Buffalo Bills will have to do it on Sunday evening without Taylor Rapp during the showdown in Kansas City against the Chiefs in the Arrowhead Stadium.
In what a big blow is so close to the game, head coach Sean McDermott has excluded him on Friday, which means that Rookie Cole Bishop stands in line to start against the Super Bowl champions.
The winner will continue to the Super Bowl on 9 February in New Orleans and will face Philadelphia Eagles of Washington Commanders.
However, there was good news for the Bills.
Linebacker Matt Milano was limited during training by a painful hamstring, but McDermott expects he will fully participate in the team's Friday training.
Cornerback Christian Benford is still in the concussion protocol after the victory over Baltimore Ravens at the weekend and missed Friday training because of a personal issue, according to De Bills.
Buffalo Bills player Taylor Rapp will be taken off the field on Sunday during the AFC Divisional round
'T Rapp will be out, Benford still has a concussion, but has a personal situation that is bothering him, “said McDermott. “He will not be present at the training, he is apologized.”
In the meantime, the Chiefs have to give an update on the health of their selection on Friday, but everyone had participated on Thursday.
Rapp injured his hip during the AFC Divisional match last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
He went in to perform a tackle on Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson, but seemed to get stuck his hip when he collided with teammate Damar Hamlin.
Rapp was eventually taken to the dressing room during the game and did not return to the 27-25 victory of the Bills.
It is a huge blow to Buffalo, since Rapp was the fourth best tackler in the team in the regular season of 2024. This year he was also at the same level as the lead of the team in the field of interceptions with two choices.
For comparison: Bishop played in more games (16) than Rapp (14), but only made 40 tackles and had no interception.
Now Bishop – the second round of the Bills in this year of the University of Utah – will be tasked with defending himself against people like Travis Kelce.
Not that Bishop has been bad in the matches he played, but when the Bills miss both rap and Benford, they are two of their starters in the biggest match of their season.
Lake
