Observations: Little separation in Bills' backup quarterback race after preseason opener
The Buffalo Bills’ backup quarterback race remains to close to call after one preseason game. That was one of the bigger takeaways from the Bills’ 34-25 exhibition loss to the New York Giants at Highmark Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Buffalo Bills’ backup quarterback race remains too close to call after Saturday’s preseason opener.
That was one of the bigger takeaways from the Bills’ 34-25 loss to the New York Giants at Highmark Stadium.
A Kids Day crowd of 69,835 sweated through a real-feel temperature of 89 degrees at kickoff. The offense, led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky, didn’t give them much to cheer about on its first two series, gaining just one first down in the first quarter.
The second quarter got off to a better start, though, as Trubisky led a six-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. He completed all three of his passes on the drive, starting with a 19-yard connection to fullback Reggie Gilliam that was followed by a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Joshua Palmer.
The drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to tight end Dawson Knox, who was wide open in the left flat.
“I put a good drive together to go down and score,” Trubisky said. “We got some points before half, which was nice. It really flies by, goes quick. It was great to get some reps with the ‘1s,’ build some chemistry with them. I just thought our communication in the huddle was solid. Just wanted to start a little faster and be better on third down.”
Trubisky finished 9 of 13 for 138 yards, one touchdown and a 129.6 passer rating. His longest completion covered 58 yards and went to wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (two catches, 70 yards) with 4 seconds left in the second quarter, setting up a field goal.
“I thought he got a good jump and a good release,” Trubisky said. “He got up behind the safety and I just threw the ball up to him and he made a play.”
Trubisky has been battling Mike White in training camp for the No. 2 quarterback job behind starter Josh Allen. White entered the game at the start of the third quarter for the Bills, and nearly threw an interception on his first pass attempt.
Bills quarterback Mitch Trubisky is locked in a tight battle with Mike White to be Josh Allen's backup.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
White’s first four passes were all incomplete, although at least two of them could be classified as drops by his intended receiver.
White bounced back from that tough start by finding wide receiver K.J. Hamler wide open behind the Giants’ defense for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter to give the Bills a 17-16 lead.
He threw a second touchdown pass with 11:35 left in the fourth quarter, a 7-yarder to running back Darrynton Evans, and the ensuing two-point conversion completion to Laviska Shenault Jr. gave the Bills a 25-24 lead.
“I mean, that's football to a 'T,' right? It's adversity. It's never going to go great. You might start a game 4 for 4 and then you might hit a lull and go 0 for 5 and then you've got to bounce back, or vice versa,” White said. “Yeah, it didn't start how we wanted to, obviously. Like, so what type of mentality. ‘Here we go, let's get it back on track.’ I was proud of the unit as a whole. We did.”
White finished 8 of 13 for 112 yards and two touchdowns – a passer rating nearly identical to Trubisky’s at 128.8.
The competition between the two is destined to continue at least through next week’s second preseason game at Chicago.
“I think both of those guys did some good things, both of those guys moved the team down the field at times and I'm sure both have some plays that they want back,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Just overall, we'll continue to look at it. They'll continue to battle as we get back into practice this week.”
2. Cook in warmups, but nothing else
The team’s fourth-year running back, who has missed the past four practices as he seeks a contract extension, was in uniform before the game. Cook, however, did not play, choosing instead to only take part in pregame activities.“James and I had a good conversation (Friday) ,” McDermott said. “We talked about warming up. He agreed to warm up, but not play due to his situation right now, so that's where we're at, so no change really overall.”
McDermott said it was the team’s desire for Cook to play, which nearly every starter who was not injured did.
“But at this point, due to the situation and position he's in, he was not willing to play, so that's where we're at,” the coach said. “Again, it was a good conversation, but really no change overall.”
A third question to McDermott about Cook centered on whether the running back would return to practice this week. With that, the coach had enough.
“Again, let's just move on,” he said. “We can talk about the guys who played. I think that's the right thing to do and fair thing to do right now. James' situation is James' situation. Let's talk about the team.”
3. McDermott stayed true to his word
The coach said outside of Allen, most of his starters would see action, and that ended up being the case. The starting offense and defense all played at least the first quarter, with a few exceptions.Middle linebacker Terrel Bernard did not play. Bernard missed some practice time during training camp with a hamstring injury, although he’s been back on the field recently. The safety duo of Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop also did not play. Rapp is dealing with a knee injury, while Bishop has a quad injury.
Right tackle Spencer Brown was the only projected starting offensive lineman not to take the field. Brown only recently returned to practice after a back injury kept him out at the start of training camp.
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel (hamstring) dressed for the game, but did not play. The same was true of rookie wide receiver Kaden Prather, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. Linebacker Dorian Williams, who just recently returned to practice from a calf injury, also did not play.
