With 3 of their best lost to injury, these Bills defenders have opportunity to impress
ORCHARD PARK - Not that it came as a surprise, but Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed Wednesday that nickel cornerback Taron Johnson and linebacker Terrel Bernard will not play Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Johnson injured his forearm in Week 1 and was inactive at Miami, and Bernard suffered a pectoral muscle injury early in the Week 2 game against the Dolphins. Neither player has been moved to injured reserve which would mean missing an automatic four games.
There seems to be a belief that Johnson can get back within the four-week window, but it seems likely that Bernard will end up on IR. If they make that move before Monday’s game, he would be eligible to return for the Oct. 20 home game against Tennessee.
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Fortunately for the Bills, they have overcome the loss of three of their best defensive players (linebacker Matt Milano suffered a torn bicep in training camp) and were able to defeat the Cardinals and Dolphins. Now they must face an 0-2 Jaguars team with Cam Lewis continuing to start in place of Johnson, Dorian Williams in for Milano, and Baylon Spector stepping in for Bernard.
“Yeah, they are tough to replace,” McDermott said of the three standouts. “(Lewis, Williams and Spector) just got to go in and be themselves and we will play well around them. They did a nice job last week, but they’re focused on this week and again today’s practice and just really learning the game plan for this week here.”
Lewis has been around the team for parts of five seasons, mainly as a core special teamer, but he has had to step in and play in the secondary on multiple occasions due to injuries.
Williams got the first opportunity to replace Milano when he went down in Week 5 of the 2023 season, but Williams, a rookie third-round pick, struggled with his consistency and was a liability in pass coverage and he eventually ceded the starting job to Tyrel Dodson who has since bolted to Seattle via free agency.
And Spector, a seventh-round pick in 2022, has either been stuck behind Tremaine Edmunds (2022) and Bernard (2023), or injured and unable to play. Against the Dolphins, Spector played 62 snaps on defense after Bernard got hurt; in his first two seasons he played a combined 37 snaps on defense.
“It’s an opportunity for Baylon and Dorian to work together like they did in the back half of the game or really, the majority of the game the other night,” McDermott said. “It’s another opportunity for someone to step up.”
When you factor in the play of Ja’Marcus Ingram, who had two interceptions last week, and even Damar Hamlin earning a starting job coming out of training camp because Mike Edwards was never healthy, the Bills are getting significant contributions from players who were considered nothing more than depth pieces when the summer began at St. John Fisher University.
McDermott acknowledged that part of the reserves’ success stems from the fact that they’ve put time in with the Bills the past couple years perfecting their craft, learning the system, and ultimately being ready when it was their turn to play.
“I think that’s important,” McDermott said. “You’re talking about continuity, experience, reps in this system. Ja’Marcus being another example of that, right? So that’s important. It allows those guys to know what we do, how we want it done, the style of play we want to play with, and then some level of comfort with them being out there from the time that they’ve had on the field with their teammates. I know they may not have been starters, but they’ve played alongside some of the other guys that are out there.”
Monday night, the Bills will line up with Spector and Williams at linebacker, and Lewis at nickel corner in the base defense. When they go to their dime package with six DBs on the field, which they will use frequently because Williams is not good in pass coverage, Ingram may have earned the right to continue as the third safety, even though by trade he’s a boundary cornerback.
The Bills could use Edwards and have him play deep safety with Taylor Rapp coming into the box, but why mess with success? Ingram made two of the biggest defensive plays of the game in Miami and has earned the right to continue in that role.
James Cook wins weekly AFC award
The third-year running back was named AFC offensive player of the week after scoring three touchdowns against the Dolphins while also totaling 95 yards from scrimmage (78 rushing, 17 receiving).
This is the second time Cook has won the award; the first came in Week 15 last year after he rushed for 179 yards, caught two passes for 42 yards and scored two TDs in a 31-10 rout of the Cowboys.
This follows Greg Rousseau winning the defensive player of the week award for Week 1 when he had three sacks against the Cardinals.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills have 3 injured defensive starters: The replacements
