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ORCHARD PARK, N. Y. -- The Buffalo Bills are facing the prospect of not having the services of running back LeSean McCoy and/or wide receiver Sammy Watkins on Sunday. Each player is nursing a leg injury and coach Rex Ryan seemed less than enthusiastic about either player's chance of being ready to go when the New York Giants come calling at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
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McCoy has been bothered by a pulled hamstring since mid-August, when he pulled up lame during a shared training camp practice against the Cleveland Browns. He played in the first three games and rushed for 89 yards in the Week 2 loss to the Patriots.
However, last Sunday in Buffalo's 41-14 victory in Miami, McCoy managed only 16 yards on 11 carries and was clearly hampered by the nagging problem.
Watkins sustained a calf injury in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the game. Neither player practiced Wednesday, and given the nature of the injuries, Ryan doesn't appear to be counting on either player this week.
"It's never a good thing if you miss practice, but we'll see," Ryan said. "Will Sammy play? I'm not sure. (McCoy) doesn't look good. We have a lot of guys out, but the next man has to step up.
"We're fortunate we have a deep team and we'll have to rely on our depth."
Also missing is right guard John Miller, who sustained a groin injury at Miami and isn't expected to play this week. Kraig Urbik stepped in when Miller went down in the first quarter, and he'll get the start.
Safety Aaron Williams, who sat out the Dolphins game because of a neck injury, was a limited participant in practice and his status is questionable moving forward.
McCoy could probably continue to play, but Ryan said the team is debating whether that would be a good idea. Giving him a week off might be the only way to let the hamstring rest and heal.
"He's certainly not 100 percent," Ryan said of McCoy. "But will it hold him out? We're holding him out certainly right now for practice. There's a real possibility he won't play in this game.
"He's a super talent, and sometimes a guy like that who's less than 100 percent is still pretty darned good, but is it worth the time to wait and get him to 100 percent? That's what we're working through right now. Is there a real possibility he won't play in this game? Absolutely."
Of course, what could make the decision a little easier is the play of rookie running back Karlos Williams, who has proven already that he can capably step in and carry the load.
Williams rushed for 110 yards on only 12 carries last week and was in the mix for the AFC rookie of the week honor.
The Bills also have a worthy replacement for Watkins should he miss the game. Robert Woods would join Percy Harvin in the starting lineup, and Chris Hogan would slide into the No. 3 spot.
"Are we better off with Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy, 100 percent yes, but we have good players behind them," Ryan said. "Every team in the league will go through similar things; it's how you respond to it.
"The whole team's confident in the guys that are behind those players. We have a game to play. I don't think the Giants will come in here and feel sorry for us."
The Giants come to Buffalo sporting the league's second-best run defense, but the worst pass defense in the NFL. Part of that is because New York led all three of its games in the fourth quarter, and the opposition was in pass-pass-pass mode.
The Giants failed miserably in blowing double-digit leads to lose to Dallas and Atlanta, but held on against Washington last week.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor might not be in the Tony Romo and Matt Ryan echelon yet, but even if McCoy and Watkins don't play, Taylor could give the Giants fits if the Bills can run effectively and open up the roll out and play-action aspects of the offense which Taylor has excelled with.
SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular-season meeting, Bills lead series 6-5. The last two times the teams met, in 2007 and 2011, the Giants were victorious, and they went on to win the Super Bowl each year. The teams have played once in the postseason, Super Bowl XXV, when Scott Norwood's potential game-winning field goal sailed wide right with four seconds left to play.
GAME PLAN: The Buffalo offense might be hampered by the absences of wide receiver Sammy Watkins and running back LeSean McCoy, but that won't curtail offensive coordinator Greg Roman's game plan. The Bills, who are third in the league in scoring with 100 points, will be able to plug in wide receiver Robert Woods and running back Karlos Williams and keep rolling. They have been balanced (97 rushes, 86 dropbacks) and effective as they are averaging 4.7 yards per rush and quarterback Tyrod Taylor is completing 74.4 percent of his passes at 9.15 yards per attempt.
On defense, the Bills will have their hands full in the secondary, even if Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz can't return to action after suffering a setback Wednesday to his calf injury. The Bills will try to cover Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle with their nickel package and generate pressure on Eli Manning with a front four augmented by blitzers. The Bills backed off the blitzing when they played Tom Brady and New England, but they went after Miami's Ryan Tannehill and that seems to be the tactic which works best for them.
