A Week Living Out of a Suitcase

The Bills never came home. After the 37-34 overtime win over the Rams on Monday night, October 12, they stayed in Southern California and spent the week practicing at UC Irvine instead of flying back to Western New York.

Josh Allen laid out the plan right after the game. With a Monday night game and a short week before Vegas, the team was staying put and "trusting our guys to be pros and do the right thing," he said, according to ProFootballTalk.

By Wednesday, Allen said the week was starting to feel a little like training camp, the kind of stretch that builds camaraderie in a locker room. Joe Brady talked about the same thing from the coaching side: the advantages of staying out west, and players recovering and growing together.

Now it's time to cash it in. The Bills, 4-1 and averaging 32.8 points a game, which is tied for the NFL lead, visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 18, at 4:25 p.m. Buffalo time. Whatever happens, the bye week is waiting right after.

The Five Names Everybody's Watching

Buffalo didn't rule anybody out on its final injury report, but five players are listed as questionable.

WR DJ Moore (shoulder). This one's been dragging on for a while. Moore sprained the AC joint in his shoulder when he hit the ground during the Week 2 win over Detroit on September 17 at the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. He played through it in Weeks 3 and 4, then aggravated it against the Patriots and sat out the Rams game. It was the first game he'd missed since December 2020. He didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, then got back on the field Friday in a limited role, wearing a red non-contact jersey. Through four games since arriving in a March trade with the Bears, he has 12 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown.

DL Ed Oliver (knee). Oliver took a hit to the knee near the sideline against New England and missed the Rams game. Like Moore, he sat out Wednesday and Thursday before going limited on Friday.

CB Dee Alford (ankle) and WR Josh Palmer (shoulder). Both were scratched against the Rams. Alford's ankle issue showed up in the Patriots game, and Palmer hurt his shoulder at an October 9 practice. Both were limited all three days this week and looked ready to go during the parts of practice reporters could watch.

DL TJ Sanders (shoulder). Sanders has had a rough year already, dealing with a knee issue and then appendicitis. He finally made his season debut against the Rams and played 51 snaps, but came out of the game with a sore shoulder. He was a full participant Friday and is still listed as questionable.

One thing worth remembering: with the bye on the other side of this game, the Bills could decide a little extra rest is the smart play for anyone who's borderline.

The Good News

The best update of the week belongs to right tackle Spencer Brown. He left the Rams game after just 16 snaps with a back flare-up, which had people nervous. He was limited Wednesday, went full Thursday and Friday, and has no game designation.

"Just tweaked it. Nothing major," Brown said after Wednesday's practice at UC Irvine, according to Bills On SI. He said he'd had an MRI, and that his back actually looks better than it did last year. Sunday would be his 79th regular season game in a Bills uniform.

Running back Ty Johnson, limited by a hamstring early in the week, practiced fully Friday and is cleared. So are the other names on the report without a designation, including Christian Benford (toe), Terrel Bernard (knee), Keon Coleman (ankle), CJ Gardner-Johnson (ankle and knee), Landon Jackson (knee), TJ Parker (rib), Ar'maj Reed-Adams (elbow) and Bradley Chubb (thumb). Yes, that's the same Chubb who took a punch from a Rams lineman after the final whistle Monday night.

Brady said Moore and Oliver had been doing a lot of work on the side and every walk-through, and that it was good just to see them moving around Friday. The plan was to see how they felt, look at the tape and talk it through. "If they're ready to go, they're going to play," he said Friday.

The Bills announce their inactive players about 90 minutes before kickoff, around 2:55 p.m. Buffalo time.

James Cook's Week

The other big storyline all week was James Cook, who fumbled twice against the Rams, including one in overtime. On Tuesday, Brady said Cook's carries would go down if the ball security didn't improve. Cook has 11 fumbles since the start of the 2025 season, the most among NFL running backs, but he's also run for a league-high 2,153 yards over that same stretch.

Cook didn't dodge it. "Just need to take more care of the ball and hold myself accountable," he said.

By Wednesday, Brady made sure nobody took his warning the wrong way. "I don't want James running any more timid," he said, according to WGRZ, adding that he isn't going to stop giving Cook the ball.

An Old Friend on the Other Sideline

Here's the part that'll tug at you a little. When the Bills drafted Josh Allen in the first round in 2018, they took a cornerback from Weber State named Taron Johnson three rounds later. Both were part of general manager Brandon Beane's first draft class in Buffalo.

Johnson spent eight seasons here, became a second-team All-Pro and was the starting nickel cornerback in a defense that lined up in nickel more than any team in the league. Then in March, as the Bills switched to a 3-4 defense under new coordinator Jim Leonhard, they traded him to Las Vegas in a swap of late-round picks.

On Sunday he'll line up across from the quarterback he came into the league with. "It will be a little weird," Johnson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak summed up what the 30-year-old has brought to his new team in one word: professional.

There's another Raiders connection on Buffalo's side, too. Bills quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree had the same job in Las Vegas in 2022 and 2023, and served as the Raiders' interim offensive coordinator after Josh McDaniels was let go.

What the Bills Are Saying About Las Vegas

The Raiders are 3-2 but trying to avoid a third straight loss after getting blown out 45-17 by New England, a game where Drake Maye picked apart their young secondary.

The Bills aren't taking them lightly. Allen spent part of his week talking about Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby. "What makes him so good is his motor," Allen said, adding that Crosby is never out of a play and is on the field for nearly every snap.

Brady was just as direct about the Raiders' star tight end. "Brock Bowers is a problem," he said. Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty both practiced fully Friday and carry no injury designation. Las Vegas ruled out defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway (concussion), tight end Carter Runyon (foot) and receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. (hamstring), and guard Trey Zuhn III is questionable.

Kickoff, and Then a Breather

The Bills and Raiders kick off at 4:25 p.m. Buffalo time on Sunday, October 18, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and the game is on CBS.

A win sends the Bills into their bye at 5-1, with nearly two weeks to rest up before Baltimore comes to Orchard Park on Sunday, November 1. After a week living out of hotel rooms and practicing on a college campus across the country, a few days back in Western New York is going to feel pretty good. Let's hope they're bringing a win home with them.