The Buffalo Bills are coming off one of their best defensive games of the season, having gone into Arrowhead Stadium and held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 17 points while allowing a mere 82 yards on the ground and forcing two turnovers. The Bills are set to face one of their toughest tests of the season this weekend, though, when they welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Buffalo.
And now, according to head coach Sean McDermott, they will head into that matchup shorthanded on the defensive side of the ball. McDermott said Friday that both safety Micah Hyde and defensive end A.J. Epenesa will miss Sunday's game with their respective injuries, via Syracuse.com.
Hyde previously missed one game this season -- Buffalo's 24-22 loss to the Broncos back in Week 10. He had otherwise played 80% of the team's snaps or more in every game before getting injured this past weekend against Kansas City. He is an extremely important piece on the back end of Buffalo's defense, and an especially important one in the wake of all the injuries the Bills have dealt with this season on the second and third levels.
Dallas loves to challenge defenses in the middle of the field, especially with CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. Defending the middle was already one of the Bills' weaknesses on defense, and it will only be tougher to take that area of the field away from the Cowboys without Hyde.
Epenesa, meanwhile, is fourth on the team in total pressures this season, behind Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau and Leonard Floyd. They still have some pretty good depth on the edge, but rushing the passer as often as the Cowboys drop back to pass is difficult, and it's best to be able to rotate bodies in and out. With the Dallas offensive line having protected Dak Prescott extremely well all year, the Bills need all systems operational along the defensive front, and not having Epenesa is less than ideal.
