Orchard Park, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills and their fans have been riding the high of a Week 1 dramatic comeback win in New Jersey against the New York Jets and are about to head back to the same city and stadium in search of their second win of the season.
All of a sudden the Bills are a bit banged up and have a few players out already for Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants.
Bills receiver Cole Beasley missed practice on Thursday with an unknown illness but returned to the practice field on Friday and was a full participant. He’s expected to play and may be in line for a game filled with targets from Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Last week Dallas Cowboys slot receiver Randall Cobb caught four passes from Dak Prescott for 69 yards and a touchdown. Beasley was targeted nine times last week and will likely get the same amount of work this week against a lackluster Giants secondary. Prescott threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns against it.
Week 2 at Giants - Injury Report
After leaving last week’s game with a hamstring injury, Bills slot cornerback Taron Johnson didn’t practice the entire week and has been ruled out on the team’s Friday injury report. With Johnson out of the lineup, second-year backup safety-turned-slot corner Siran Neal will likely get the start.
Also set to miss Sunday’s game is Pro Bowl kick returner Andre Roberts, who missed last week’s game with a quad injury. With Roberts out backup receiver Isaiah McKenzie will likely get kick return duty and safety Micah Hyde will be back on punt returns.
In a surprising update on Friday, Bills tight end Tyler Kroft’s status was upgraded from doubtful last week to questionable against the Giants. Kroft has been out since the first day of Organized Team Activities after breaking the same foot he broke last season while in Cincinnati.
Kroft likely won’t play but his continued progress is a good sign for the Bills.
“I’m definitely running well right now. We were able to stack two days on top of each other (on Wednesday and Thursday this week), and that’s what we wanted to do during full speed out there in practice,” Kroft said after Thursday’s practice. “I’m itching to get back there and I’m going to keep preparing like I’m going.”
Levi Wallace update
During the early portion of Thursday’s practice open to the media, Bills second-year cornerback Levi Wallace went down during a 1-on-1 drill with an “ankle tweak,” as Bills coach Sean McDermott called it yesterday.
Wallace returned to practice on Friday and was listed as a full participant. He said in the locker room Friday to stay tuned to see if he’s a full go for Sunday.
As far as the game versus the Giants, the Bills have put together nine consecutive games allowing 210 passing yards or less dating back to last season. Buffalo’s secondary has been a big reason for that statistic. Wallace said the players didn’t even know they were on a streak but attributes the strong play to the coaching staff.
“I think it starts with the coaching staff and the game plan that they give us and then our willingness to go out there and compete at a high level. Even in practices we have goals,” Wallace said. “That’s the standard. No one’s talking about (that streak) out on the field. We’re going to keep working until we get the respect that we deserve out here.”
Josh Allen thinks Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer
Before this season started many experts believed Eli Manning was in danger of losing his starting job after the Giants drafted rookie Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick.
Manning threw for 300 yards and a touchdown last week against the Cowboys and still seems to be the man. Allen was asked about Manning before their showdown on Sunday and the second-year Bills QB said he respects Manning’s “Hall of Fame career.”
“(He is) One of the greatest ever to suit up. I met him at the Manning Passing Academy a few years ago. He is just a great guy off the field too,” Allen said. “He is somebody young quarterbacks can look up to and just as far as how you model yourself as an NFL quarterback. He is super respected around the league and that is for a reason. He has played at a high level for such a long time, so it will be kind of fun to match up against him.”
READ MORE
Feed the ball to Buffalo Bills RB Devin Singletary vs. NY Giants: 7 things to watch in Week 2
Buffalo Bills GM reacts to LB Tyrel Dodson’s 6-game suspension