The Buffalo Bills are sending out mixed messages in terms of Stevie Johnson's status for the team's upcoming game against the New York Jets. The wide receiver has been suffering from a groin injury limiting him in practice for most of the week. Already getting hit hard with the injury bug, the Bills cannot afford to lose Johnson.
The Bills have already confirmed that Robert Woods would not be active in Week 11. The wide receiver has a sprained ankle and head coach Doug Marrone announced he would not play. Buffalo has a bye week coming up so holding out Woods is not really a big surprise. However, the loss of Woods makes Johnson a key piece for the team against the big Jets defense.
Marrone said he "doesn't feel good" about the status of Johnson, but the head coach is not ready to rule him out just yet. Johnson first got injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He put up just three catches for 48 yards in a limited game. The receiver leads the team with 471 yards as the Bills are 29th in passing yardage this season. Losing both Johnson and Woods would have the Bills very short-handed.
If both receivers are out, TJ Graham and Marquise Goodwin will become the stars of the show and will see an increase in playing time. Goodwin has made the most of his extremely limited time on the field. He has eight catches for 171 yards and two scores. His production is spotty, but when the spotlight is on him, he could be one to step up.
Quarterback EJ Manuel will need all the help that he can get when it comes to facing the New York Jets defense. The team's defensive line is one of the better units in the league that could make for a long afternoon for the rookie. With numerous players out, CJ Spiller becomes the team's biggest offensive weapon and even he is not at full strength. Despite his injury, the running back is stressing getting off to a good start against the Jets.
"Just have to take what they give you," Spiller said, via the team website. "Their game plan last time we played them was they wanted me to bounce outside, so I'm going to do a good job of going back and studying that game tonight and see what they've done to try to do a great job of containing me and see what I can do differently. That was the first time. This is a totally different team than what we faced. Number one ranked defense and their rush defense is really good so it's going to be a tough game. These guys are physical and they pride themselves on being physical. We have to be able to be ready to match their intensity."
