The Buffalo Bills are back from the bye, and the timing sets up a week of roster movement as much as game prep. After a long enough pause to make it feel like they haven’t taken the field in ages, Joe Brady’s team finally gets back to work with Baltimore coming to Buffalo on Sunday in Week 8.
There was also a little help around the league to break up the wait. The Bears took down the Patriots on Thursday Night Football to open Week 7, and the Seahawks handled the Chiefs in Seattle on Sunday Night Football.
Now the focus shifts to what the Bills could have in place for the Ravens game, starting with DJ Moore’s return. Moore appeared to be frustrated that coaches didn’t clear him to play against the Rams or Raiders in Weeks 5 and 6 while he dealt with an aggravated AC joint sprain suffered in Week 2 against the Lions.
He has played in two full games and parts of two other first halves so far this season, and he is set to be back on the field against the Rams at home on Sunday. He enters Week 8 with a 2.47 yards-per-route-run mark.
Another name to watch is Jordan Hancock. His activation off injured reserve is not a certainty, but it is likely, and at the very least the Bills should open his 21-day practice window.
The second-year safety was placed on IR before the Week 3 game against the Chargers, which means he has already sat out the required four games and then had the bye week on top of that. Hancock had a strong summer, and the 6-foot, nearly 200-pound safety with plus athleticism could be a much-needed boost for a secondary that has been reeling.
That becomes even more relevant if he steps right into a role for the suspended C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Even if the Bills use him in a rotation with Jalon Kilgore and Damar Hamlin, Hancock is still a young, springy player who has logged only 13 snaps this season.
Ed Oliver is another possible return, though there is less confidence there than with Hancock. Oliver had been mostly durable in Buffalo from 2019 on, but injuries have bitten him over the last two seasons. His most recent knee issue came late on a play against the Patriots, when former teammate Reggie Gilliam hit him from the side and buckled the knee.
The Bills also have a call to make on Zane Durant. The late fifth-round pick suffered a significant stinger late in the final preseason game and has not played since.
He has been eligible for his practice window since after Week 4, but that has not happened yet. Buffalo could leave him on IR as long as it wants, but a decision on the rookie’s first NFL season could come this week or sometime soon after.
For now, DeWayne Carter has done well in one of the depth defensive tackle roles Durant might have occupied.
And then there are the younger players already getting chances. Against the Raiders, Kilgore made his NFL debut, while Kaleb Elarms-Orr and T.J.
Parker posted career highs in snaps at 22 and 41. That does not mean the Bills are about to push veterans aside, but the bye could be a point where they lean a little more into the young talent already on the roster.
In Other News...
Former Bills Back Just Added To Houstons Miserable Stretch
Devin Singletary has a habit of popping up in places that matter to the Bills, and Sunday was another reminder of that. The former Buffalo running back, who spent four seasons with the team before a stop in Houston, helped the New York Giants steal a win from the Texans in Week 7 and added another twist to a stretch the Texans would rather forget.
Singletarys late burst came in overtime and ended the game on a 30-yard touchdown run, a jolt that landed especially hard for a Houston team trying to steady itself. The loss pushed the Texans deeper into a rough start, while Singletary kept adding to a career path that has already taken him from Buffalo to Houston and now to a much needed Giants moment. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Bye Week Just Put Real Pressure On The AFC Race
The Bills spent Week 7 on the sideline, but the bye still worked in their favor as several AFC rivals stumbled and the picture around the conference shifted again. Buffalo remains in strong position at 5-1, and the breathing room created by other teams losses only added to the importance of what comes next in a crowded race near the top of the standings.
A weekend without football can still feel productive when the bracket breaks your way, but it also sharpens the focus on every result from here on out. With the AFC playoff race tightening and Week 8 bringing a fresh set of matchups to sort through, Buffalos margin for error is getting smaller even while the team continues to sit near the front of the pack. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Allen Is Giving Bills Fans A New MVP Argument
Josh Allen has done more than steady the Bills during their 5-1 start, he has basically powered the whole operation while the defense has had its own issues. Through six games, Allen has piled up more than 1,700 total yards and 17 total touchdowns, and his 75.8 QBR reflects just how often Buffalo has leaned on him to keep pace and finish drives.
Around the league, that kind of impact is getting noticed in a big way. In a poll of 16 NFL executives, coaches and personnel, Allen landed near the top of the early MVP conversation, which only adds fuel to the case Bills fans are already making as the season settles in. And with Buffalo winning despite imperfect play on the other side of the ball, the question is no longer whether Allen is carrying weight, but how far that argument can go if he keeps producing at this level. [Read more 🡒]