Bills head coach Sean McDermott left the door open for some possible lineup changes on Buffalo's offensive line this week. On Friday, McDermott confirmed that a change to the starting five up front is still on the table.
"We're not going to rule that out. That's something we always look at for every position," said McDermott. "I'm not going to get into details, but I'm not going to rule it out. That's something that we're looking at."
Buffalo's offensive front has had trouble winning the battle at the line of scrimmage at times over their first two games. It has led to a good number of negative plays, which has made it difficult for the offense to stay on the field and sustain drives.
Shaq Lawson out for Sunday's game
Defensive end Shaq Lawson was declared out for Sunday's game due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 1. This weekend's game against the Vikings will be the second straight game that Lawson will sit.
He did not practice all week, though he did do rehab work on the side during practices with the strength and conditioning staff during practice sessions.
Trent Murphy is expected to start at left defensive end and Eddie Yarbrough figures to be the biggest beneficiary of Lawson's absence from the lineup as he'll likely get more snaps than he typically does as a rotational end.
Play-calling to be collaborative
All week long, McDermott has been asked who will be handling the defensive play calling responsibilities, after he took those duties from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in the second half of last week's game against Los Angeles.
Buffalo's head coach has made it clear that he and Frazier collaborate every week on the game plan and consult with one another about what to call in certain situations or matchups.
"This is always going to be a team effort," said McDermott. "We're going to continue to work through it and we're going to take it one week at a time."
Who ultimately calls plays on Sunday in Minnesota won't be known until the game is underway, and it seems the possibility exists that it could change over the course of the game like it did last week.
