When defensive end A.J. Epenesa was able to break through and log a critical sack Sunday, he called it “what all the work is for.”
Epenesa’s 11-yard sack helped the Buffalo Bills close out their 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. Epenesa forced them into third-and-21 late in the fourth quarter, and defensive end Joey Bosa ended the drive with a sack of his own two plays later. From there, the Bills’ offense just had to kneel it out.
The sack was a satisfying moment for Epenesa, who was limited all week with a pectoral injury and was questionable entering the game. But come Sunday, he felt ready to go and tried to not think about the injury.
“Just having a little bit of a strain earlier this week and just being a little uncertain on what it was, and how it could affect me,” Epenesa said. “Never dealing with anything like that before, I just wanted to be more precautious than anything.”
The Bills found out more about the injury during the week and ran some tests, which Epenesa passed.
“I was confident enough to look my trainer in the eye, and tell him, ‘Hey, I’m going this week,’” Epenesa said.
Epenesa said the injury is a strain of his pectoralis minor, a thin, triangle-shaped muscle at the upper part of the chest.
“If you typically hear pec injuries, you’re thinking pec major, which is the big pec muscle that goes across your whole chest,” Epenesa said. “The minor kind of connects in the same area but runs down the rib cage. So, it’s a very specific movement I would have to do to hurt it or to flare it up. But it’s something that could be played through.”
On third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Cole Bishop was supposed to work with Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford to cover New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave. The plan changed when Olave motioned from the left side of the formation to the backfield, and Bishop knew how to react. As he moved left, he noticed Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler hand the ball to receiver Rashid Shaheed and leak out to the right side of the field.
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Awaiting word
An opponent committed a roughing-the-kicker penalty against the Bills for a second consecutive game, but this time, it may end up costing them.
Cameron Johnston, the Bills punter the past three games, injured his left knee in the fourth quarter Sunday when he was hit by Saints reserve linebacker Nephi Sewell. Johnston told reporters following the game his knee felt “pretty solid,” but he’ll have scans Monday to determine the severity of the injury. Johnston returned to the game Sunday to hold for Matt Prater’s 35-yard field goal.
The incident was particularly irritating for Johnston because he tore an ACL last September when he was tackled in a game while punting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He missed the rest of the season, and it eventually cost him a roster spot.
“Not great,” Johnston said. “I’ve been through that moment before. You don’t want that to happen again. But it feels pretty solid right now.”
James Cook is proving to be worth every penny of the contract extension he signed. He starred again Sunday as the Bills defeated the New Orleans Saints 31-19, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown in leading a ground game that piled up 165 team yards. Cook averaged 5.3 yards per carry. He has a knack for falling forward at the end of his runs, turning 3-yard plays into 5-yard gains.
McDermott’s milestone
McDermott became the fastest coach to reach 90 wins since George Seifert accomplished the feat with the San Francisco 49ers. Though Seifert did it in the fewest games coached (117), nine others besides McDermott reached the milestone in their first 135 games: John Madden, Paul Brown, Don Shula, Vince Lombardi, George Allen, Bud Grant, Joe Gibbs, Mike Ditka and Curly Lambeau.
“I mean, what a blessing,” McDermott said of the milestone. “Got a great staff around me through the years. You know, really good, great players around me and you can’t do, you can’t do this job by yourself. … So trust me, I wasn’t thinking about trying to get 90 during the game. It was a – that was a hard game, and we knew it was going to be tough.”
Inactives
Returner/cornerback Brandon Codrington was a healthy inactive for the first time this season. Cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram and rookie defensive end Landon Jackson were also healthy inactives. Jackson has been inactive for all four games, while Ingram has sat out the past two.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle) and linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) were previously declared out for the Bills because of injury. Oliver missed his third straight game, and Milano sat for the second time since getting hurt in Week 2 against the Jets.
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