The Buffalo Bills’ first recognized contest of the 2024 campaign is in the books, and it’s one they’ll want to quickly forget. Buffalo dropped its monotonous preseason opener to the Chicago Bears 33-6, a generally uneventful affair that featured few splash plays and even fewer overall bright spots for the Bills.
That said, there’s still some valuable information we can take away from this bout. With that, here are seven takeaways from the Bills’ preseason loss to the Bears.
As head coach Sean McDermott alluded to in the days leading up to the game, quarterback Josh Allen saw exactly a quarter’s worth of play, as he was pulled at the end of the first quarter after he took off and picked up a first down with his legs near the end of the first frame. It was a largely ground-focused attack while Allen was under center; James Cook saw four carries throughout the first quarter, picking up two yards as the offensive line struggled to create space in front of him. Allen finished the day two of three passing for 22 yards, his longest completion of the day being a screen to Curtis Samuel that the offseason acquisition turned into a 15-yard gain.
Speaking of Samuel, he and the rest of Buffalo’s first-team wideouts saw their time stretch into the second quarter, with the 27-year-old, Keon Coleman, and Khalil Shakir all taking snaps in the second frame. Samuel finished the day with two receptions for 23 yards while Coleman moved the chains on his sole reception of the day; the rookie saw two additional targets in the end zone, one an errant throw from backup Mitchell Trubisky that Coleman had to break up to prevent an interception and the other a rep in which Coleman got tripped up in the back of the end zone. Shakir looked as advertised, consistently getting open and being reliable as he reeled in three catches for 28 yards.
It was a vanilla game plan that resulted in pedestrian production from the Bills’ first-team offense, but that’s to be expected in the preseason opener. We saw some indication of just how important Samuel is going to be in the unit, and Shakir looks like the player Buffalo fans want him to be; it wasn’t an offensive performance to write home about, but there was nothing all that concerning, either.
Related: Bills drop monotonous 2024 NFL preseason opener to Bears, 33-6
Buffalo’s first-team offensive line consistently got blown up in the running game, with Cook often having nowhere to go upon taking the handoff. It’s far too early to press the panic button, and right tackle Spencer Brown did have a few nice reps; he picked up the block that allowed Allen to break off his aforementioned first down scramble, and he later jumped before a snap in order to alert the official of a defensive neutral zone infraction. That said, it wasn’t an overly encouraging debut from an offensive line that lost a stalwart in the offseason in Mitch Morse.
The second team also had an ugly rep with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half, a play in which center Alec Anderson snapped the ball and nobody moved. Trubisky was subsequently sacked. It was an obvious miscommunication across the unit that will be ironed out sooner rather than later, but it was still a disheartening occurrence in a game that featured few flashes across the line.
Samuel and Shakir each looked solid when given opportunities, not showing any causes for concern. Coleman generally looked solid; he didn’t create significant separation on his second end zone target, but this was, again, his first NFL action, and his two targets in the end zone could signal that significant red zone usage is coming his way this fall. The presumptive top-three in the receiving corps looked as good as one could expect at this point in the summer; veteran Mack Hollins, who may play a bigger offensive role than anticipated, missed the game due to injury.
Going further down the receiver depth chart, neither Chase Claypool nor Justin Shorter played. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who inked a one-year deal with the Bills late in the offseason, showcased the drop issues that have plagued him throughout his career, dropping a very catchable ball in the final moments of the first half. Training camp standout Tyrell Shavers had ups and downs with the second team, catching one pass for 10 yards before dropping what would have been a solid completion over the middle of the field on a ball that was moving due to the wind. Undrafted Lawrence Keys had a solid 13-yard completion in the third quarter, but there otherwise weren’t any significant plays in the receiving corps.
Related: 2024 Bills 53-man roster projection: Pre-preseason edition
Punter Sam Martin got off to a strong start, with his first punt of the day going an impressive 62 yards. He shanked his next attempt, a second-quarter punt that went only 35 yards. The rest of his punts were generally strong (sans his 29-yard punt into the wind late in the game) and Martin seems a lock after the recent release of undrafted free agent Jack Browning; that said, shanks are never ideal.
Tyler Bass was perfect on the day, making kicks from 24 and 49 yards out. Neither of his kicks were particularly difficult, but a 100% field goal percentage is encouraging after an adversity-riddled 2023 campaign from the kicker.
Wide receiver Tyrell Shavers has been one of the standouts of training camp, and his two aforementioned plays, while not enough to propel him into “roster lock” territory, didn’t hurt his aspirations, either. Fourth-string tight end Zach Davidson has had a strong camp, but he was largely absent, not reeling in any passes. Third-year cornerback Kaiir Elam, who has looked promising since May OTAs, finished the day with two tackles while looking generally consistent and rarely being out of position.
Buffalo was outplayed throughout most of the game, but the dichotomy in interest and dedication became increasingly obvious throughout the day as Chicago continued to put points on the board. The Bears consistently won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, with the Bills’ third-string offensive line often making Shane Buechele run for his life. Buffalo’s depth defenders looked decreasingly interested in tackling as the game progressed. It’s not a significant problem, as the vast majority of these players will not see the field come the regular season; that said, it made for a generally unpleasant viewing experience, and it’s never a good sign to see a team look simply apathetic.
Related: Bills survive minor Ed Oliver injury scare, pull Josh Allen early vs. Bears
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver departed after the first play from scrimmage due to a lower-body injury; he was cleared but did not return given that it’s preseason. This was the only injury scare amongst the first team, so crisis was generally averted. Depth receiver Bryan Thompson went down with an unspecified ailment in the fourth quarter.