BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW — As Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott alluded to after the team's 33-6 loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday in their first preseason game of the year, the standard was not met.
But the key word to remember when you read that sentence above is "preseason." Going into that game there was little to no gameplan at all. This of course limits what the Bills put on tape offensively and defensively for opponents to study in the early part of the season. So for now, take a deep breath and relax, let's all move on because this team already has.
Looking ahead to Pittsburgh for preseason game number two, here are a few things I want to see from Buffalo to show that Saturday's loss is a minuscule hiccup.
- Maybe the most obvious is needing to see both the offensive and defensive line do a complete 180 from their performance on Saturday. About a year ago to the day the Bills faced the Steelers in a preseason game in which Buffalo lost and got dominated at the line of scrimmage. The starters kept QB1 from getting sacked yesterday which is good but there's a ton of room for improvement in that department. This team needs to win in the trenches and show a little more physicality.
- Offensively it felt like there was little to no rhythm to maintain drives. Josh Allen and the starters looked like they had one late in the first quarter before he was taken out and Mitch Trubisky took over duties from there. Even he had a couple of nice drives that moved the ball down the field but none of them resulted in anyone finding the endzone.
- Keep giving some of the guys who flashed on Saturday more chances to develop on that. The first name that comes to mind is Javon Solomon who looked the part in the pass rush department. I'd like to see him keep getting more involved and I'm sure he will given the fact we're talking about a preseason game.
- Tyler Bass building back his confidence and making kicks more and more consistently will be a welcomed development to keep an eye on this preseason. Bass was 2/2 in Saturday's loss with his longest make of the day at 49 yards. He had an up-and-down camp so any signs of consistency will be key.
- STAY HEALTHY.
Buffalo takes on Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. on Saturday from Acrisure Stadium.
