The Kansas City Chiefs will be at Orchard Park on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. to face the Buffalo Bills in the 10th faceoff between the two teams since the 2020 NFL season. While the Chiefs look to continue their winning streak after three straight victories, the Buffalo Bills will scramble for a victory after two straight losses. However, before the colossal clash, the teams have released their injury reports, and both teams have taken a hit.
The biggest blow to the Kansas City Chiefs will be running back Isiah Pacheco, who suffered a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in the eighth week against the Washington Commanders. He first missed all three practice sessions this week and has now been listed as out of the game.
Also, offensive tackle Josh Simmons has been listed out of the game against the Bills, not because of any physical injury but because of personal reasons. Head coach Andy Reid is positive about Simmons. “I’m not going to get into all of it. Everything’s positive. It’s not a negative situation. He’s taking care of family.” Reid said.
Simmons will be missing his fourth game of the season, and what makes the situation worse for the Chiefs is that Simmons’ backup, Jaylon Moore, has also been listed as questionable due to an illness. Regarding Moore’s return, Reid said “He’ll be back in and ready to go,”
Chiefs’ Right guard Trey Smith has also earned a questionable tag because of a back injury, which first arose in week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. After being limited in Wednesday and Thursday practice sessions, he was upgraded to full participation on Friday, but the cloud of doubts over his availability hasn’t cleared yet. The biggest question the Chiefs will need to answer is whether Smith should sit out against the Bills for precautionary measures.
Other notable mentions on the injury report are wide receiver Hollywood Brown, who didn’t participate on Wednesday but was then upgraded to full participation on the next two days.
On the other hand, Bills have also taken significant hits due to injuries before the game, especially on their defensive line.
Bills have been hit hard on their defensive line
While the Chiefs have only two players ruled out, the Bills have three on the list. Rotational defensive tackle DaQuan Jones has been sidelined for Sunday’s game, missing his third consecutive game in the current season. Jones suffered a calf injury during warm-ups before the game against the Atlanta Falcons, and he didn’t participate in any of the three practice sessions this week.
Rotational linebacker Shaq Thompson was limited to Wednesday’s practice sessions but was downgraded to DNP for the next two days of practice. He is dealing with a hamstring injury that has resurfaced. “Thought it had gone away, and then it resurfaced a little bit at the start of practice there.” McDermott said regarding Thompsons’ injury. Apart from these two big hits in the defensive line, the Bills are going to miss players in their special teams and offensive room as well.
Rotational wide receiver Josh Palmer has been listed out for the game against the Chiefs. Palmer sustained an ankle and knee injury in Week 6. After being downgraded to DNP during Wednesday’s practice sessions, his situation looked hopeful after he was limited for the next two days of practice. However, he was sidelined, and his return timeline hasn’t been shared yet.
One more player has been listed as questionable in the Bills’ squad- cornerback Taron Johnson. After starting three games this season, he suffered a groin injury during Friday’s practice. He didn’t feature on Wednesday or Thursday as well and is still doubtful for tomorrow’s game.
Both the Chiefs and Bills will face each other with key players missing from both their defensive and offensive units. However, the Bills have taken a greater toll on their players than the Chiefs in terms of those sidelined from Sunday’s game.