Status of Bills DBs Benford, Rapp unclear vs. KC

NFL

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills have some defensive question marks going into Sunday’s AFC Championship rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach Sean McDermott said Monday that starting cornerback Christian Benford is in concussion protocol. He suffered the injury during a final onside kick attempt by the Baltimore Ravens in the Bills’ win Saturday in the divisional round.

Former first-round pick Kaiir Elam has filled in most recently when one of the team’s outside cornerbacks missed a game; he has made four starts this year. Defensive back Ja’Marcus Ingram is another option if Benford does not clear protocol.

Along with Benford, starting safety Taylor Rapp is day-to-day, per McDermott, with a hip injury that forced him to leave the 27-25 win over the Ravens in the second quarter. He exited on a cart after being examined in the medical tent.

“We’ll see how [Rapp’s injury] goes throughout our week,” McDermott said.

Rookie Cole Bishop filled in for Rapp the rest of the game. He has four starts this season.

“[Bishop] did a solid job there. It’s tough, man. It’s tough,” defensive coordinator Bobby Baich said. “You’re playing special teams, you’re standing on the sideline watching the game, trying to stay into it, but being out there with the speed of what’s going on and those type of things is, you get thrown right to the fire.

“So, he did a nice job stepping in. There’s a couple things he could do better as they all can, including myself, and it was good to see. All the experience he’s getting is tremendous.”

The Bills will head to Kansas City on Sunday (6:30 p.m. EST, CBS) to play the Chiefs for the fourth time in five postseasons, tied for the second-most over a five-postseason span in NFL history. Kansas City has won the previous three meetings in that time.

The Bills beat the Chiefs in Week 11, 30-21.

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