When the Buffalo Bills take on the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon in Week 10, the team is hoping to have first-round pick E.J. Manuel back out on the field leading their offense. In his absence, the Bills have been forced to go with Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel, so getting their top signal-caller back in the line up will be a very welcomed addition.
As far as Manuel is concerned, he is feeling good and should be ready to go on Sunday after taking some time off following a knee injury on Oct. 3 against the Cleveland Browns.
“It felt pretty good,” Manuel said, via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democract & Chronicle. “I was able to get out there with the 1′s for a lot of reps and it felt good. I definitely feel like I can go, I feel confident going into Sunday. I was pushing off on it fine, and running around making plays. I expect to go back in and make plays.”
Head coach Doug Marone also seemed to be optimistic that Manuel would be able to return on Sunday, saying that Manuel is showing obvious progress out on the practice field.
“He wasn’t limping or anything,” Marrone said of Manuel. “From the standpoint of being healthy he’s fine, so now we’re just trying to get him back. I know he’s worked extremely hard. For me, I’m happy to see him out there.”
If Manuel is healthy enough to lead the offense, the Bills chances of beating the Steelers on Sunday drastically improve.
After watching the poor performance last weekend by the Steelers secondary, this could be one of the best match ups for Manuel to make his return.