Ahead of his team’s preseason opener, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said the starters would play “a quarter, give or take.” There was no give or take when it came to franchise quarterback Josh Allen’s playing time in Saturday’s 33-6 loss to the Chicago Bears. Just one quarter, on the dot.
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 three 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.”
The second-to-last play saw Allen scramble on third down before sliding for a first down. It may have been just a coincidence, but Allen’s final play was a handoff to James Cook before the quarter ended.
“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.”
The Bills have not announced if Allen will play in the subsequent preseason games.
Outside of Allen’s short-lived 2024 debut, here’s what we learned during the Bills’ lopsided loss to the Bears.
Keon Coleman’s snap count and other receiver takeaways
As informative as training camp practices can be, there is always more mixing and matching with personnel usage than if it were an actual game. What makes the preseason so intriguing is the team’s actions on snaps — how many there are, who they come with and when they occur — can provide the context you don’t always get at practice.With how up in the air it has been, entering Saturday the wide receiver room was the big question regarding how the reps would shake out, particularly with rookie Keon Coleman. Coleman easily got the most snaps over the Bills’ first two offensive series. Those two drives were the most important because they were the only ones involving Allen, and Coleman didn’t leave the field. As positive as that may sound, it was somewhat predictable and perhaps less translatable to how things will be in the regular season.
That’s because Coleman had no competition for his snaps at X receiver. From what we’ve seen at camp, none of the other players who could have factored in with Allen at Coleman’s position were available to play due to injury. That includes Mack Hollins, who will likely play a substantial role in the offense. Chase Claypool and second-year player Justin Shorter are also X receivers in the Bills’ scheme, and neither was available. The only other receiver who has consistently gotten time at X this summer is Bryan Thompson, but he’s deep down the pecking order. So, while it’s promising that Coleman got a bunch of time with Allen, it’s more important to see if it’s sticky 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)
Beyond Coleman, three other receivers took snaps with Allen: Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Shakir’s usage was the most interesting, as he was an immediate starter with Allen — and in 12 personnel, no less. As the team’s primary slot receiver, working into two-receiver sets is essential for Shakir to take the next step. Also of note, he was the first receiver the team shut down, perhaps signifying his lofty spot within the offense. He took the first three snaps after Allen left the field, and that was the end of his evening.
Samuel and Coleman played until the end of that second drive, and Valdes-Scantling played the remainder of the first half. Samuel wound up with the same number of snaps with Allen (four) as Shakir and even had a pair in two-receiver formations. Valdes-Scantling, who isn’t as versatile as Hollins and is really only a Z receiver, may be why Samuel and Shakir have eaten into each other’s snaps. Valdes-Scantling’s usage well into the second quarter does make one wonder how big of a role he would have had with Allen if Hollins were healthy. The Bills’ usage continued to tease a pretty firm rotation among their top four receivers.
Early chunk plays might keep McDermott up at night
McDermott joked that if he had a blood pressure cuff on his arm, it would have exploded after some of the team’s mistakes. And because he is a defense-minded coach, that unit’s early letdowns had to play a significant part in his frustration. The Bills allowed six chunk plays over their first two defensive series, which had 53-man roster contributors all over the place. On one, it was the safeties’ fault for not reading the play quickly enough. On another, it was the defensive line getting blown off the ball or not getting pass-rush pressure.On a 42-yard screen to running back D’Andre Swift, it was a full-scale mistake by a defense that got fooled. That one was especially discouraging because almost the entire starting unit was on the field. The two biggest questions for the first-string defense are the safety play and the pass rush. The Bills have a few weeks to iron things out, but with so many new pieces, there may be some real growing pains early in the season.
Rookie RB Ray Davis showed well
Five rushing attempts for 2 yards didn’t make for an especially memorable debut for rookie Ray Davis, but it wasn’t his fault. The offensive line got next to no push in the run game, which was a big postgame talking point for McDermott.Despite his rushing output, Davis flashed some of his potential as a pass catcher. He caught three passes for 19 yards, but it was more about how he looked on those reps. He made one outstanding catch on the sideline when the quarterback was flushed from the pocket. On another, he broke through some arm tackles to gain additional yardage. The latter is important because that was part of what the Bills liked about him in the first place.
The receiving piece, not just in a dump-down scenario, is encouraging for him to get some third-down work during the season. Davis also worked in a great blitz pickup. So, even though his stat line wasn’t great, Davis had a nice debut.
Returner battle woes
The Bills were likely hoping someone would take a step forward on kick and punt returns. Instead, they may now have more concerns.The wind was whipping quite a bit, which can be pretty common at home, and rookie cornerback Daequan Hardy and wide receiver K.J. Hamler had difficulties with it. On one kickoff return, Hamler bobbled the catch opportunity and had to chase it down, giving Hardy a clear opportunity to take the lead. But later, on a punt return, Hardy misjudged the ball due to the wind and barely secured the catch.
McDermott said he needed to get both players in the stadium to get additional reps, which could go a long way toward determining who will win the job — or whether the Bills will need to seek an external option. Because Hardy’s play wasn’t technically a fumble, he likely has a narrow lead.
Could punter competition re-emerge?
The Bills ended the punting competition a handful of practices into training camp, with veteran Sam Martin getting all the reps after that. But Martin’s performance Saturday may have opened the door for the Bills to add another punter before the season starts.Martin’s first punt was excellent, a 62-yard boomer downed deep in Bears territory. But four of his next five did not go particularly well, largely due to the wind. The final five punts had a net average of 36.2 yards.
Martin will likely get the benefit of the doubt heading into the next preseason game, but if the inconsistency continues, you can’t rule out the Bills exploring outside options.
Quick hits
• Fifth-round rookie edge rusher Javon Solomon worked ahead of Kingsley Jonathan and Kameron Cline, so he’s likely the fifth edge rusher on the depth chart at this point. Interestingly, Jonathan and Cline took some high-profile special teams reps with players who seem like good bets to make the team. Jonathan was on kickoff, while Cline was on kick return and punt. Remember Casey Toohill, too. The roster spot may go to the best special teams player of the three.• Despite two big injuries at the position and practicing there at times this summer, defensive back Cam Lewis only took snaps at nickel corner against the Bears. Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin were the only two safeties with a good path to the 53-man roster who played the position Saturday.
• Veteran linebacker Deion Jones played until the end of the game, usually a bad sign. But that was likely out of necessity. Nicholas Morrow didn’t play due to injury, and the Bills had only undrafted rookies Joe Andreessen and Shayne Simon to take third-team snaps besides Jones. Jones still has a chance to be the sixth linebacker if they keep that many.
• Although tight end Zach Davidson has been a nice story at training camp, there was a large gap between when they used him and Quintin Morris. Davidson entered the game on offense only in the second half, while Morris didn’t touch the field in the second half. The idea that Davidson could steal a roster spot from Morris had some water poured on it Saturday.