Bills feature back LeSean McCoy had to sit out Sunday's game with his cracked rib cartilage suffered in Week 2. Fortunately, his teammates were able to carry the load without him in their 27-6 win. Looking ahead to Sunday's game in Green Bay, McCoy's status is not clear.
"LeSean is progressing well. He still has the rib," said head coach Sean McDermott. "He'll be day to day this week."
Also hoping to return to action this week is DE Shaq Lawson, who has missed each of the last two games with a hamstring injury.
"Shaq Lawson with the hamstring is progressing well. It looks like he'll practice as we get into the week," McDermott said.
Trent Murphy suffered an ankle injury late in Sunday's game. Coach McDermott labeled him day to day.
Allen was poised Josh Allen took another step forward in his development as a quarterback in Sunday's convincing win over Minnesota. The rookie quarterback helped to spearhead the offensive effort with the first touchdown of the game on the opening drive.
"The environment wasn't an easy one. To be able to go in that type of environment and that defense, against a team that went to the NFC Championship game a year ago, I thought he was poised," said McDermott. "To be able to see the game the way he's seen it to this point would suggest that he's on schedule. There's still a lot of work to do and I know Josh has said that himself."
McDermott was encouraged by Allen's handling of the play clock and the game clock with respect to down and distance as he continued to put the team in an advantageous situation.
"I was pleased with the way he handled things, particularly in the first half," McDermott said. "The thing that goes unnoticed is the situational football and it was near the end of the half and we had third and long and he came back and got us back into field goal range to get three critical points before the half."
He feels Allen just needs time on the job to continue to expand and improve his overall game going forward.
"I think just experience overall, time on task with familiarity with the system (will help him)," said McDermott. "Familiarity with the guys who are playing around him. So, we've just got to continue to embrace that growth mindset."
We're still growing Sunday's win was a step in the right direction as McDermott saw it, but there is still ground to be covered for the Bills as a team to reach the levels they want to as a team. Buffalo's sideline boss is cognizant of the fact that with a lot of youth playing some important roles there will be mistakes at times. But it was clear he impressed upon his young players that they cannot play and feel they must be perfect.
"I thought overall our team was decisive and played fast and whenever you do that usually good things happen. There are going to be mistakes and we have to live with that with a young football team in some areas specifically. But we'll continue to develop these guys."
That development naturally flows through the coaching staff. McDermott believes in his coaches, but as he and his assistants get a better feel for the talent they have on hand, they're also trying to keep the assignments and responsibilities manageable, so the physical abilities of their players can take over.
"I just think overall you have to get a better feel for your team, and that's natural this time of year," McDermott said. "That's talked about around the league in getting a feel for your players, your coaches and then getting everyone on the same page.
"I know we have a very good staff, that's very thorough with their preparation. We just have to make sure we allow these young guys to go into a game with clear minds, so they can play fast.
"With this young football team there are still going to be growing pains with guys making some plays that sometimes don't go the way we want them to go. That's all part of the growth process. It's how we evolve overall as a football team."
