The Bills just got Very Important News...

Buffalo Bills put out their Friday injury report, and there are 21 names on it. Now, most of them aren't going to change anything about the Bills' plans heading into Monday night against the Vikings. However, two of these latest updates could change everything. Josh Allen's left tackle, Dion Dawkins, did not practice Thursday or Friday. And his most targeted receiver, Khalil Shakir, missed Friday's practice due to personal reasons. Now, of course, not having those guys in the lineup would be a problem against anybody. But on Monday, as I mentioned, they're playing the Minnesota Vikings, who sacked the quarterback over 12% of pass attempts, which is the highest rate in the NFL. Both teams are rolling right now with records of 6-1. So what does this report actually mean for the Buffalo Bills on Monday, and how worried should we as a fanbase be? Well, it all starts on the left side of the line. Dawkins came out and said that he hurt his ribs early on in the Baltimore game, but he still played all but four of the last snaps. And the guy has been an Ironman for the Buffalo Bills, as he's only missed one start due to injury over his last full three seasons. Now, Josh Allen is right-handed, so the left tackle is the guy that's protecting his side that he can't see. And for years, that has been Dawkins, and Allen's never really had to think about it with anyone else. So when that guy misses two straight practices, that's something you have to pay attention to. Right next to him, the left guard Alec Anderson hurt his ankle on a red zone play in that same game and was seen after walking in a walking boot. He also did not practice either day this week either. On the right side, Spencer Brown left the October 13th game against the Rams with a back injury and then missed the Ravens game completely. There is somewhat positive news as he was limited in both days of practice this week, so things are trending in the right direction. But we do have to play out the worst case right now for the Buffalo Bills. Tyler Grebel moves to left tackle. Austin Corbett steps in at left guard. And fourth round rookie Jude Bowery or Chase Lund plays right tackle. Now, Grable isn't new to this. He's already started at right tackle this year when Brown went down. But right tackle and left tackle are completely different jobs. And on Monday, he'd be on the blind side of the best pass rush he's ever seen. Now, Corbett played eight snaps on offense last week. That's three backups protecting a quarterback who's already been sacked 13 times this season. And the defense waiting for them is the worst possible one they could be going up against right now. Minnesota doesn't just get to the quarterback. They get there more than anyone in the NFL. They're number one in average pressure rate this season and Buffalo is right behind them at number two. Andrew Van Ginkel leads them with 6.5 sacks and four different Vikings already have at least three. Dallas Turner has already 19 quarterback hits on his own. After three weeks, they already led the league with 14 sacks and six of them in one game against Tampa Bay. And behind all that pressure, they play man coverage on just 5.3% of snaps, the fewest in the NFL. So it's zone after zone, and you beat a zone by being patient and finding those holes. But it's going to be tough for Josh Allen to be patient when you have a backup at left tackle. And the Vikings are coming in angry after losing their first game of the year on 19-15 loss to Detroit. However, Minnesota is coming to this game with their own injury questions. Earlier this week, quarterback Kyler Murray, left tackle Christian Darrisaw, and a starting safety were all listed as questionable. So both teams might be playing this game with a backup at left tackle. The Vikings are 3-0 at home this year, and the Bills are 3-0 on the road, so something's going to give out there on Monday. But regardless, when the pressure comes, Josh Allen's going to have to get out of it fast, and someone's got to catch that ball. These are the Bills' five most targeted players so far this year. Shakir leads the team with 38 targets, and he missed Friday's practice for a personal reason. He's also tied on the team with 27 catches for 354 yards. He's the guy that Josh Allen goes to when the play breaks down, and a lot of people are expecting, given the current defense they're going up against, for there to be a lot of breakdowns. Now, the good news, it's not an injury. However, the team hasn't said any more about it, so I'm not going to come out here and speculate. But hopefully everything's all good with him, and hopefully we'll see him on the field out there on Monday. Josh Palmer pulled his hamstring against Baltimore and hasn't practiced since. DJ Moore and Keon Coleman were limited both days with shoulder injuries. If you remember, Moore took a big hit and fumbled the ball that same game and then walked off the field holding his left shoulder. On the season, Coleman has 20 catches, Moore has 16. So between them, that's 36 catches playing through shoulder problems right now. If you put it together, four of Allen's top five targets are on this report. And the one who isn't on this report might be the one who matters most out there on Monday. Dawson Knox leads the Bills with 401 receiving yards, and he went from limited on Thursday to full on Friday. He's second on the team with 35 targets, only 3 behind Shakir, and we already know Josh Allen trusts him with the ball. Against a zone that sends pressure, the tight end over the middle is where the ball is going to go. One more name I do want to just touch on is Tyrell Shavers tore his ACL in last season's playoffs, started this year on the PUP, and practiced full both days. So if the Bills activate him and Shakir and Palmer both sit, he could be a part of the plans out there on Monday night. Now, obviously, that's a lot of names we're running through out there on the injury report, and before anyone panics, the Bills have been through this before, and they've been through something similar just last week. Against Baltimore, Spencer Brown didn't play, Grable started at right tackle, and Palmer got hurt during the game. And Buffalo still won that one 36-10. They led 16-7 at the half, and then they won the second half 20-3. Josh Allen threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns with a backup at right tackle. It's a part of the bigger pattern. The Bills are 5-2 against the spread this season, so they've been beating expectations, not just their opponents. So missing the starter out there on the line hasn't knocked this team off track yet. And the defense can take some heat off this game as well. Greg Russo came in with 22 quarterback hits so far this season, three more than Dallas Turner. Ed Oliver, Bradley Chubb, TJ Sanders, Deion Walker, and TJ Parker all practiced in full on Friday. And the one to watch up front is Greg Gaines, who hurt his calf out there in practice last week and hasn't been back. Jordan Hancock's practice window also opened up this week, so help is on the way out there for the secondary. That matters more this week after the Bills released CJ Gardner-Johnson, and Joe Brady said it wasn't an easy decision. A young secondary getting Hancock back is a big deal for this Bills team, even if it's not this week. Before we dive into what it all means for the Bills, if you're enjoying all of the daily coverage we have here at Bills Digest, we're currently at 2,806 subscribers and we are less than 200 subs away from our milestone of 3k, so make sure you guys hit that sub button, it's completely free and you won't miss a single thing that's going on with the Buffalo Bills. But what's the main takeaway from this injury report? We went through it all, we summed it all up, but what does this mean for the Bills going to this game against the Vikings? Vegas isn't scared, the Bills still opened as three-point favorites, and the line has moved to 3.5. But what can we actually expect from this one? I mean, I expect Dawkins to play, the guy played through it out there last Sunday, and he's missed one start over the past three years. I expect that trend to continue on Monday. Shakir, of course, would be a big loss for this team. Quick throws against the pressure would be huge going up against this Vikings defense, but we'll see how that all plays out. But obviously, if Dawkins is down, if Brown sits in this one, three backups against the number one sack rate in the NFL, that's going to be something big for Josh Allen to overcome. And for Brady right now, this is going to be a big test, right? This is the kind of week that tests a head coach, especially going up against another really, really strong squad. I'm interested to see how he's able to handle all this. We're going to keep an eye on if he shortens the drop, if he leans on Kincaid in the run, and how he adjusts to everything that's going on. But we'll be here to cover Saturday's report, as of course, Dawkins and Shakir's game status are really going to impact how we're viewing this game. If they win on Monday, the Bills stay one and a half games up on the Patriots, with the Jets coming up next. But let me know your prediction down below. Do you think Dawkins is going to play in this game? Let me know in the comments. And if you want more Buffalo Bills news, especially with the trade deadline around the corner, check out this video right here.