ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW — Preseason football is a beautiful disaster. Saturday's opener for the Buffalo Bills left much to be desired on both sides of the ball, but it was an overall good day because none of their starters got injured.
After that, which is far and away what's most important, this was about as preseason as it gets. The Bills took dumb penalties, made silly mistakes, and scored six points en route to a 33-6 loss to the Bears.
But during the chaos of Saturday's game against the Bears, what did we learn about the Bills?
Breaking down Allen's limited work:
Allen finished the afternoon two-for-three for 22 yards with one rush for seven yards. While we didn't learn much about the offense, we can assume they'll emphasize Allen getting the ball to his playmakers and letting them do the rest. This has been a topic of conversation for years but now they have the personnel to pull it off.
Love seeing Curtis Samuel get involved early. Takes a screen 14 yards pic.twitter.com/6sZDoiVbPX
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 10, 2024
The Bills' second biggest play of the game was a quick pass from Allen to Samuel that went for 15 yards. Allen's other pass to Shakir for seven yards. On his seven-yard run, Allen got enough for the first down and then slid to avoid contact. It was a boring day for the Bills best player and that's exactly how the preseason should be for one of the league's best players.
Running the ball was not effective:
The Bills intend to have a more balanced attack in 2024. But Saturday afternoon didn't give fans a ton of optimism about what they'll be able to do when Allen hands the ball off.
During the first quarter, 2023 Pro Bowl running back James Cook had four carries for two yards. Ray Davis was even less effective with five carries for two yards in the first half.
What makes Saturday afternoon's performance even more concerning is the Bills played their starting offensive line for their first two series of the game. Offensive line coach Aaron Kromer likely didn't want to put much on tape, but it was an uninspiring outing for their starting five.
Davis' usage in the passing game:
Despite the lackluster performance from Davis on the ground, he had a nice day in the passing game. His most impressive catch came down the sideline early in the third quarter but was eliminated by an illegal formation penalty. Davis still finished with three catches for 19 yards on the day. On two of those catches, Davis shed off contact and picked up extra yardage with ease.
Ray Davis hasn't been very effective on the ground but he's made a few nice catches. That last one that was negated by the penalty down the sideline was really nice, but twice today he's caught routine passes and bounced off contact for extra yards.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) August 10, 2024
As the Bills look for a running back to complement Cook in the passing game, it's starting to look like Davis has the inside track at the job.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling isn't a lock:
Valdes-Scantling was targetted just once and it was a clear drop that hit his hands and fell to the ground. The veteran wide receiver was better during the second half of training camp but hasn't done enough to feel even close to a roster lock.
It's safe to assume the Bills feel the same way with MVS getting snaps late in the first half with Mitch Trubisky and a backup offensive line. Valdes-Scantling's contract makes it unlikely he gets cut but so far this summer he hasn't done enough to earn a job on the 53-man roster.
Speaking of Trubisky:
Well, it wasn't the smoothest afternoon for the Bills backup quarterback. He didn't connect on any of his passes down the field and finished the day with 82 yards on 18 attempts (10-for-18).
Who will be the primary returner?
After the Bears took an early 3-0 lead the Bills trotted both KJ Hamler and Daequan Hardy onto the field to return their first kickoff of the game. Hamler was the one to return the first kick for 19 yards. But on his second attempt, Hamler fumbled the return. He was able to recover the fumble, but it ended up giving the Bills terrible field position.
Hamler partially redeemed himself with a 15-yard punt return in the second quarter but certainly didn't do enough to leave the coaching staff feeling better about the position.
Hardy, who was drafted to be a return specialist, had just two attempts on Saturday. He fair caught a punt and returned a kick for 17 yards.
Playing it safe:
Matt Milano and Von Miller both participated in warmups in full pads but were held out of the game. Given Milano's return from injury, I have no issue with the Bills giving him time to return at a comfortable pace. As for Miller, he doesn't need snaps in the preseason. Having him as fresh as possible for the first game of the season seems more important than a handful of snaps in a preseason game.
Guys who impressed:
Even though he didn't get home for a sack, I thought rookie edge rusher Javon Solomon looked good and flashed on several plays. He had two tackles on defense but his attempts at getting after the quarterback were fluid and strong.
Tyler Bass did what he needed to do on Saturday with two successful field goal attempts. It was a pretty windy day in Orchard Park but Bass drilled a 24-yard field goal in the first half and a 49-yard field goal in the second half.
Khalil Shakir is continuing his summer as a reliable target for the offense. With so many vacated targets Shakir is poised to have his best season as a pro.
Caleb Williams looks the part. His throw while rolling out to the right was legit. Some guys just look different and Williams is one of them.
Sean McDermott was two-for-two on challenge attempts. I guess that's something to be optimistic about. Maybe having John Parry as an officiating liaison is actually going to be helpful.
