Consulting With The Coaches

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Injury updates following TNF, Deone Walker's steady play and Bills using upcoming rest to their advantage

Sep 18, 2026 at 10:56 PM

The Buffalo Bills coaches reflected on their 41-31 victory over the Detroit Lions with the media on Friday. There's a lot to take away from what was an unforgettable night in Orchard Park.

Here's what they had to say about what flew under the radar in the home opener, as well as the plans leading up to Week 3.

Deone Walker's impactful performance goes beyond the stats

The staff dealt with an unfortunate surprise pregame, losing DL Ed Oliver for the game due to a hip injury suffered in warmups. Needing someone to step up in his absence, DL Deone Walker answered the call.

Walker was a dominant force on the interior all night for Buffalo in the win. The 22-year-old's influence on the night was obvious, even though his success didn't result in a long list of statistics.

"You can't watch that game and not feel his impact," defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. "The numbers don't necessarily say that he had this huge game. You might look back at the end of the year and go, 'God, I feel like there was more in there somewhere. Like, where were these sacks, or where was the production?' And then you turn a game on, and the guy just completely wrecks it."

Walker finished the contest with just one tackle, but his biggest effect on the Lions offense came defending the pass. Using his 6-foot-7 frame, Walker batted down three passes in the victory, including two on one drive late in the fourth quarter to help cement the win.

He saw a ton of attention from Detroit's offensive line on Thursday in Oliver's absence, but even when he wasn't in the backfield, Walker made game-changing plays.

"What he was able to do when Ed went out, we were like, 'Hey, now I need more from you,' because you know our plan going into the game was we needed guys rotating as much as possible," head coach Joe Brady said. "We needed them fresh at the end, and we didn't have that luxury anymore. Deone didn't blink with it, both in the run game and the pass game."

Walker didn't come away with any sacks in the win, but the defensive lineman pressured Lions QB Jared Goff seven times on Thursday night.

"He's been a warrior here the first couple of weeks, played a lot of snaps, and just been very impactful," Leonhard said. "We'll continue to build off of that, especially in a game, short week, and losing Ed, you needed somebody up front to really step up and have a huge one, and he did that, and it was a lot of fun to watch."

Injury Outlook on Ed Oliver and DJ Moore

The Bills had a pair of injuries occur Thursday night, one suffered pregame by Ed Oliver and one suffered by DJ Moore in the first half. Friday, Joe Brady did not have an immediate timeline for return to play for either player, but did offer insight into what else he knew regarding their injuries.

For Oliver, he was ruled inactive and did not suit up for the contest. Brady described the way the events unfolded as "unique", citing the timing of his learning of Oliver's injury was right before the team had to announce its active game day roster. As Oliver was getting looked at by the athletic staff in the training, Brady had to make a quick call.

"If we had an hour or whatnot, we could maybe put him through some tests to see what happens, but we didn't have that time. So we just had to make the decision and go and kind of roll with it," Brady said.

Brady shared that outsider linebacker Mike Danna was scheduled to be inactive but had to quickly get warmed up and be part of the active game day roster in Oliver's place. Brady shared that the team will "see how [Oliver] is progressing" once the team reconvenes after the weekend.

As for Moore, he left in the second quarter after landing hard in the end zone with what was initially a shoulder/stinger injury. After being taken to the locker room for X-rays, Moore was downgraded to out, though the Bills labeled his injury as shoulder only. Brady is unsure if Moore will participate in Wednesday's practice to start Week 3.

"He's as tough as they come," Brady said of Moore. "If he can be out there, he'll be out there."

Getting a chance to regroup with a "mini bye week"

Playing in the first true Thursday night game of the year has some benefits despite the obvious struggles regarding a short week so early on. The biggest one is likely the aspect of having a "mini bye week," with 10 days in between games ahead of Week 3.

The extra time provides additional recovery for players and preparation opportunities for the coaching staff. For the coaching staff, they'll take the extra time to catch up on scouting, not only other teams, but also what can be improved upon internally.

"It gives you an opportunity early on to just be able to look at maybe what you've done the first two weeks, see what you like," offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said. "See, maybe you can make little corrections or tweaks, but also the ability to go out and study what other teams did the first week, and then see some of the games on Sunday, and maybe there are some ideas that another team does, and you're like, 'I think that would fit our personnel.'"

Checking with the rest of the league during this time is Brady's way of considering how certain trends might apply to Buffalo.

"Let's not wait until the offseason to see trends that are happening, what's showing up, and see if there are some things that are like, 'Hey, you know what? I think that's something that could apply,' or like, 'Oh, this is probably good to know that this is going to be what's coming,'" Brady said.