NY’S ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott stated that the starting lineup would play “a quarter, give or take,” prior to his team’s preseason debut. Josh Allen, the franchise quarterback, got all of the playing time in the team’s 33-6 loss to the Chicago Bears on Saturday. There was no compromise. One quarter, exactly one.
It didn’t matter that the Bills were in the middle of an offensive series and facing a second-and-long to begin the second quarter. During the commercial break, McDermott told Allen his day was done. Allen pleaded his case, but McDermott remained steadfast.
Allen had eight snaps and It made little difference that the Bills started the second quarter with a second-and-long while in the midst of an offensive possession. Allen was informed by McDermott that his day was over during the commercial break. Despite Allen’s persuasive arguments, McDermott refused to back down.
pass attempts over two offensive series before the quarterback was, as he described it, “yanked” from the game.
“I wanted to finish out the drive,” Allen said. “(There was) a whole lot of effort getting ready to play and getting those few snaps. But I understand the reasoning behind it.”
We’re live with @JoshAllenQB after our preseason game against the Bears.#CHIvsBUF | #BillsMafia https://t.co/gaXdq712Bc
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 10, 2024
Allen scrambled on third down on the next-to-last play before slipping for a first down. Before the quarter finished, Allen completed his play by handing the ball to James Cook, which might have been a coincidence.
“I just felt like it was the right time,” McDermott said. “I thought he had a good warmup, a good look in his eye, and I saw what I needed to see. So no need to put him out there in harm’s way any longer than that.”
If Allen plays in the upcoming preseason games, the Bills have not made that announcement.
In addition to Allen’s brief 2024 debut, these are some things we discovered from the Bills’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Bears.
Keon Coleman’s snap count and other receiver takeaways
Even though training camp exercises can be educational, there is always more personnel switching about than there would be in a real game. The team’s actions on snaps—how many, with whom, and when they occur—can give you context that practice does not always offer, which is what makes the preseason so fascinating.
Upon entering the wide receiver room on Saturday, there was a lot of uncertainty about how the repetitions would go, especially with rookie Keon Coleman. During the first two offensive series for the Bills, Coleman had the most snaps without a doubt. Coleman did not leave the field throughout those two drives, making them the most significant because they were the only ones featuring Allen. Even though it sounds good, it was quite predictable and might not be as indicative of what would happen during the regular season.
Coleman had no competition for his snaps at X receiver, which explains why. According to what we have observed at camp, injuries prevented any of the other players who would have contributed to Allen playing Coleman’s position. Mack Hollins is among them, since he will probably contribute significantly to the offense. The Bills’ other X receivers in their strategy are Chase Claypool and second-year player Justin Shorter, both of whom were not available. Bryan Thompson is the only other receiver who has played regularly at X this summer, but he is positioned well down the roster. Coleman’s extensive time with Allen is encouraging, but it will be more crucial to see whether things remain solid when Hollins returns.
Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman caught just one pass for 8 yards but saw a lot of action with the first-team offense. (Mark Konezny / USA Today)
After Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were the other three receivers who snapped passes with Allen. The most intriguing use of Shakir’s was that he started right away with Allen—in a lineup of twelve players, no less. Shakir has to work into two-receiver sets in order to advance as the team’s main slot receiver. Notably, he was the first receiver the team covered, which may have indicated his high position in the offense. After Allen departed the field, he took the first three snaps, and that was the end of his night.
Valdes-Scantling played the rest of the first half, Samuel and Coleman playing to the completion of the second drive. Samuel ended up with four snaps with Allen, matching Shakir’s total, and he even had two in two-receiver sets. The fact that Valdes-Scantling is essentially a Z receiver and is not as versatile as Hollins could be the reason Samuel and Shakir have eaten into each other’s snap counts. Given that Valdes-Scantling was used far into the second quarter, one has to wonder how much of an impact he would have had with Allen in the event that Hollins had not been injured. The Bills’ utilization of their top four receivers has been hinting at a very consistent rotation.
Early chunk plays might keep McDermott up at night
After some of the team’s errors, McDermott quipped that if he had a blood pressure cuff on his arm, it would have burst. His dissatisfaction had to be greatly influenced by the unit has early setbacks because he is a defense-minded coach. Throughout their first two defensive series, the Bills gave up six big plays, with players from all over the 53-man roster. One was the fault of the safetyties, who read the play too slowly. On another, it was the defensive line failing to provide pass-rush pressure or being blasted off the ball.
