News and notes from Monday media availability with head coach Sean McDermott, offensive coordinator Joe Brady and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich.
Early injury update for Wild Card Weekend
Bills head coach Sean McDermott ruled out rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston for Sunday's Wild Card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to an ankle injury.
Hairston got banged up at the end of Week 18 against the Jets, exiting the game and heading to the locker rooms with the training staff.
"Probably more week to week, if I had to guess, right now, but we'll see where it goes," McDermott shared.
Buffalo received better news on kicker Matt Prater who left the game with a right quad injury. Prater got hurt during the first half and was ruled out after half time. However it does not appear to be as serious as the kicker's initial quad injury that caused him to miss two Weeks 15 and 16.
"He's more day to day, which is a good sign, but we're still going to, more than likely, bring some kickers in tomorrow (Tuesday) for a workout," McDermott said.
The Bills will have two plans this week, one for if Prater can play against Jacksonville and one for if he can't.
RB Ty Johnson is day to day as well. Additionally, Buffalo won't be activating anyone off IR this week.
Praise for Cook's rushing title
Sean McDermott was just like a lot of us Sunday night of Week 18, sweating out the results of Sunday Night Football between the Ravens and Steelers.
Coming into the game, James Cook III had a 152-yard lead on RB Derrick Henry for the NFL rushing title. It appeared as if Henry was poised to pass the Bills RB with 112 yards in the first half.
"I knew the number, and I stayed up to do everything I could to make sure it was going to go the way it was going to go — not that I had any control at that point," McDermott laughed.
Originally, the Bills had planned to play Cook for a full quarter against the Jets in hopes of boosting his chances to have the league's most rushing yards. With the Bills resting many starters McDermott changed course and pulled Cook after he got two carries for 15 yards on the first two plays of the game.
"I was watching the (Ravens-Steelers) game, and you know, I'm praying that we made the right decision. And tell you what, it's not easy. You expose him too long, and maybe he gets hurt, and you're not loving it. So you try to do your best to keep him healthy, but also get him to a spot where he can kind of reap the fruits of his labor," McDermott said.
OC Joe Brady said he's proud of the way Cook handled this entire season, from the summer negotiations surrounding his contract to now proving why he belongs in the conversation for the NFL's top running back.
"All he's done is just showed up to work and absolutely put on an incredible performance this year. I couldn't be happier for him. Not often do guys get paid and then take their game up to another level," Brady said.
Cook finished the regular season with 307 carries for 1,621 yards and 12 rushing TDs.
Early look at the explosive Jags offense
Since Week 10, the Jaguars rank first in the AFC in points scored, averaging 33.1 points per game. They boast an 8-1 record during that span, the second-best win percentage by an AFC team
While the Jaguars have improved in several areas this year, one of the biggest impacts has been the addition of WR Jakobi Myers who joined the team at the trade deadline. Meyers' Jacksonville debut came in Week 10 against the Texans.
"I thought one of the moves that's made a difference for them offensively is adding Jakobi Meyers. Good pickup for them, probably a guy that's quite honestly been undervalued in his career," McDermott said.
Meyers is just one of a handful of reliable playmakers the Jaguars have on offense. RB Travis Etienne recorded over 1,000 rushing yards for the third time in four seasons, WR Parker Washington leads the team with 347 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the last three games.
It's all buoyed by QB Trevor Lawrence who is playing some of the best football of his career. Lawrence set the Jags' franchise record with 38 total TDs in 2025, just one fewer than Bills QB Josh Allen.
"You just see Trevor's comfortable, he's comfortable in the offense, " DC Bobby Babich said. "He's comfortable in their operation with what they're doing. They do some good things on offense, and they've got some talent around, which certainly helps."
