ORCHARD PARK — Terrel Bernard felt weird watching on television. He would rather watch through the bars of facemask, putting himself directly into the fray.
Bernard missed his third game due to injury Sunday and stayed home while the Buffalo Bills traveled to blast the Seattle Seahawks 31-10. In games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens, Bernard was on the sideline with an ear piece so that if he couldn’t relay the defensive call to teammates on the field, he still had a direct line to what was happening.
It has been a strange first half of the season for the Bills’ defensive captain. He’s made 29 tackles (five for a loss), while making an interception and recovering a fumble in the four full games he’s played.
A partially torn pectoral muscle early against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2 put him out for essentially kept him out, returning in Week 5 against the Houston Texans. Bernard played two games without issue and then everything went haywire against the Tennessee Titans two weeks ago.
Bernard made eight tackles (two for a loss), but had to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion. Not long after being cleared, Bernard went down again as his ankle twisted while making a tackle.
The middle linebacker did not practice at all — and wasn’t at the team facility for personal reasons — last week, but returned Wednesday on a limited basis. Bernard says he’s “still dealing with some stuff” and it’s the ankle injury that is bothering him most and his status is unknown against the Dolphins Sunday.
“To have an opportunity to watch that and see, kind of, from a different perspective, it was fun,” Bernard said. “Obviously, you want to be there and be playing and be kind of involved in everything, but to have the opportunity to just see the guys out there flying around making plays was fun.”
There were some benefits to not making the trip to Seattle, mostly because Bernard could go through a normal rehab routine without worrying about flying on a plane. It’s the third time Bernard has injured his ankle since Week 17 last season, reinjuring it in the AFC wild-card, which caused him to miss the AFC divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bernard did some drills to test the ankle against the Titans, but he was eventually ruled out and had a slight limp leaving Highmark Stadium after the game. He also did not appear to have severe swelling after practice Wednesday.
“I feel like it helped a lot, just from the swelling aspect,” Bernard said. “Not getting on a plane, having to go there to and from, and then having the extra time to come here and do some stuff and really try to get it stronger (and) get the swelling out. So I feel like it helped me.”
While it’s unknown whether Bernard returns this week — Bills coach Sean McDermott has consistently said the injury is day to day — backup linebacker Baylon Spector has filled in adequately when Bernard is out of the lineup. Spector has made 33 tackles in relief of Bernard, including 10 against the Dolphins in Week 2.
Bernard lauded Spector’s performance against the Seahawks, calling the game one of the best the defense has played all season. McDermott also praised the 2022 seventh-round pick, particularly for directing traffic against an offense that uses a hefty amount of no-huddle, pre-snap shifts and audibles.
The Bills held the Seahawks to a season-low 233 yards of total offense, which was also 155 yards fewer than their season average. Buffalo also smothered Seattle’s running game, holding it to 32 yards on 17 attempts
“We had some things that we wanted to do based off what they were doing and Baylon … did absolutely everything he had to do to put us in position to be successful,” McDermott said. “… He’s one of those guys that just keeps getting his opportunity through availability and he takes advantage of it almost every time. It’s a credit to him. We talked about trust, I think last week, and he’s definitely (earned) our trust.”
Just as Bernard saw the game from another perspective, Spector had a chance to do the same for three weeks between starts. The last time Spector started, the Baltimore Ravens ran for 271 yards on 8 yards per carry, and while Seattle’s running game isn’t as potent, the Bills it to 1.9 yards per attempt.
“I try to go there and play the same each week,” Spector told the Gazette Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s a difference. It gives you a little bit more time to kind of look at things you need to work on personally, but I think each week is the same. I try to get my mindset in the right spot.”
NOTES: OL Alec Anderson (personal) did not practice. … Bernard (ankle/pectoral), WR Amari Cooper (wrist), FB Reggie Gilliam (hip) and WR Curtis Samuel (pectoral) were all limited.