D’Andre Swift, the running back, was tricked by a full-scale mistake by the defense on a 42-yard screen. With nearly the whole starting unit on the field, that one was particularly depressing. The safety play and the pass rush present the first-string defense with the greatest challenges. The Bills have a few weeks to work things out, but there might be some serious adjustment issues at the beginning of the season with so many new players.
.@DAndreSwift goes for 42yds 💨
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 10, 2024
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ASlD1bVJmf
Rookie RB Ray Davis showed well
The debut of rookie Ray Davis was not very noteworthy, as seen by his 2 yards on five rushing attempts. However, he was not actually at fault. One of McDermott’s main talking points after the game was the offensive line’s almost total lack of push in the run game.
Davis did show some pass-catching talent despite his amount of running. Although he caught three receptions for 19 yards in the end, what mattered most was how he appeared during those repetitions. When the quarterback was flushed from the pocket, he made one spectacular catch on the sideline. Then, on another, he gained extra yardage by eluding a few arm tackles. The latter is significant as it was one of the reasons the Bills initially found him appealing.
It is encouraging for him to get some third-down work during the season because he is a receiving piece, not just in a dump-down situation. Davis was also a great blitz pickup worker. Thus, despite having a lackluster stat line, Davis made a good debut.
Returner battle woes
It seems probable that the Bills were looking for a kick and punt returner to advance. Rather, they might now be more worried.
On Saturday, there was a noticeable wind gusting, which is something that often happens at home. Daequan Hardy, a rookie cornerback, and K.J. Hamler, a wide receiver, both struggled with the wind. On one kickoff return, Hardy had an obvious chance to take the lead when Hamler fumbled the grab and had to chase it down. Later, though, Hardy misread the ball because of the wind and just about managed to make the catch on a punt return.
In order to find out who will win the position and whether the Bills will need to look elsewhere, McDermott stated that he needs to get both players in the stadium for more reps. Hardy is probably ahead by a small margin because his play was not exactly a fumble.
Could punter competition re-emerge?
A few practices into training camp, the Bills put a stop to the competition for punters, giving all of the repetitions to seasoned Sam Martin. However, Martin’s showing on Saturday might have made it possible for the Bills to bring in another punter before the regular season begins.
Martin made a fantastic first punt, a 62-yard boomer that was downed deep into Bears territory. But the wind had a big impact in the poor performance of four of his next five. The net average for the last five punts was a mere 36.2 yards.
Going into the next preseason game, Martin will probably be given the benefit of the doubt, but if the inconsistency persists, it is not out of the question that the Bills may look into other alternatives at punter.
Quick hits
• Javon Solomon, a rookie edge rusher selected in the fifth round, worked ahead of Kameron Cline and Kingsley Jonathan, thus he is probably currently ranked fifth on the depth chart. It is interesting to note that both Cline and Jonathan took some well-known special teams reps with players who appear like solid picks to make the squad. Cline was on punt and kick return, and Jonathan was on kickoff. Recall Casey Toohill as well. The top player on special teams out of the three could get a spot on the roster.
• Defensive back Cam Lewis only played nickel corner against the Bears, despite having practiced there occasionally this summer and suffering two significant injuries there. The only two safeties with a strong chance of making the 53-man roster who were active on Saturday were Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin.
• Deion Jones, a seasoned linebacker, played all the way through the game, which is typically a negative indication. But it was probably a matter of necessity. In addition to Jones, the Bills’ only other undrafted rookies available to play on the third squad were Joe Andreessen and Shayne Simon. Nicholas Morrow was sidelined by injury. If they retain that many, Jones still has a shot to be the sixth linebacker.
• Zach Davidson, the tight end, has been a pleasant surprise at training camp; nonetheless, there was a significant difference in his usage compared to Quintin Morris. Morris did not touch the field in the second half of the game, and Davidson only came into the game on offense. On Saturday, Davidson’s chances of unseating Morris for a roster berth were severely weakened.
(Top photo of Josh Allen: Rich Barnes / Getty Images)
