Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts have already started preparations on the field for the Super Wild-Card Weekend, with the two clubs entering the field on Tuesday with limited capacity. Each simply conducted an explanation session before the opening of Saturday’s playoff, and there were some notable names limited or absent earlier in the week.
Buffalo remains without receiver Cole Beasley, who suffered a knee injury in week 16 that forced him to miss Sunday’s regular season final against Miami. The Bills also limited the leading NFL receiver at Stefon Diggs due to an oblique injury along with Isaiah McKenzie (ankle), who had three touchdowns in total in Sunday’s victory over the Dolphins. Again, these brands need to be considered with caution, as this was not a complete practice, but still worth noting.
Specifically, Beasley’s situation is probably one worth paying attention to, considering that he was detained in week 17. Coach Sean McDermott noted on Monday that there was “no real update” on Beasley as he remains week after week and rehabilitation continues. For Diggs and McKenzie, it will be interesting to see how their status evolves throughout the week, but it is worth noting that neither of them left Sunday’s victory due to injury. Diggs played 48% of the offensive snaps and was essentially eliminated throughout the second half after Buffalo pulled the majority of his holders. Meanwhile, McKenzie played 91% of the offensive snaps.
As for the Colts, they also underwent a clinical trial and the injury report is just a projection of what it would have been like if an entire session had taken place. The notable member of the Indy squad that would have been held includes quarterback Philip Rivers (toe) and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (ankle).
While it may be a little shocking to see your starting defender and star defender as non-participants earlier in the week (even if it is just a projection), alarms should not sound yet at Lucas Oil Stadium. Rivers has dealt with this toe injury for most of the season, missed all of the week’s first practice (or walkthrough) since Week 13 and still managed to play on match day. As for Buckner, Indy also controlled his injury and missed no action in the game because of it. Running back Jonathan Taylor also had a shoulder injury.
The Colts will face the Bills in Buffalo at 1:05 pm ET on Saturday on CBS.