The Buffalo Bills had only allowed 18 sacks in 20 regular season games since the beginning of the 2024 season. They gave up three more without offensive tackle Spencer Brown on Sunday.
Brown sat out with a calf injury and Josh Allen was sacked three times without his 6-foot-8, 311-pound right tackle in Buffalo’s 31-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Brown could return when the Bills (4-0) host the New England Patriots (2-2) at 8:20 p.m. at Highmark Stadium on Sunday Night Football.
The Bills’ offensive line had been a model of health and continuity. Brown is only Bills offensive lineman to miss a start due to injury since the end of the 2022 season. The starting unit played 17 games together in 2023, and all but two games in 2024, with one being when starters were rested in Week 18.
Buffalo has played three straight games without two of its defensive starters, including the last two without linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said Monday that Brown, Milano and Oliver are “all heading in the right direction” and the team will take it “one day at a time.”
NFL teams have to submit a report on practice participation on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a Sunday game. There are three levels of practice participation that can be designated: did not participate, limited participation and full participation.
A game status report is due by 4 p.m. Friday for Sunday games.
Here is the Bills vs. Patriots injury report for Week 5:
Buffalo Bills injury update for Week 5
Ed Oliver, DT, ankle
Ed Oliver was the best player on the Bills’ defense the Week 1 rally over the Baltimore Ravens.. The seventh-yar defensive tackle had six tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a comeback-igniting forced fumble on Derrick Henry.
Then Oliver got stepped on in practice on Sept. 10. He hasn’t practiced since. Oliver was seen with a walking boot on his left foot and using a scooter to move around the locker room.
Oliver did not play in Weeks 2-4 but was on the sidelines walking without a boot the last two weeks.
McDermott said he was unsure if Oliver would be able to practice on Wednesday.
The Bills are 31st in the NFL in run defense, allowing 164.3 yards per game.
Status: Limited participant Wednesday
Matt Milano, LB, pectoral
Matt Milano has missed the two and a half games. He didn’t play in the second half of the Bills’ 30-10 victory over the Jets in Week 2.
Milano got off to a hot start with the first two tackles of the game, including taking down running back Breece Hall in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. He finished with five tackles in the first half.
Milano stood on the sideline with his helmet on in the second half.
He hasn’t practiced since the injury but Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that he doesn’t believe Milano’s injury will keep him out long-term.
Milano has missed 27 games since the start of the 2023 season.
Status: Limited participant Wednesday
Dorian Williams, LB, knee
Dorian Williams popped up on the injury report Oct. 1 with a knee injury.
Status: Did not practice Wednesday
Jackson Hawes, TE, ankle
Status: Limited participant Wednesday
Terrel Bernard, LB, leg
Linebacker and team captain Terrel Bernard went down with a leg injury in the second quarter of the Week 4 win over New Orleans.
The injury occurred with 8:14 remaining in the second quarter. Bernard’s foot was stepped on teammate Jordan Phillips. Bernard stayed down on the turf before trainers came out to evaluate him. He was able to walk off under his own power.
Bernard missed one play before re-entering the game and making an immediate impact. Bernard stopped running back Alvin Kamara for a 2-yard gain on his first play back in. On the next play, Bernard blitzed, forcing New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler to throw the ball into the ground.
Status: Not on injury report
A.J. Epenesa, DE, pectoral
A.J. Epenesa entered Week 4 as questionable but he played 23 defensive snaps and 13 special teams snaps, finishing with three tackles and a sack.
Epenesa briefly left the game after a tackle on Saints running back Kendre Miller late in the third quarter. He was slow to get up and teammates Jordan Phillips and Javon Solomon initially waved for trainers to come onto the field. Epenesa signaled for a sub and slowly walked off the field.
Epenesa returned to the game and dropped New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler for an 11-yard sack on the play prior to the two-minute warning in the 31-19 win.
Status: Not on injury report
Spencer Brown, OT, calf
Spencer Brown popped up on the injury report after suffering a calf injury against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. He was inactive for Week 4 after being listed as questionable.
The Bills ran for 165 yards on 32 carries, a 5.2 average, without Brown but Josh Allen was sacked a season-high three times.
Status: Limited participant Wednesday
Keonta Jenkins, LB, left leg
Rookie linebacker Keonta Jenkins suffered a left leg injury in Week 3, Jenkins got his left leg wrapped up during the game but continued playing on special teams.
Jenkins, who is on the practice squad, has four tackles on special teams in two career games.
