The Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars saw several players go down with injuries during their Week 5 game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jaguars offensive lineman Walker Little and wide receiver Zay Jones were among those players, as both had MRIs on Monday to assess the severity of knee injures suffered Sunday.
According to some Bills players, many of those injuries were a consequence of the playing surface in London. Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson, who was injured in the third quarter but eventually returned to the game, called the turf “terrible” when asked about the field by The Athletic’s Tim Graham.
“Take that turf out, especially that one,” Johnson told Graham. “I’d rather play on grass. I’m sure 90 to 100 percent of players in the NFL would rather play on grass. I don’t know why we’re playing on stuff like that.
“There were injuries on the field today, some really, really bad. I just feel like the turf has something to do with it.”
Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, who was also injured Sunday but returned to the game, only described the turf as “weird.”
The most significant loss for the Bills was linebacker Matt Milano, who was injured on the same play as Little. While Buffalo hasn’t provided an official prognosis for Milano, he reportedly suffered a fractured leg along with knee damage that could be season ending.
Earlier this week, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said the grass in London games hasn’t been much better. He described it as “a little bit slicker” and told reporters that it’s “probably turf I prefer” when playing in the United Kingdom.
Jacksonville hasn’t yet revealed the severity of the injuries suffered by Little and Jones.
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