Ahead of their game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills are battling a slew of ailments. The team’s public relations account published a list of 15 names on Wednesday afternoon that would worry even the most hopeful supporter:

Wednesday injury report pic.twitter.com/h3Uup05vwi

— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) October 23, 2024

Kevin McCallister once said, “Woof,” in reference to Buzz’s girlfriend in Home Alone. Josh Allen and backup quarterback “Money” Mitch Trubisky are both full participants, which is a relief to me as someone who likes to see the bright side of things, even during eclipses. Both running back James Cook and slot receiver Khalil Shakir seem to have recovered from their nagging injuries, which should strengthen the offense even more than it did the week before when the Bills crushed the Titans 34–10.

The tight end situation remains worrisome, resembling a twisted version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Dawson Knox didn’t practice, Quintin Morris was limited, and Dalton Kincaid fully participated. Kincaid, with 24 receptions this season, is second only to Shakir, but Allen hasn’t spread the ball around much to the rest of the team. For instance, Morris has yet to record a catch—continuing the fairy tale analogy, he’s holding a golden goose egg—while Knox has just five receptions.

In contrast, 2024 has felt like another season of *Game of Thrones* for the Bills, with the team enduring heartbreaking losses nearly every Sunday. Yet, McDermott’s defense has managed to stay resilient. Key players like linebackers Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, and Dorian Williams, safeties Damar Hamlin and Cole Bishop, cornerback Taron Johnson, and defensive linemen DaQuan Jones, Dawuane Smoot, DeWayne Carter, and Ed Oliver have all been sidelined by injuries at various points this season.

Despite ranking 22nd in yards allowed and 20th in first downs conceded, the Bills are 10th in points against, thanks in part to their seventh-best 12 takeaways. This reflects McDermott’s long-standing “bend, don’t break” defensive strategy, which he’s employed for over seven seasons in Buffalo.

A Season Full of Injuries

It would be difficult to ignore the losses that clubs throughout the NFL have incurred if one were to suggest that the Bills are especially snakebit in comparison to the rest of the league. You only need to look at the Bills’ next opponent, since the Seahawks have 14 players on their injury report, including star receiver DK Metcalf, who is regarded as “week to week” after suffering a knee injury last week.

Actually, out of the 30 teams who have games on Thursday and Sunday this week, the toothless Panthers have the most players on their injury reports—21—with an average of 10.6. In addition to the sheer number of injuries, it is noteworthy how many players have already suffered in 2024: Russell Wilson, Isiah Pacheco, Cooper Kupp, Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Nico Collins, Brandon Aiyuk, A.J. Brown, and of course, Matt Milano, who is missing a significant amount of time for the second consecutive season.

The remainder of the week is still up in the air, but for the time being, the Seahawks and the Bills, along with many other teams, may be playing with a roster that is barely functional. And it’s frightening on the final full football weekend before Halloween!

In Week 8, the Bills need three key defensive players to step up.

This season, the Buffalo Bills will take on the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field, facing another tough challenge. With DK Metcalf’s health uncertain for the game, Seattle comes in slightly banged up, but they still have enough offensive firepower to challenge Buffalo’s defense, even without Metcalf. Terrel Bernard missed Thursday’s practice (at the time this was written) due to an ankle injury, creating a significant void as Bernard is the defense’s play-caller and leader. This raises the question of who will step up to fill that gap and defend Bobby Babich.

Defensive end AJ Epenesa is one of the players expected to rise to the occasion.

In the off-season, the Bills signed AJ Epenesa to a two-year, $12 million contract. Buffalo and its supporters had high expectations for him after he had a great year in which he had 6.5 sacks, one interception, and a forced fumble. He has eight quarterback hits, four sacks, and two forced fumbles so far this season. He hasn’t altered a single game as he did in 2023, despite the season having a nice start. Now is the ideal time to start a 1-2 punch against the 29th-ranked offensive line, and the Bills could use someone wreaking havoc on the quarterback while Von Miller is still sidelined.

Dorian Williams, linebacker.

The Bills will mainly rely on Dorian Williams whether Terrel Bernard plays or not. The Bills’ best tackler, Williams (70), will have a difficult time stopping their rushing attack since Bernard won’t be fully recovered and won’t have an impact on the line of scrimmage. Dorian has performed admirably as Matt Milano’s replacement, even though he was thrust into a starting position just before the season began. Dorian has recorded 70 tackles, four tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. Two months into the season, it’s still paying off because Babich and Sean McDermott did a fantastic job making him a starter.

Taron Johnson, a cornerback

Slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has had a stellar season, will receive a fair number of targets on Sunday due to Metcalf’s uncertain status. Smith-Njigba has caught 37 passes for 319 yards and one score, including a 12-catch, 117-yard performance in Week 2 against the New England Patriots. Regardless of how this fight turns out, it will be thrilling to watch because Taron has maintained his domination this season. However, Taron must lock up Smith-Njigba if the Bills hope to have a shot.