Bills rule out Von Miller, Dion Dawkins for Thursday night's game vs. Patriots
FOXBORO -- The Bills have had a lengthy injury report leading up to Thursday night's game against the Patriots. But on Wednesday, Buffalo ruled out only three players for its AFC East showdown at Gillette Stadium.
Granted, they are very important players to what the Bills do on both sides of the ball, but it could have been a lot worse after Buffalo listed a total of 16 players on its injury report earlier this week. The Bills will be without starting left tackle Dion Dawkins (ankle), linebacker Von Miller (knee), and tight end Quintin Morris (illness) when they face the Patriots, the team announced Wednesday.
Dawkins, who was hurt in last week's win over the Lions, has been Buffalo's best offensive lineman this season, and was a big part of negating Matthew Judon in the team's three matchups with the Patriots last season. Veteran David Quessenberry is expected to replace Dawkins and protect Josh Allen's blindside on Thursday night.
Miller, meanwhile, will be a big loss for the Buffalo defense. The veteran linebacker has eight sacks and 12 QB hits in 11 games this season. He was also hurt last week in Detroit, and is expected to miss at least a few weeks with the injury.
Miller's absence is a huge break for the New England offensive line, which has struggled to protect Mac Jones throughout the season. But the Patriots are coming off their best offensive performance of the year against the Vikings, when Jones was sacked just three times, and now won't have to attempt to handle one of the NFL's best pass rushers.
WBZ-TV gets you ready for Thursday night's Patriots-Bills clash starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday night with Patriots All Access! Coverage continues that evening at 9:30 p.m. with Patriots 1st Down on TV38, and we'll bring you a special Thursday night edition of Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m. After the Patriots and the Bills are done at Gillette Stadium, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!