4. The new-look kicking game
The Bills were without kicker Tyler Bass, who missed the game because of pelvic soreness. On Friday, the team signed kicker Caden Davis, and he made his debut, converting a 24-yard field goal and his only extra point. One of his kickoffs went for a touchback, while the other four were returned for a combined 91 yards.Punter Brad Robbins, another newcomer, had a solid debut for the Bills, with six punts for 318 yards – an average of 53.0 gross yards per attempt (42.0 net average). He placed three of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
5. Dart makes strong first impression
Giants coach Brian Daboll, the St. Francis High School graduate, had to like what he saw from Jaxson Dart, the team’s prized, first-round quarterback. Dart finished 12 of 19 for 154 yards and one touchdown, and also led New York with three carries for 24 yards. Daboll is under a lot of pressure to win in New York as he enters his fourth season, and the best way to extend his career there would be for Dart to continue to show promise.Old friend Devin Singletary rushed twice for 3 yards for the Giants.
6. Frank Gore Jr. had a solid showing
The running back had five rushing attempts for 21 yards and caught a team-leading five passes for 50. He accounted for 30 yards on the Bills’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Gore had a potential 1-yard touchdown catch with 36 seconds remaining reversed on video review. Officials ruled on the field that Gore had scored, but video replay showed his knee touching down at the 1-yard line for no gain before the ball crossed the goal line.Gore, who spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, likely needs an injury to one of the running backs ahead of him on the depth chart to have a real shot at the 53-man roster. But he is putting good tape out for the rest of the league with showings like the one he had Saturday.
“I put my best foot forward, like always,” Gore said. “Don't try to count it as wins, losses, just always going out there, trying to get my job done and doing what's best for the team. ... You've got to respect the game, no matter what, preseason, regular season. You've got to go out there and give it your all.”
7. Joey Bosa had a promising debut
After going through a lengthy, solo workout on the field before the game, there was some question as to whether the veteran edge rusher would play for the Bills. That question was answered on the team’s first defensive series, as Bosa was part of a defensive line that also included Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones at tackle and Greg Rousseau at the opposite edge rusher. Bosa put together a few strong rushes against Giants quarterback Russell Wilson on the game’s first drive, including on a third-down play in which Oliver batted down a Wilson pass, holding New York to a field goal. Although Bosa did not finish with any defensive statistics, he flashed the kind of pass-rush potential the Bills will be counting on.Bosa estimated that it had been about six or seven years since he had played in a preseason game, but he found some value in being on the field Saturday.
“It was great. I thought it went pretty well,” he said. “Had a few mental errors out there, but the body feels good. It's the time to make mistakes. It's preseason. You'll learn from it and get some of the bad reps out of the way before the real thing starts.”
8. Taron Johnson visited injury tent
Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson, one of the league’s best players at his position, left the game with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter. Johnson was slow to get up after making a tackle in the flat on Giants tight end Greg Dulcich. Johnson’s helmet made contact with Dulcich’s right thigh on the tackle. Johnson got up, but then took a knee and was tended to by trainers. He left the field without assistance and headed into the sideline medical tent, emerging a couple of minutes later. The Bills later announced that Johnson was checked for a concussion and cleared to return to the game, although he never did. It was likely that Johnson’s day was close to done, anyway, before he got hurt.Linebacker Keonta Jenkins, who saw action with the second team Saturday, also briefly left the game due to a hand laceration, but was able to return. Jenkins led the Bills with six tackles.
In the third quarter, cornerback Daequan Hardy left the game with a shoulder injury that required an X-ray. He was announced as being doubtful to return.
9. Costly miscues
Rookie defensive back Jordan Hancock thought he made a big play with a little more than 4 minutes left in the third quarter when he intercepted Giants quarterback Jameis Winston on an overthrown ball to the middle of the field. Unfortunately for Hancock, the play was negated by an offside call on rookie edge rusher Landon Jackson.With 2:35 left in the game, center Jacob Bayer's snap sailed over the head of Bills quarterback Shane Buechele, and the fumble was recovered by New York edge rusher Trace Ford at the Buffalo 14-yard line. Three plays later, Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito found running back Jonathan Ward for a 4-yard touchdown pass to extend the Giants' lead.
10. Sitting it out
The Bills held eight players out of uniform for Saturday’s game due to injury. The list included Bass, Rapp, center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf), wide receiver Khalil Shakir (ankle), cornerback Maxwell Hairston (knee), linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring), offensive tackle Tylan Grable (concussion) and offensive lineman Alec Anderson (knee).Linebacker Baylon Spector (calf) cleared waivers and reverted to the team’s injured reserve list.