Bills news: Injury updates galore, Allen set to pass O.J., Super Bowl omen

Coming off a 30-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Buffalo Bills are now set to host the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in what's easily one of the most highly anticipated games of this 2024 NFL season.

The good news for the Bills is that the Chiefs don't look unbeatable.

While the two-time defending Super Bowl champs have obviously won nine straight to open the season, seven of those victories have been by seven points per loss, including their 16-14 win over the Denver Broncos this past Sunday, a game in which Kansas City needed a blocked field goal at the end of the game to keep its perfect record intact.

The bad news for the Bills is that they won't go into this game at full strength. And that's where we'll kick things off.

Bills injury updates

In his Monday press conference, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott went ahead and ruled Keon Coleman out of Sunday's game. The rookie wideout suffered a right wrist injury near the end of the Bills' Week 9 win over the Miami Dolphins, which kept him out of action this past week against Indianapolis. So, there's one status Bills Mafia doesn't have to wait on.

The same can't be said for Amari Cooper (wrist), Dalton Kincaid (knee), Spencer Brown (ankle), and Reggie Gilliam (hip).

Both Cooper and Gilliam were inactive against the Colts with their respective injuries, but McDermott claims they're both "improving." Cooper only began catching balls in practice last Friday, and McDermott says his "pain tolerance and threshold" will determine whether he suits up against Kansas City.

Kincaid suffered a knee injury in the first quarter against the Colts after taking a hard fall after attempting to catch a deep pass from Josh Allen. He returned for a few plays in the third quarter but was soon after ruled out for the remainder of the game. His status is up in the air, as he'll be monitored throughout the week.

The same goes for Brown, who rolled his right ankle late against Indy but did return.

There was a promising update on linebacker Matt Milano, as McDermott confirmed that his 21-day practice window will open this week. While he won't be available against the Chiefs, this is a positive development.

Milano missed the final 13 games of the 2023 campaign with a leg injury and has yet to play in 2024 due to a torn biceps.

Josh Allen set to pass O.J. Simpson on the Bills' all-time rushing touchdowns list

While Josh Allen failed to throw a touchdown pass for just the second time this season in the victory over the Colts, he did find the end zone with his legs, rushing for a 13-yard score late in the second quarter to give the Bills a 17-13 lead.

With that score, Allen now has 57 regular-season rushing touchdowns for his career, which ties with him with O.J. Simpson for the second-most in franchise history. Wildly, Allen did it in eight fewer games.

Whether he gets one against the Chiefs obviously remains to be seen. But whenever the next one occurs, he'll then begin his pursuit of Bills legend Thurman Thomas, who racked up 65 rushing scores during his 12-year run in Buffalo.

The last time the Bills went 8-2, they went to the Super Bowl

With their Week 10 win over the Colts, the Bills improved to 8-2 for the first time since 1993. And oddly enough, that Buffalo team reached that mark with a victory over Indianapolis.

Now, here's where things get even weirder. After reaching 8-2, the Bills lost their next game. And against whom did they take that defeat? That would be none other than the Kansas City Chiefs, who took a 23-7 win at Arrowhead that day.

The loss ultimately turned out not to matter, as the Bills finished with a 12-4 record and ultimately reached the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys for the second straight year. And who did they beat in the AFC Championship Game to get there? Yep, those same Kansas City Chiefs.

Does Buffalo want to win on Sunday? Of course. But a loss obviously won't matter, as the Bills are essentially already guaranteed a playoff spot, given their massive lead in the AFC East. The real challenge will be beating Kansas City in January.

Obviously, what happened 31 years ago has no bearing on Buffalo's 2024 campaign. But the similarities are a bit eerie, don't you think? We'll see if the pattern remains on Sunday.