Status: Not on injury report
Tre’Davious White, CB, groin
Tre’Davious White appears back to 100% but he had an up-and-down game in Week 4. White led the team with seven tackles, including dragging down New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara for a 4-yard loss on a reception. But he also committed two defensive holding penalties in the first quarter, one was declined, and lost some reps to rookie cornerback Dorian Strong.
Status: Not on injury report
Buffalo Bills injured reserve
The Bills players who began the season on injured reserve are eligible to return in Week 5.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Monday two factors are at play: when can the player be healthy enough to come back; and what is the corresponding roster move that would take place.
Tyler Bass, K, left hip/groin
Tyler Bass was placed on injured reserve on Friday, Sept. 5 after he was unable to practice the day prior. Bass missed most of training camp with pelvic soreness, sitting out from July 28 to Aug. 19 before returning for the preseason finale. He went 3-for-4 in that game, connecting from 37, 37 and 39 yards before pushing a 26-yarder wide right.
Bass can now have his 21-day practice window opened and would be eligible to return in Week 5 against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
Matt Prater, 41, signed to the Bills practice squad, was elevated for Week 1 and made a 32-yard game-winning field goal with no time left to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 41-40 in Week 1. Prater has since been signed to the active roster and is 8-for-9 on field goals and 13-for-13 on extra points through two games.
Maxwell Hairston, CB, knee
The rookie first-round pick suffered a right LCL sprain at training camp practice on July 29. Maxwell Hairston was off crutches about two weeks later.
Buffalo placed him on injured reserve with a designation to return tag, meaning he’ll miss at least the first four games of the season before he can return.
Hairston can now have his 21-day practice window opened and be eligible to return at home against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 5. But Bills head coach Sean McDermott didn’t sound optimistic Hairston would return that soon.
“He’s working and moving in the right direction,” McDermott said on Sept. 24. “We’ll see. I don’t know how many weeks it’ll be. You’ve got to remember now, Max has been out since whatever day or week in training camp. So all the physical part, yes, but also all the mental part of the playbook and those things. So right now it’s lowering expectations and managing them and just taking it one day at a time and seeing when and if he can come back.”
DeWayne Carter, DT, Achilles
DeWayne Carter suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the entire 2025 season.
Carter, a 2024 third-round pick, recorded 14 tackles, five tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and a pass defended in 11 games last year.
Tylan Grable, OL, concussion
The 2024 sixth-rounder has been in the concussion protocol since Aug. 7 and is also on IR with a return designation.
Cameron Johnston, P, foot/ankle
Cameron Johnston suffered left foot and ankle injuries after taking a hit to his left plant leg on a punt in the fourth quarter in the Week 4 win over the Saints. The Bills placed him on injured reserve on Sept. 30 and signed punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
New Orleans linebacker Nephi Sewell crashed into Johnston’s left leg and was flagged for a roughing the kicker penalty. Johnston, 33, immediately slammed his helmet to the turf in frustration before hobbling off with trainers.
The athletic staff put a brace on Johnston’s left leg and he stretched out his leg on the sideline. Backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky put his helmet on in case he needed to take over holding duties on a field goal but Johnston came back into the game to hold for Matt Prater’s 35-yard field goal that gave the Bills a 31-19 lead. He walked to the X-ray room after the game.
Johnston was carted off the field with a season-ending right knee injury in Week 1 last season after taking a low shot while playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
New England Patriots injury update for Week 5
Christian Gonzalez, CB, hamstring
Christian Gonzalez made his season debut for the Patriots in Week 4. He played 49 snaps, 71%, and recorded three tackles.
Gonzalez had been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in training camp.
Jared Wilson, OL, ankle/knee
Jared Wilson did not play in Week 4 after missing practice in the week leading up to the game. The rookie started the first three games of the season at left guard.
K’Lavon Chaisson, LB, knee
K’Lavon Chaisson played in Week 4 despite coming into the game listed as questionable Chaisson has 2.5 sacks in four games this season.
Charles Woods, CB
Charles Woods after crashing into teammate Milton Williams, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle, on Marcus Jones’ 87-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Week 4. He walked off under his own power and returned at the end of the next series.
Carlton Davis, CB
Carlton Davis was injured after colling with teammate Craig Woodson and went into the blue medical tent in the second quarter of the Week 4 win against the Carolina Panthers. He exited with 9:59 left in the second quarter and returned on the next series.
Davis was called for pass interference and holding and did not register a tackle in Week 4.
Jaylinn Hawkins, S, hamstring
Jaylinn Hawkins left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. He is fourth on the taem with 20 tackles in 2024,
New England Patriots injured reserve
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs. Patriots injury update: Two starters practice for first time in weeks
Reporting by Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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