The Buffalo Bills coaching staff met with the media Monday following their 33-30 Week 6 win over the Raiders. Here's what we learned as the Bills head into their bye week.

Joe Brady addresses C.J. Gardner-Johnson suspension & team penalties

The NFL announced Monday that it is suspending Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson one game for an act of unsportsmanlike conduct during Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Johnson received a personal foul penalty and was ejected from the game in the first half of Buffalo's Week 6 contest. The NFL issued a statement Monday in conjunction with their suspension decision.

During the second quarter, Gardner-Johnson spit at an opponent, violating Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to "any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship." *Read full statement*.

Gardner-Johnson may appeal the suspension, but for now, he's in line to miss Week 8 against the Ravens.

Bills head coach Joe Brady received news of the suspension before speaking with the local media Monday.

"He knows that that can't happen. That's inexcusable. That's not the standard that we're going to have and play with," Brady said. "He's addressed it, it's been addressed."

Brady shared that since the incident, there's been private conversations with Gardner-Johnson, and the head coach addressed the issue during Monday's team meeting. He added that the team will not have additional punishment for their safety on top of the suspension.

"It can't happen. That's why that's not what we're about. That's not what the game of football's about. And he knows that. And I'm understanding of why he was kicked out of the game," Brady said.

Gardner-Johnson spoke to reporters after Sunday's game, apologizing for his actions and then again on his personal Instagram story.

Despite the safety's actions, Buffalo's head coach believes Gardner-Johnson is an important member of the team moving forward.

"C.J. is a member of the Buffalo Bills. We brought him here for a reason and he knows that he has to play better. He knows he has to be better for this team," Brady said.

"Guys stepped up" | Jim Leonhard on how the Bills secondary adjusted

Though the Bills lost a member of their starting secondary with the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard praised how the secondary adapted to the challenge in-game.

"Guys stepped up and made some big plays, won in some big one-on-one situations," Leonhard said.

The hole left vacant by Gardner-Johnson's ejection opened the door for veteran safety Damar Hamlin and rookie Jalon Kilgore to fill in. Nickel corner Dee Alford played through an ankle injury that sidelined him for Week 5.

"I thought Damar did a great job of stepping in. Obviously Kilgore came in at the end, a number of guys had to step up," Leonhard said. "Dee [Alford] was severely limited going into the game at the nickel position and he ended up playing 40 some snaps for us and doing a good job making plays."

Hamlin had six total tackles, three of them as the lone defender. The veteran made two open field tackles, one against Bowers and the other against running back Mike Washington to prevent potential touchdowns.

"He calmed things down for us, made some big time tackles for us," Leonhard shared.

Kilgore came on the field for 10 snaps in dime coverage as the third safety, playing across from Hamlin while Bishop played near the line of scrimmage. The rookie broke up and nearly intercepted QB Kirk Cousins on a third down pass in the fourth quarter.

"Kilgore made a big play on a third down, obviously gets the pass breakup. He's got some things he would like back and he wants to clean up," the defensive coordinator said.

Two additional players that Leonhard praised following Week 6 were cornerbacks Christian Benford and Davison Igbinosun. Benford handled coverage duty against Raiders TE Brock Bowers, while Igbinosun ranked tied for third among all defensive players in Week 6 with three pass breakups.

For Igbinosun specifically, Leonhard feels comfortable continuing to give 'IGB' a high snap share as one of the boundary corners.

"I think what he's done the last couple weeks, he's definitely earned a high majority of the snaps at the corner position. I know what I'm getting, play in and play out," the DC said.

Return on the horizon for Moore and Oliver

The Bills are on a bye in Week 7 and two key players will have an extra week to recover from injury. WR DJ Moore (shoulder) and DT Ed Oliver (knee) have missed the last two games, but it appears their return is close.

"I'd like to think that they're close. I think some of it might have impacted of knowing what the next week kind of can look like," Brady said. "But the hope and intent with them is to be back next week."

Brady was not asked about in-game injuries to TE Dalton Kincaid or OLB Bradley Chubb. Both players briefly left the game against the Raiders due to rib injuries but returned and finished the game.

Chubb's initial absence and then trying to finish the game opened the door for OLB T.J. Parker to play a season-high 50 snaps. The rookie racked up four tackles, two QB pressures and one QB hit.

"Chubb battled through some injuries, he wanted to play, but it wasn't right for him to get a lot of snaps," DC Jim Leonhard said.