AFC East Injury News: Darrelle Revis and Fred Jackson

According to a tweet from NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson has been progressing better than expected and started his rehab early last week.

The best case scenario for the star running back’s return was once four weeks, but La Canfora has tweeted that he could be out for just 3-4 weeks. While C.J. Spiller has been great in his absence, Spiller is also great when Jackson is there and the Bills are obviously better off with Jackson. So much of their offense is based on having both of them on the field, and it bothers me when some fans say that Spiller’s performances show that the Bills don’t need Jackson that much. That simply isn’t true. Spiller has been great, but Jackson has more strength and can thus receive more carries- he is still vital to the Bills.

Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Jets pass defense was as bad as expected against a sharp Pittsburgh Steelers passing attack in their 27-10 loss yesterday, as they were forced to play without Darrelle Revis who missed the game with a concussion. Ben Roethlisberger was as sharp as ever and methodically delivered passes to star receivers Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace, with both players being difficult to contain and catching nearly every pass thrown at them. Without Revis, the Jets depth at corner is severely restricted as well as the overall talent of their secondary with two safeties who are not coverage safeties (especially not Yeremiah Bell). It showed yesterday.

While Revis should be back to face the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, Rex Ryan told the New York Daily News that we should not “assume” that Revis will play Sunday. The Dolphins receivers are far worse than the Steelers, but the Jets pass defense would still struggle without Revis against the ‘Fins. I doubt he misses that game, but Ryan is right that it isn’t a lock.

The N.Y. Daily News is also reporting (same article) that fullback John Conner “avoided serious injury” after aggravating a sprained MCL injury against the Steelers. This is indeed a serious injury for The Terminator, who was able to survive termination during the Jets 53-man roster cutdown. It’s great to hear that Conner’s injury isn’t as bad as once feared, and he is listed as day-to-day and might be able to play against the Dolphins.

Musket Fire is dedicated to bringing you news and analysis from all around the AFC East, in addition to our coverage of the Patriots.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.