Two Players On The Active Roster Ruled Out Against Jacksonville

While staying healthy is important throughout the entire season for a football team, this is the time of year when it can really make or break them. Teams that struggle with injuries and can't fill in the gaps with their depth players often find themselves taking an unwanted early vacation. So how do the Bills look from an injury standpoint as they head into the first week of the playoffs?

Some of the Bills' biggest concerns for the first week of the playoffs

This week, the Bills made some significant roster moves. One of the moves was placing defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on IR, effectively ending his season (and possibly his career). That's a concern, considering Ed Oliver is still dealing with a bicep (and now knee) injury, and DaQuan Jones has been limited this week with a calf injury.

The linebackers are an issue. Both Terrel Bernard and Shaq Thompson have shown up on the injury report already this week. Bernard hasn't practiced as he's struggling with a calf injury, and Coach McDermott has ruled him out. Shaq Thompson was limited with a neck injury but McDermott said he should be good to go.

Good news on the injury report for the Bills

It's not all doom and gloom for the Bills, though. There was some positive news. Kicker Matt Prater might be the most hopeful. He said in an interview that his unavailability for the Jets game was more of a precaution. He said that when he was warming up and after he kicked the first extra point, the cold weather might have been a reason why his quad began to tighten up. They didn't want to take any chances of reinjuring his leg, so he sat out the rest of the game. He feels confident that he will be able to go this weekend. Great news, as the playoffs often come down to a kick to decide a game.

Matt Milano was struggling with an illness early in the week that he seems to have gotten through. He was a full participant on Thursday.

Three players will be ruled out for Sunday, only two are on the active roster

While speaking with the media on Friday, Coach McDermott confirmed that Maxwell Hairston and Terrel Bernard will both be out for the game. While Damar Hamlin's window has been opened, he is still out on Sunday too.

Ty Johnson and Josh Palmer will both be game-time decisions.