Buffalo Bills Injuries May End Their Playoff Hopes Early

The Buffalo Bills started the season with plenty of promise as they entered the new year with head coach Rex Ryan. The Bills defense was going to be their strength and for the first time in Ryan’s career had had offensive weapons like never before. With players like Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin, Karlos Williams and Charles Clay the Bills were supposed to be competitive and so far they have at least stayed relevant in the early playoff standings. However, that may not last long for Buffalo.

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The Bills are currently dealing with injuries that keep hurting the team’s ability to grow and build. The Bills are not the 4-2 Steelers who lost Ben Roethlisberger but keep finding ways to win. Early on in the season you looked at the Bills and thought this team could make some noise, but it’s apparent that when things go bad or a key player is missing this team is not going to be competitive. After almost losing to the Titans last week the Bills couldn’t keep up with the undefeated Bengals.

The Bills are not the 4-2 Steelers who lost Ben Roethlisberger but keep finding ways to win.

Tyrod Taylor did not play this week, neither did Karlos Williams or Percy Harvin. Sammy Watkins was injured during the game and his status is questionable moving forward. The Bills went into halftime only down three points, but in the second half it was evident they didn’t have the team to keep up with the Bengals. Perhaps this team would be able too compete if they were fully healthy, but six weeks into the season you have to wonder if they ever will be. As some players get healthy enough to return, other key players start going down as well.

Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

All is not lost for the Bills yet as they still find themselves 7th overall in the AFC Standings and only one game back from the final playoff spot in the AFC, but they need to get on a winning streak. With six games coming up against AFC opponents the Bills can put themselves in the playoff mix while eliminating a few teams on the way. The Steelers and Jets look to be in control of the final playoff spots in the AFC, but the Bills still have to play the Jets twice and New York has yet to play the Patriots.

The AFC is wide open, but the Bills need to find a way to overcome their injuries if they want to have a shot at the playoffs. Once this team is healthy is can be explosive and dangerous, but at this point you have to wonder if they ever will be healthy enough to stay competitive for the entire year. We’ve seen the Bills look great against the Dolphins, but we’ve also seen them play the last two weeks and it hasn’t been pretty. The next three weeks could determine if they are for real or if this just isn’t their year.

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