Bills’ safety Jordan Poyer has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh due to a rib injury he suffered in Buffalo’s Week 4 win over Baltimore.
Buffalo’s defense – their secondary in particular – has been riddled with injuries all year long. Safety Micah Hyde suffered a neck injury in Week 2 that ended his season, cornerback Tre’Davious White is still recovering from his torn ACL, cornerback Christian Benford missed Week 4 and will miss Week 5 due to a hand injury, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes – who was signed in late September to supplement the secondary – will miss the next three games at least with a hamstring injury.
Adding Poyer to that list means Buffalo’s secondary is razor thin, and it could stay that way if he misses more than Week 5.
Rib injuries generally come down to pain management, so if he feels ready to play in Week 6 he should be able to. That being said, our algorithm predicts this is a Grade 2 rib injury, which gives him a High Injury Risk (28%) and an Optimal Recovery Time of 21 days.
Given Poyer’s history as a player willing to suit up even when injured, it’s safe to assume he has a solid chance to play next week in Kansas City. Him resting against Pittsburgh makes sense considering the Steelers have struggled to get their offense going, especially in the passing game. Currently they average just 181.5 passing yards per game, which is the 5th worst average in the league.
Buffalo is favored by 14 points this week, and the Steelers have yet to win a game without T.J. Watt in the lineup (he’s out until at least Week 6), so I wouldn’t expect a close game. Plus, rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett is starting for Pittsburgh, and he struggled in his debut against the Jets. Poyer being out for this game shouldn’t make much of an impact.