The Bills (7-4) will take the field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5) in a game that could have massive playoff and tiebreaker implications. The Bills are 4-3 with Josh Allen in the week following Thursday night’s game, although none of those seven starts came in a loss.
How the Bills respond on Sunday amidst some new adversity, especially on offense, will be a big challenge this week. Despite a lot going on, here’s our Week 13 Bills Notebook.
Spencer Brown’s injury is huge for the entire offensive line
In the third quarter, an injury occurred that could have significant short-term and potentially long-term effects. Starting right tackle Spencer Brown suffered a shoulder injury, returned to the game for another quarter, but appeared to be in persistent pain and was limited before being ruled out. By the end of the night, Brown’s right arm was in a sling, and on Friday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said a trip to injured reserve could be on the table. McDermott did not deny this when asked again Wednesday. In another context clue, the Bills’ choice to open second-year offensive tackle Tylon Grable’s 21-day practice window from the IR could mean they are expecting an extended absence for Brown.
Without question, as the rest of the offense is trying to find itself, the offensive line was the biggest strength of their operation. While James Cook plays a big role in how well he runs the ball, it is the offensive line that is regularly freeing up space to set the table for Cook to maximize all of these runs. The running game has been the best part of their offense in 2025. And of all the offensive line starters going into the Houston game, Brown has been the best of the group. In fact, he was the highest-graded Bills player through 11 games in our season-long film study. Losing that level of talent is bad enough, but it’s multiplied by the disparity of on-field results between him and his potential backup Ryan Van DeMark.
Van Demark’s best position is left tackle, and when he gets buried at right tackle, it creates some real opportunities for the opposition. For example, Van DeMark was called for holding out late in the Texans game after losing his reps early on. Then on the Bills’ crucial third-and-1 attempt in Houston territory late in the game, defensive end Will Anderson Jr. pushed Van DeMark off his pads, allowing Anderson to make an uninterrupted layup and drop Allen’s pass to Khalil Shakir for what would have been an easy first down, with the possibility of going for a touchdown.
Due to some pass-protection issues with Van DeMark, as long as Brown is out of the lineup, Allen has full potential to change the way the Bills operate when he returns. The Bills, due to the strength of their offensive line, often operate without the help of the front five in pass protection. This came back to bite them against the Texans, as Houston’s excellent defensive line put together one of the most spectacular pass-rushing days against Allen that it had ever seen, and for some reason, the Bills continued trying to protect the quarterback with five interceptions for the majority of that game.
But for the most part, this has been a more acceptable strategy for the Bills with only five players blocking for Allen. If Van DeMark is in Brown’s spot, he will need help from a chipping skill position player against the defensive end. For a Bills offense that has struggled to consistently move the ball in the air, delaying the skill position route to help the safety gives Allen a less appreciated downfield target and could hurt his ability to push the ball down the field even more. For those reasons, Brown’s injury is huge for his 2025 prospects.
It’s gotten even more serious for the Bills this week, as starting left tackle Dion Dawkins is in the concussion protocol and did not participate in practice on Wednesday — almost a full week after the game against the Texans. This could push the bills into a state of major reshuffle. If Dawkins can’t go, the slight benefit is that it would push Van DeMark to left tackle against the Steelers, where Van DeMark has certainly been better and more comfortable.
This brings the perfect solution into question, with few options for bills. Grable, if they believe he is ready to play after a long absence, is the most talented of their group. However, that’s a big ‘if’. Rookie Chase Lundt has been active just once this season, with a total of three NFL snaps to his name. Another option they may consider is interior offensive lineman Alec Anderson, who played right tackle in college. Anderson has far more experience than Lundt, and he may be more ready to play than Grable.
Regardless of how the Bills handle it, it will be a realignment process as they have enjoyed remarkable health on the offensive line for nearly three full seasons. Now we have to see how their inexperienced depth handles the opportunity, and whether they can make the best of a potentially damaging situation. But this Steelers matchup, with their brutal edge rushers, is on the shortlist of games they’ll least like due to injuries to their offensive tackles.
Why is Sunday a potential fork in the road for Keon Coleman?
In professional sports, and especially in the NFL bubble, things often happen that are over-dramatized. Recognizing that, there may be no greater risk to the outlook of Keon Coleman’s Bills career than Sunday, when the team announces its inactive list. Coleman was a healthy scratch for two straight games. The first, against the Buccaneers, was disciplinary action for being late to a team meeting. The second, last week against the Texans, was explained by McDermott.
“We’re working with the same group we had last week, just with less change,” McDermott said.
