The Buffalo Bills are heading into their Week 17 game against the Philadelphia Eagles hoping to strengthen their position in the AFC East. However, the team will be without placekicker Matt Prater, as Michael Badgley is expected to play in his second straight game.
Michael Badgley To Replace Matt Prater in Week 17
In Week 15, the Bills registered their third straight win after earning a 35-31 victory over the New England Patriots. However, the win came with concern, as kicker Matt Prater suffered a right quad injury and was later ruled out for the upcoming matchup against the Browns.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters Monday that Prater will miss Week 16 and is considered “week to week” with the injury.
“Not ideal. Matt’s done a really good job having that consistency during the year. Obviously, T-Bass had the surgery, so he’s not an option either. So we’ll figure that piece out,” McDermott said.
This season, Prater converted 18 of 20 field goal attempts (90%) and 43 of 46 extra points (93%), making his absence a notable loss. Bills fans were already missing regular kicker Tyler Bass, who was placed on injured reserve earlier in the season because of hip and groin injuries. Now, the team has been forced to look for yet another replacement.
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On Tuesday, the Bills signed veteran kicker Michael Badgley to the practice squad. With Prater sidelined, Badgley was elevated and handled kicking duties against the Browns last week. In that game, he was 1/1 on field goal attempts, but went 2/3 on extra point attempts.
Badgley will get the start today against the Eagles and will hope to have a perfect outing. Earlier this season, Badgley appeared in seven games for the Indianapolis Colts, going 10 for 11 (91%) on field goal attempts.
Buffalo Bills’ Stats and Insights for Week 17
Team: The Bills have clinched a playoff spot. To win the AFC East, Buffalo needs to win its last two games and have New England lose at least one of its remaining games. If the Bills lose one game, the Patriots need to lose their last two games for Buffalo to win the division.
QB: Josh Allen had his worst QBi score (68.0, D+) of the season against the Browns in Week 16. It was his lowest score since Week 10 in 2023.
Offense: Buffalo’s wide receivers have 1,843 receiving yards this season, which is 24th in the league.
Defense: Greg Rousseau had 3.5 sacks in the last two games after having three sacks in the first 15 games.
Fantasy: Josh Allen threw just 19 passes against the Browns, and Josh Palmer led the team in routes run. They are clearly trying to get a WR rotation that they feel good about, and without that clarity, we can’t count on any of their pass catchers.
