The Buffalo Bills are coming off one of their best defensive games of the season, went into Arrowhead Stadium and held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 17 points while allowing just 82 yards on the ground and forcing two turnovers. The Bills are set to face one of their toughest tests of the season this weekend, however, when they welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Buffalo.
And now, according to head coach Sean McDermott, they will go into that matchup shorthanded on the defensive side of the ball. McDermott said Friday that both safety Micah Hyde and defensive end AJ Epenesa will miss Sunday’s game due to their respective injuries, via Syracuse.com.
Hyde previously missed one game this season — Buffalo’s 24-22 loss to the Broncos back in Week 10. He otherwise played 80% of the team’s snaps or more in each game before getting hurt this past weekend against Kansas City . He’s an extremely important piece on the back end of Buffalo’s defense, and especially important after all the injuries the Bills have dealt with this season on the second and third levels.
Dallas loves to challenge defenses in the middle of the field, especially with CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. Defending the middle has already been one of the Bills’ weaknesses on defense, and it will only be harder to take that area of the field away from the Cowboys without Hyde.
Epenesa, meanwhile, is fourth on the team in total pressures this season, behind Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau and Leonard Floyd. They still have pretty good depth on the edge, but rushing the passer as often as the Cowboys drop back to pass is difficult, and it’s best to be able to rotate bodies in and out. With the Dallas offensive line protecting Dak Prescott extremely well all year, the Bills need all systems working on the defensive front, and not having Epenesa is less than ideal.
