Bills defensive end Joey Bosa missed a second consecutive day of practice.
Bosa injured his hamstring late in Sunday’s win over the Steelers, and he also has a wrist injury.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow) and wide receiver Joshua Palmer (knee/ankle) also remained out of practice on Thursday.
The Bills added defensive end A.J. Epenesa (foot) to the injury report as a non-participant. He was on Wednesday’s report.
The rest of the report remained the same.
Offensive lineman Spencer Brown (shoulder), left tackle Dion Dawkins (concussion) and tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring/knee) were again limited.
Sometimes, the schedule set in May results in a late-season clunker or two. Sometimes, the NFL nails it.
For Week 14, the schedule couldn’t get much better.
Here’s the key. Each of the five windows for the weekend has a game with very high stakes.
It begins tonight, with the surprisingly surging 6-5-1 Cowboys facing the suddenly slumping 7-5 Lions. Both desperately need a win to remain viable in the chase for their respective division titles, or for one of the three NFC wild-cards. The loser won’t be eliminated, but it will get dicey. For the Lions, 11-6 should be good enough. For the Cowboys, however, a loss would make their best possible record 10-6-1. Anyone with an 11-6 record (obviously) would jump them, without the application of a single tiebreaker.
On Sunday, the 1:00 p.m. ET window has three must-watch games. The 6-6 Steelers visit the 6-6 Ravens for first place in the AFC North. (They play again in Week 18.) The 8-4 Colts, who haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014, play the 8-4 Jaguars for first place in the AFC South. (The rematch happens in Week 17.) And the 4-8 Bengals, whose slim chances of jumping the Steelers and Ravens are hanging by a thread, visit 8-4 Buffalo, which could still jump for the playoff table — and miss.
At 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, the 9-3 Bears and the 8-3-1 Packers renew the NFL’s oldest rivalry at Lambeau Field, with round two set for a Saturday night only 13 days later. It’s the most significant home-and-home for Chicago and Green Bay since the merger, and the biggest game between them since the 2010 NFC Championship.
Rarely are both teams good this late in the season. From the early 1970s through 1988, the Packers were more often than not non-contenders. From 1990 on, the Bears only had sporadic high-level seasons. This year, the black-and-blue planets have aligned perfectly.
On Sunday night, the Texans return to Arrowhead Stadium, where they lost twice in less than a month last season. On a Saturday night in December, Houston kept it within one score, 27-19. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the 23-14 outcome was uncomfortably close for the three-time AFC Champions.
Now, the Texans have won four in a row to get to 7-5. And the Chiefs, at 6-6, have slipped into “run the table” mode. With the first game coming against arguably the best defense in the league.
It all ends on Monday night, when the 8-4 Eagles visit the 8-4 Chargers. Philly has sputtered for weeks on offense, and the Chargers have shown a propensity to step into a periodic pothole. If the Cowboys start Week 14 with a win, the Eagles will be at risk of seeing their lead in the NFC East slip to a half game, 8-5 vs. 7-5-1.
So, yes, December is coming in like a lion. Hopefully, it will go out like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with four weekends of NFL action setting the stage for one of the craziest final weekends of the regular season we’ve ever seen to start 2026.
The Bengals cleared linebacker Shaka Heyward to practice by designating him for return from injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday.
Heyward, a second-year player, landed on injured reserve on Oct. 28 with a fibula injury.
Today begins his 21-day practice window, and he is eligible to be activated to the roster at any time during that period.
Heyward has 10 tackles in eight games this season. He has seen action on seven defensive snaps and 130 on special teams.
He appeared in six games last season, playing 12 defensive snaps and 102 on special teams.
The Bengals gave their playoff hopes a shot in the arm by beating the Ravens last Thursday and wide receiver Tee Higgins could be back to help them take another step in the right direction against the Bills this week.
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that Higgins will be on the practice field later in the day. Higgins will be limited in his first practice work since suffering a concussion in Cincinnati’s Week 12 loss to the Patriots.
Higgins remains in the concussion protocol, but the return to practice moves him closer to being cleared in time to face Buffalo on Sunday.
Higgins has 40 catches for 575 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
The Bengals picked up a win in Joe Burrow’s return to the lineup on Thanksgiving and kicker Evan McPherson’s contributions to the victory were recognized by the NFL on Wednesday.
McPherson made six field goals in the 32-14 win over the Ravens. That’s a new career-high for the kicker and he also knocked home a pair of extra points to make it a 20-point night.
The NFL named McPherson the AFC’s special teams player of the week on Wednesday. It is the fourth time that McPherson has taken those honors since he joined the Bengals in 2021.
McPherson is 23-of-26 on field goals and 27-of-27 on extra points this season.
Defensive end Joey Bosa won’t be taking part in the first Bills practice session of the week.
Head coach Sean McDermott said that Bosa will sit out on Wednesday. Bosa suffered a hamstring injury late in last Sunday’s win over the Steelers. Bosa had a key strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers that led to a Christian Benford touchdown return before leaving the game.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins did not play in that game due to a concussion, but he is progressing through the protocol and McDermott said he will be a limited participant on Wednesday. Right tackle Spencer Brown (shoulder) and tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) are also set for limited practices after missing the game.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow) and wide receiver Josh Palmer (ankle) will not practice. The Bills will issue injury designations for their game against the Bengals on Friday.
Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft are finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
The Hall announced Wednesday that Kraft is the contributor nominee and Belichick the coach nominee in the next class of inductees. Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood are the seniors finalists.
The remaining bar to clear: Approval from at least 80 percent of the members of the full selection committee at their annual meeting next year in advance of the class unveiling during Super Bowl LX week in San Francisco.
For the second year, the finalists from these categories within the selection process are competing directly against each other under bylaws the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors approved in 2024. The revision to the process helps ensure the exclusivity of inclusion in the game’s most elite fraternity.
Each member of the selection committee votes for only three of these five finalists. With the bylaws revision, a maximum of three of this year’s Finalists can be elected. If none of the five individuals receives 80 percent approval, then the individual who receives the most support would be elected to the Class of 2026.
Kraft, the owner and CEO of the Patriots since 1994, has seen his team win six Super Bowls and play in four others. All with Belichick as his head coach.
Kraft has also served on 17 owners committees, including the broadcast/media committee since 1997, which he has chaired for the past 18 years.
The other eight semifinalists in the contributor category this year were K.S. “Bud” Adams, Roone Arledge, Ralph Hay, Frank Bucko” Kilroy, Art Rooney Jr., Clark Shaughnessy, Seymour Siwoff and Buddy Young.
Belichick, the current coach at the University of North Carolina, has an overall record of 333-178 in the NFL — second only to Hall of Famer Don Shula’s 347 career NFL victories — and won 31 of 44 games (.705) in the playoffs. Among his numerous accolades, Belichick is a member of the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
The eight other Semifinalists in the Coach category this year were Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert and Mike Shanahan.
Anderson played his entire career for the Bengals, 192 games overall through the 1986 season. He finished his career with four Pro Bowl nods, a league MVP award for the 1981 season and 32,838 passing yards with 197 passing touchdowns.
Craig won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, where he spent eight seasons before a year with the Raiders and two with the Vikings. For his career, he totaled 13,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 73 touchdowns. He was named the league’s offensive player of the year in 1988, when he also finished third in MVP voting.
Greenwood, a member of the famous “Steel Curtain” defensive units in the 1970s, played his entire 170-game career over 13 seasons with the Steelers. An undrafted free agent out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Greenwood won four Super Bowl rings, was named a first-team All-Pro defensive end twice and was selected to play in six Pro Bowls.
Also advancing to the semifinalist stage in the Seniors category were Henry Ellard, Joe Jacoby, Eddie Meador, Stanley Morgan, Steve Tasker and Otis Taylor.
Players in the seniors category last could have appeared in a professional game in the 2000 season.
The Bengals placed linebacker Brian Asamoah II on injured reserve, the team announced Monday.
Asamoah, a fourth-year player, injured a knee in Cincinnati’s Week 13 win over Baltimore. He appeared in four games with no stats, seeing action on 58 special teams snaps.
The Bengals now have only four linebackers left on their roster.
In a corresponding move, they signed cornerback Jalen Davis off the practice squad to the active roster.
The fifth-year player spent the first 13 weeks of this season on Cincinnati’s practice squad. He was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the past two games.
Davis has six tackles and one sack in 79 defensive snaps.
Bills defensive end Joey Bosa came up with one of the biggest plays in Sunday’s win over the Steelers when he forced an Aaron Rodgers fumble on the first play of the third quarter, but his outlook for Week 14’s game against the Bengals is uncertain.
Bosa limped off the field later in the second half and head coach Sean McDermott said on Monday that he’s dealing with a hamstring injury. McDermott said, via multiple reporters, that “we’ll see where that goes” in terms of his availability this week.
Cornerback Christian Benford recovered Rodgers’ fumble and returned it for a touchdown that gave the Bills a lead they would not surrender. It was Bosa’s fifth sack and fifth forced fumble of the year.
McDermott said that left tackle Dion Dawkins remains in the concussion protocol. Tight end Dalton Kincaid, linebacker Terrel Bernard, right tackle Spencer Brown, and wide receiver Josh Palmer are all improving after missing Sunday’s game with an injury.
The Bengals got quarterback Joe Burrow back in the lineup in Week 13, but defensive end Trey Hendrickson missed their win over the Steelers and he’s likely going to miss their Week 14 date with the Bills as well.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Monday that Hendrickson is considered doubtful to make his return to action next Sunday. Hendrickson has missed the last four games and five of the last six with hip and pelvis injuries.
Taylor said that the team considers Hendrickson week-to-week in terms of his return timeline.
Hendrickson had 16 tackles, four sacks, and a forced fumble when he was able to play. Joseph Ossai leads the team with five sacks and is the only player on the team with more sacks than Hendrickson.
The Bengals also played without wide receiver Tee Higgins in their win over the Ravens. He remains in the concussion protocol, but could be cleared in time to face Buffalo.
