NFL Announces Punishment for Bills RB After Texans Incident
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Buffalo Bills fullback Reggie Gilliam was fined byt he NFL on Saturday
The Buffalo Bills’ Week 12 loss to the Houston Texans is one the team would like to forget.
Not only did they drop to 7-4 but they’re barely hanging onto the final playoff spot in the AFC — just one game ahead of the Texans (6-5), and two ahead of the Chiefs (6-6) and Baltimore Ravens (6-6), who are nipping on their heels.
Despite getting outplayed by the Bills — they outgained the Texans 326 yards to 261 and dominated time of possession 32:22 to 27:38 — Houston rode a dominant performance from its defense to pull to 6-5.
The Texans sacked Josh Allen a season-high 8 times and intercepted him twice, which kept them in the game long enough to pull off the win.
One Bills Player Fined for His Actions
While losing the game was a tough pill to swallow, one particular Bills player got some even more bad news after the game had ended.
On Saturday, the NFL released its list of weekly fines and fullback Reggie Gilliam’s name was on it. The 28-year-old was hit with an $11,111 fine for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet).
Bills FB Reggie Gillian was fined $11,111 for unnecessary roughness/use of the helmet during last week’s game at the Houston Texans.
It marked Gilliam’s first fine of the season, and he was the only Bills player fined in Week 12. He’s the third Bills player hit with a fine in the last two weeks, joining edge-rusher Joey Bosa and running back Ty Johnson, who were fined $17,389 and $10,777, respectively for hit on a quarterback and obscene gesture punishments.
“To protect players from unnecessary risk and preserve competitive balance and game integrity, the NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed on a set of game-related rules violations that may result in accountability measures,” the NFL wrote on its website, explaining why it fines players every week.
Gilliam has played sparingly this season. He hasn’t had a carry this season, but he has 1 reception or 2 yards, and he’s played 179 offensive snaps (24%) this season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Buffalo’s Playoff Chances Looking Grim
The Bills have alternated wins and losses over the last four weeks.
The team won two straight coming out of its bye week against the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs, but losses to the Miami Dolphins and Texans have some questioning whether Buffalo is really built for a Super Bowl run this season.
The Bills have struggled in the passing game without a clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver and disgruntled former second-round pick Keon Coleman, who’s been benched the last two games after he showed up late to a team meeting.
Now Buffalo heads into a brutal stretch in its schedule where it has tough games coming up against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), Cincinnati Bengals, who had quarterback Joe Burrow back, New England Patriots (10-2), and Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) in four of their final six games.
With the Chiefs in third place in the AFC West and on the outside looking in with the AFC playoff race, some believe this season is arguably Buffalo’s best to make it to a Super Bowl without Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs standing in their way in the postseason.
Browns’ QB Rookie Shedeur Sanders Gets Great News on Starting Role Before 49ers Game
Ahead of the first home start of his career in Week 13 against the 49ers, rookie QB Shedeur Sanders got some great news on his future with the Cleveland Browns — at least his near future. The former Jackson State and Colorado quarterback was projected to be a first- or second-round pick in this past draft, yet fell all the way to the fifth round due in part to some off-field concerns.
Sanders began training camp fourth on the depth chart in Cleveland, behind veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, as well as a fellow rookie, third-rounder Dillon Gabriel. Pickett was traded to the Raiders coming out of the preseason to make the roster a little less crowded, and Flacco began the season as the starter. However, he was traded to the Bengals back in October, and Gabriel assumed starting duties.
When Gabriel suffered a concussion in Week 11 against the Ravens, Sanders stepped in and played the entire second half, getting his first taste of real NFL action. It wasn’t pretty, as he went 4 of 16 passing for 47 yards and an interception, also taking two sacks. It wasn’t a good debut, but Sanders stepped up in first start the following week against the Raiders, going 11 of 20 for 209 yards with a touchdown and a pick, only taking one sack in a 24-10 victory.
Shedeur Sanders Might Start the Rest of the Season for the Cleveland Browns
On Sunday morning, multiple reports came out suggesting the Browns are interested in getting an extended look at Sanders as the starter. When Cleveland drafted two rookie quarterbacks back in April, the expectation was they’d give each a run as the starter to see what they’ve got. Gabriel had his turn, and now Sanders has his.
“Yes, Shedeur Sanders makes his first home start today for the Cleveland Browns,” said NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on NFL Game Day Morning. “Impressive one last week, had the full week of reps, had the game plan tailored for him. Took some deep shots, enough to win, enough that the Browns wanted to see more.”
“So he starts again today,” Rapoport continued. “My understanding is that the Browns — with a good performance [by Sanders], with a performance they can be proud of — that he could start the rest of the way. And yes, it’s about that Shedeur will have earned it if that’s the case. But they also want to evaluate him, the Browns want to get out of this season knowing whether or not they have a franchise quarterback. With two first-round picks coming up in this draft, they have to know.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the same thing, writing on X/Twitter, “Browns are open to giving Shedeur Sanders an extended look for the rest of this season, just as fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel got in the first half of this season.”