However, it wasn’t quite the same group as the Buccaneers game. There was one notable lineup change, as Curtis Samuel was ruled out due to injuries, and the Bills went with Elijah Moore ahead of Coleman. Moore was also a healthy player for the Buccaneers game. McDermott may be referring to Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers, who took snaps at X-receiver against Tampa Bay, since that is Coleman’s majority position within the Bills offense.
“We’re really thinking ahead right now about what could happen this week,” McDermott said, responding to whether Coleman would be in the lineup against the Steelers. “We’ll take it one day at a time. We’ll see where it goes.”
So why, then, is it so important for Coleman to stay active in the sport? For many reasons. For one thing, the Bills are having a terrible offensive performance in Houston. If they don’t see Coleman as a potential solution to their problems when they desperately need answers, that’s a statement in itself. The second is due to all the moving parts in the receiver. Moore was released Wednesday, they signed Brandin Cooks to the 53-man roster and Samuel faces another possible missed game due to injuries. The Bills having only five receivers on Sunday without Coleman will mean Cook is active after just three practices and one walkthrough. This should raise alarm bells for Coleman, especially given how difficult the Bills have been to integrate the receiver into their playbook heading into the season. Third, the Bills will have had a week and a half to think about Coleman and whether he is one of their top receivers. If, after all this time, they decide not to activate him, that’s an even bigger statement.
When McDermott discussed the notion of Cooks being active on Sunday, he began by saying “we’ll see”, although he did not rule it out completely. But during his Wednesday press conference, McDermott brought up this interesting thing about offensive coordinator Joe Brady when it comes to the game day roster at receiver.
“Joe ultimately decides who he thinks will give us the best chance this week,” McDermott said, “and then we take it one week at a time.”
If I had to guess right now, I think Coleman plays on Sunday to see if he returns with a spark after being healthy for two weeks. However, given the situation, I’m not convinced either way, and the Bills are likely trying to figure out what’s best for them with Coleman.
Cooks food, Moore goes out. Does it help at all?
When the Bills signed Cook, there was the possibility of another receiver move, and in this case it was to move on from Moore. The big question is, does it make the Bills any better? Cooks has had a reputation as a field stretcher since the beginning of his career. But at age 32, what is he bringing to the Bills for the remainder of the season? After watching a lot of Cooks’ current season on film, this doesn’t really look like a huge upgrade. At best, the Bills could get a similar player, albeit more versatile than Moore, who was mostly a slot player for the Bills. This season with the Saints, Cook usually lined up in the slot or at Z receiver, although he occasionally received snaps at X as well.
As a route runner, Cook didn’t really look like someone who could legitimately challenge deep defenses. Mostly, he played a role as a decoy to occupy some space for the Saints’ offense. According to TruMedia and Pro Football Focus, the stats confirm this, as Cook was targeted on only 8.8 percent of his routes. This ranks him 145th out of 154 receivers who have run at least 50 routes. His runs per route for the season are 0.58, which ranks 137th out of 154. He was on a losing team with poor quarterback play, which deserves attention. Given how limited the Saints’ offense is, the Bills could help improve Cooks’ metrics, but it’s not like the Bills have played an incredible passing game this season. All signs point to it being unlikely that Cook will make any meaningful difference for the Bills, although if all goes well he could certainly establish himself as a more reliable role player and upgrade to Samuel.
Projected Bills roster moves: Sign WR Gabe Davis to 53-man roster, activate OT Tylan Grable from IR, release DT Frederick Mathis
Projected Bills practice squad upgrades: TE Keleki Latu, LB Baylon Spector
Projected Bills Inactive vs. Steelers: WR Curtis Samuel, WR Joshua Palmer*, TE Dalton Kincaid, OT Dion Dawkins, OT Spencer Brown, LB Terrell Bernard, CB Ja’Marcus Ingram.
*Palmer appeared on the injury report Wednesday with an ankle injury, which is related to his previous ankle injury early in the season. He did not participate in practice on Thursday and was limited on Friday.
(**Changes possible after Friday’s practice)
Prediction: Bills 22, Steelers 16
Without a starting offensive tackle in a key AFC game against the Steelers team the Bills have invested the most in their pass rush, this could be the key detail that prevents the Bills from getting back on track this week. The Bills will need a well-planned offensive attack, led by their rushing attack, to do enough to pull out a win.
The irony is that the Bills may have to rely on their defense to steal the game, and in their favor they will face either running back Aaron Rodgers, who has a broken wrist, or backup quarterback Mason Rudolph. Additionally, the Steelers will be without their starting left tackle Broderick Jones, who could be preparing for a big day from Greg Rousseau. Ultimately, Sunday could be a low-scoring affair between two injury-plagued teams, but the Bills defense could have the upper hand against a backup quarterback and the team could get a win after a great second half in Houston.
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