Bills' Jordan Poyer Playing with Torn Meniscus; 'Give it a Go' at Bengals?

The Buffalo Bills will need all of their best defensive players active Monday night in order to keep up with the elite offense of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Buffalo Bills free safety Jordan Poyer is reportedly preparing to lay it all on the line for his team in a pivotal AFC matchup Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.

Poyer, who has been battling a knee injury that earned him a questionable tag leading into Week 17, is "expected to give it a go" against the Bengals, per reports Monday from NFL Network.

And now, news has surfaced that Poyer has been playing with a torn meniscus this season, the 31-year-old told ESPN. But this apparently won't be preventing him from playing Monday.

He missed back-to-back practices on Thursday and Friday due to the ailment. However, despite powering through the injury before the Christmas Eve win over the Chicago Bears, it didn't prevent him from playing in those cold and windy conditions.

This season, Poyer has 55 total tackles, four interceptions and eight passes defended.

There's also a direct correlation with Buffalo victories and Poyer being active. This season, the Bills are 11-0 when their standout safety plays and 1-3 when he doesn't.

But for the Bills, stopping two all-world Cincinnati receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be far from easy even with Poyer expected to take field.

Higgins and Chase have built a reputation as not only two of the league's best young receivers, but two of its best overall. Despite both guys missing time with injuries this season, Higgins is 11th in receiving yards (1,022) while Chase is 18th (960). Chase is also in a six-way tie for the third-most receiving scores (eight) while Higgins has seven touchdowns of his own.

With the New Year now underway, the expected fireworks will begin when the Bills (12-3) and Bengals (11-4) kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET.

---

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!

Get your Buffalo game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.