Christian Benford, the Bills’ No. 1 cornerback, was ruled out with a concussion after his helmet collided with a teammate’s helmet during the first quarter of the team’s 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game on Sunday.
Benford also sustained a concussion at the end of Buffalo’s divisional round win against the Ravens on Jan. 19, but he cleared protocol in time for Sunday’s game.
His injury against the Chiefs occurred with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, when Kansas City wideout Xavier Worthy took a handoff and raced 8 yards.
As he neared the sideline, both Benford and safety Damar Hamlin converged to make a tackle, but their helmets ended up colliding.
And after he exited, questions emerged about how Benford was able to clear protocol — which started after he sustained the injury while defending Baltimore’s onside kick last week — and play in the first place.
Benford, the Bills’ sixth-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft, started 14 and 15 games for Buffalo across the last two seasons, respectively.
