his elbow, and being limited on Tuesday said it was just to give it some rest, but he was thankful for it. He said: “It felt really good today… It hasn’t felt that good in a long time”— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) December 21, 2022 DE AJ Epenesa Epenesa landed on the injury report this week with an ‘elbow’. He likely sustained a minor sprain and was able to practice in ‘Full’ the entire week. His snap share did drop to 36% in Week 15 compared to 49% in Week 14. S Jordan Poyer Poyer was listed with a ‘knee’ this week. He likely suffered a minor sprain or contusion from last week’s Dolphins game.
They are 30th in scoring (25. 6 ppg) and 22nd in total (356. 6 ypg) defense. Chicago has fared better yardage-wise against the pass (211. 7 per game, 13th) compared to the run (143. 9 per game, 26th), which is a little surprising considering the Bears have the least productive pass rush in the league (17 sacks). That means it will probably be very hard to get much pressure on Allen, who may be able to hang out in the pocket and pick Chicago apart, that is if the Bills aren't stampeding on the ground.
In my opinion, Phillips appeared to suffer a dislocation. The average return to play is three weeks (2) which, for Phillips, would be this week. Expect Phillips to play, especially with the injury to Oliver. Philips will likely wear a harness moving forward and may be susceptible to future subluxations/dislocations. mayoclinic. org Prediction: ACTIVE ALSO LISTED OG Ryan Bates Bates was a victim of friendly fire when Dion Dawkins pancaked a Jets defender into his legs in Week 14. This caused him to miss Week 15 against the Dolphins. The injury has been reported as a ‘low ankle sprain’, but it had the mechanism of a ‘high ankle sprain’ written all over it. Potentially, Bates only suffered a medial ankle sprain.
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On paper, the Bills have a significant advantage as they rank ninth in total defense (325. 4 ypg), sixth against the run (106. 1 ypg), 16th against the pass (219. 3 ypg), and are No. 2 overall in points allowed per game (17. 9). The run defense will be something to watch given Fields' production on the ground and the fact that Miami gashed Buffalo for 188 rushing yards the last time out. Even without Miller, the Bills have an effective pass rush (37 sacks, ninth) and excel in creating turnovers (fourth with 22 takeaways). Their focus will be on limiting Fields' big plays and shutting down the running game, forcing Chicago to have to take to the air. The Bears are largely on the opposite end of the defensive leaderboards.
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His emergence following the midseason trade of Roquan Smith has been one of the highlights and his presence and production (64 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks) will be missed the rest of the way. On Friday, cornerbacks Kindle Vildor (ankle) and Jaylon Johnson (rib) also were put on IR, which leaves the Bears very thin at the position heading into this matchup against Diggs and the Bills' receiving corps. Linemen Justin Jones and Armon Watts also appear on the injury report but don't carry a designation so they should play.
Chicago is hoping for a holiday miracle to end its prolonged losing streak. Buffalo (11-3) at Chicago (3-11)Kickoff: Saturday, Dec. 24 at 1 p. m. ETTV: CBSLive Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)Spread: Bills -9. 5Tickets: As low as $23 on SITickets. com*Three Things to Watch1. Allen vs. FieldsBetween Jalen Hurts last week and now Josh Allen, Bears fans are hoping Justin Fields will follow in both's footsteps as he continues his development.
Bills arrive in Chicago, get ready for the Bears | wgrz.com
Buffalo has been without Von Miller since he went on injured reserve after getting hurt in Week 12. For this game, defensive end Boogie Basham (calf) has been ruled out while fellow linemen Ed Oliver (calf) and Jordan Phillips (shoulder) are questionable. Edge rusher A. J. Epenesa (elbow), linebacker Matt Milano (knee), and safety Jordan Poyer (knee) all were either limited or missed practice time this week but don't carry an injury designation and are expected to play even if they won't be at 100 percent. For Chicago, an already depleted defensive depth chart suffered more hits this week with three more players landing on injured reserve. Undrafted rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn's season has come to an end after suffering an ankle injury in the loss to Philadelphia.
Cody Whitehair (knee) has missed extensive time and Teven Jenkins, one of the bright spots up front this season, suffered what appeared to be a scary-looking neck injury last Sunday. Fortunately, the injury doesn't appear to be serious but he and Whitehair are both considered doubtful to play. The Bears activated running back Khalil Herbert (hip) from injured reserve this week but No. 1 wide receiver Darnell Mooney remains out for the rest of the season and neither Chase Claypool (knee) nor Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) will play on Saturday.
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