Curtis Henry
Sports Editor
The sky is falling right back down to Earth in Buffalo.
The first four-game win streak that the Bills have had in nearly a decade was snapped on Sunday afternoon in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. The final score was 28-25, although the game flow of the second half made it seem like more of a blowout loss for Buffalo than the final score would indicate.
The largest takeaway from Sunday’s game is an obvious one: the Bills are finally seeing their long list of injuries catch up to them.
LeSean McCoy started on Sunday despite a lingering hamstring injury; he was sidelined in the second half because of soreness. Robert Woods was absent on Sunday along with the ongoing absence of Sammy Watkins, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this month.
Despite the absences of the offense’s three best playmakers, aside from Tyrod Taylor, the Bills’ defense was the most hindered by injured players. Marcell Dareus missed his third consecutive game with an injury after being suspended for the season’s first four games. His absence — paired with the ongoing absence of rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland — was a huge contributor to Miami running back Jay Ajayi’s dominant performance on Sunday. Ajayi ran for more than 200 yards for the second consecutive week, making him the fourth running back in league history to accomplish the feat.
The loss dropped Buffalo to 4-3 on the season with a tough schedule fast approaching: the Bills’ next three opponents are the Patriots, Seahawks and Bengals, all of whom made the playoffs last season.
Buried in the loss was a much greater loss for the defense, as safety Aaron Williams left the game after a vicious blindside block from Miami receiver Jarvis Landry. Landry clearly launched at Williams and inflicted a blow to Williams’ neck and head area, which left Williams down for an extended period of time. Williams eventually walked off the field under his own power but was transported to an area hospital for further testing.
Landry showed remorse after the game, stating “if I could take that hit back, I would,” and adding “it’s his livelihood.”
The hit was more terrifying for Bills fans who know of Williams’ recent injury history. He was injured last season making a tackle that showed no signs of malice whatsoever against the Patriots. That incident put Williams’ career in jeopardy, as he needed season-ending neck surgery to put aside lingering numbness throughout his body. Williams has dealt with concussions as well, with a severe concussion occurring as recently as August.
The NFL rules allowed Landry to stay in the game, despite the penalty being his second personal foul of the game. He had previously been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and taunting, and had he drawn a second flag of the nature, he would have been ejected.
This is where the NFL needs to take a stand. Should the officials have removed Landry from yesterday’s game after that hit? Absolutely.
The league is constantly talking about player safety and minimizing traumatic head injuries, yet actions like Landry’s go (relatively) unpunished. A 15 yard penalty and a minor fine — which has yet to be determined — aren’t sufficient if you’re trying to get a point acrossed. These types of hits will persist and further danger the careers of athletes like Williams, who may have taken his final snap in an NFL uniform yesterday.
Bills center Eric Wood went as far as to say Landry’s hit was “garbage” and he made a point of the league’s hypocrisy when it comes to the punishments of players.
“We’ll see if he gets fined more than the guys dancing,” said Wood, referencing recent fines of Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Steelers receiver Antonio Brown. Brown was fined 12 thousand dollars in September for twerking, and Beckham was fined 24 thousand for removing his helmet after scoring prior to celebrating his game-winning touchdown in Week 6 against the Ravens.
While the NFL keeps preaching how it’s so concerned about player safety, no one is going to believe them until guys like Landry are suspended.