Sammy Watkins injury: struggling Bills WR has hip ailment

A rough stretch might be getting rougher for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins, as he enters a critical week for the 7-5 Bills nursing a hip injury.

The news of the injury came on Monday, when head coach Doug Marrone disclosed to reporters that Watkins had injured himself in Sunday's win over Cleveland. Watkins played every snap in the game - he has played nearly every snap this season, in fact - but was visibly hobbled as he left the field on several occasions.

The fact that Watkins did finish the game bodes well for his chances of playing on Sunday in Denver, but adding the injury to what has transpired with Watkins over the past month, things do not look promising regarding a rebound performance in Week 14. Denver will undoubtedly match veteran cornerback Aqib Talib up on Watkins most of the afternoon, provided he can return following a Week 12 hamstring injury.

After back-to-back, 100-yard receiving days in Weeks 7 and 8 to close out the first half of the season, Watkins was looking like a Rookie of the Year front-runner with 38 receptions, 590 yards, and five touchdowns. In the four games since the Bills' bye week, however, Watkins has been very quiet, catching just 13 passes (on 31 targets) for 105 yards and no scores. It's not exactly coincidental that as Watkins has struggled, so too has the Bills' offense seen a dip in effectiveness.

Watkins' situation is most definitely one to monitor heading into the back half of the biggest week of the year for the Bills.