Bills rule out two key players ahead of Steelers playoff game
The Buffalo Bills are the AFC's No. 2 seed and AFC East champs heading into their Wild Card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but nothing ever comes easy against Mike Tomlin and his crew.That's why Friday's news regarding wide receiver Gabe Davis and safety Taylor Rapp hurts. Bills head coach Sean McDermott ruled both players […]
The Buffalo Bills are the AFC's No. 2 seed and AFC East champs heading into their Wild Card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but nothing ever comes easy against Mike Tomlin and his crew.
That's why Friday's news regarding wide receiver Gabe Davis and safety Taylor Rapp hurts. Bills head coach Sean McDermott ruled both players out due to various injuries when he spoke to the media. He also said Rasul Douglas' and Tyrell Dodson's statuses are currently unknown.
"We'll take it one day at a time," McDermott told reporters in regard to Douglas and Dodson. "… [It's] hard to replace Gabe. [It's] really hard [because] he's such a valuable member of our team in what he does in the pass and the run game. But, [I have] full confidence in the other guys in the room to step. That's what we've shown all season long."
Davis is the team's WR2 and has caught 45 receptions for 746-yards and seven touchdowns in 2023. Rapp made the game-sealing interception against the Miami Dolphins in Week 18.
Davis' absence is a blow for a slow-starting Bills offense
The Bills' five-game win streak is certainly impressive, but the last three games have featured extremely slow, messy starts that not only allowed opponents to stay in the game, but they also had leads in the second half. Even late into the fourth quarter, as was the case with the Los Angeles Chargers a few weeks ago.
Josh Allen has mentioned how several times his play, and the whole offense's play, needs to get better when it comes to starting games. It has to happen now that they're in the playoffs.
"We were beating ourselves and I was beating us. And that's what it came down to," Allen told reporters after the Bills beat the Dolphins last week. "… We didn't feel like we're playing up to our potential. So [during] the second half, all three phases – that's who we are. That's what we're going to need to be going forward."
The last thing anyone wants to do is let Tomlin and co. hang around in a do-or-die game. And, the Steelers offense looks like it has found some life with Mason Rudolph running the show at quarterback. The Bills don't need to play around and find out what it's like to overcome an early deficit in a playoff game.
Because that early deficit could easily lead to an upset and it would put yet another major damper on a successful regular season.
