Observations: Tre’Davious White's absence an 'emotional' loss

In Week 5 against Kansas City, safety Micah Hyde intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes and ran it back 26 yards. It was the third quarter, and Kansas City was down 11, hoping to mount a comeback when Mahomes looked for Tyreek Hill. The ball bounced off Hill’s hands, and Hyde’s touchdown made it 31-13. Frazier said it was White’s coverage that enabled Hyde to capitalize.

“He funneled the receiver to Micah, and Mahomes throws the ball,” Frazier said. “It goes off (Hill’s) finger into Micah’s hands, he intercepts the ball and scores.”

White was there right away to celebrate in the end zone with Hyde. The play illustrated to Frazier exactly what the Bills are losing with White, who was officially placed on injured reserve on Tuesday after tearing his ACL against the Saints. Frazier mentioned other examples throughout the year where teammates have been the beneficiaries of White’s play.

Tuesday did bring some positive news as offensive linemen Spencer Brown and Jon Feliciano and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei returned to practice. But the loss of White hung over coaches preparing to host the Patriots on Monday night.

White has not allowed a passing touchdown all season. Even so, Frazier doesn’t think there’s a way to fully quantify the loss of White and the way his abilities let the rest of the defense feast.

The Bills have had 16 interceptions this season, second-most in the league. White has just one, and it came in Week 10 against the Jets. But the fact that the ball doesn’t often end up in his hands is by design since opposing quarterbacks are afraid to throw his way.

“There are moments where he's in coverage and really doing a really good job in coverage and because of what he's done with a jam or in position, you'll see the ball go into the hands of Jordan Poyer or Micah Hyde because of the tight coverage that Tre has gotten. And the quarterback can't fit it in there because of that, and those guys benefit from it,” Frazier said. “We've had a few occasions like that. And the fact that people really don't challenge him very often.”

While second-year cornerback Dane Jackson will help fill in, Frazier was candid that an All-Pro player like White is not exactly replaced.

“There's some big shoes to fill,” Frazier said. “I think Dane Jackson is one of those guys who'll step up. He's the next man up, and he'll do a good job for us. But to say that he will play at the level of Tre'Davious, that would be misleading for sure.”

Coach Sean McDermott said that the entire team – both sides of the ball – will have to step up in White’s absence, even while harping on the next-man up mentality.

White’s personality and what he brings to the team off the field made the season-ending injury harder, Frazier said. Frazier held on to some hope between White leaving the game Thursday and getting the test results back Friday.

“It was initially emotional,” Frazier said. “Now we're at a point where guys are starting to lock in on this opponent, but that first 24, 48 hours was tough.”

Here are more observations from Tuesday:

1. Starting offensive line nearing full strength. McDermott announced that both Brown and Lotulelei are now off the reserve/Covid-19 list. Feliciano, who was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 6 with a calf injury, also returned to practice. Later in the day, the team announced that rookie offensive tackle Tommy Doyle had been placed on the Reserve/Covid-19 list.

In both Brown’s and Lotulelei’s cases, McDermott declined to expand on their health while they missed time with the team.

“Yeah, I’d rather not go into their medical history,” McDermott said. “ … But the part that’s good to see is that they’re back, they’re both healthy. Our medical team did a great job in helping them get through it, and I’m glad to see them and being back in good spirits and back with their teammates.”

Brown missed the last two games, along with two games after the bye week with a back injury. The rookie third-round pick has helped the offensive line when able to play, but offensive coordinator Brian Daboll noted he still is developing.

“You gotta understand, he’s still a rookie that hasn’t played a whole lot of football,” Daboll said. “But he has a good skill set that we covet. We’ll see where we’re at come Wednesday. But a smart, tough guy that understands how we want to do things, and has been a good player when he’s been in there. So we’ll see where we’re at here on Wednesday and on Thursday.”

2. Lotulelei could bolster run defense. The Bills' run defense had its worst and best showings in back-to-back weeks. After allowing 264 rushing yards to the Colts, the Bills allowed just 44 yards to the Saints. There were a number of factors; the Colts' Jonathan Taylor is having a standout year, while New Orleans was missing two premiere backs. But Frazier believes Lotulelei’s return to the lineup can lead to more consistency.

“We struggled in that Indy game for sure in his absence, but that's not the only reason we struggled,” Frazier said. “But it would be great to have him back because of his toughness, his fierceness inside, just that big body and be able to move people around and help on some of the double teams that we're getting. But just his stoutness in the run game is something that we missed, and we look forward to having him back.”

3. More to do in return game. In benching wide receiver and return specialist Isaiah McKenzie, McDermott was reminded of one of the harder aspects of game planning. Rookie Marquez Stevenson played instead, making his NFL debut a few days after McKenzie fumbled a return in the loss to the Colts.

“Yeah, that's part of the hard part of our business is making those decisions,” McDermott said. “I don't take those lightly. As far as Speedy (Marquez) goes, I thought he took a step. But there's more work to be done for him and for us as a team.”

Stevenson averaged 9.8 yards on five punt returns. He muffed one, but recovered it.