Three Takeaways from Buffalo’s Week 2 Preseason Game

The Buffalo Bills were able to pull out a nice comeback win in the final two minutes of their second preseason game. The game started off very nicely and exciting for the Bills (minus the Dan Carpenter missed field goal), with the second and third quarters looking lackluster. The fourth quarter is where the backups got to shine, and were able to put together a nice looking drive in the two minute drill to pull out the win. With another week of preseason football in the books for the Buffalo Bills, let’s take a look at three things to take away from their Week 2 matchup against the Cleveland Browns:

1) Tyrod Taylor looked better than Week One: Rex Ryan named Tyrod Taylor the starting QB going into Thursday night’s game against the Browns, and he let Taylor play the entire first half. Taylor looked much more confident on the field this week than he did last week against the Panthers. Taylor finished his night against the Browns going 7-10 for 65 yards. He also added in 41 yards rushing, but didn’t force himself to scramble unless the play broke down and he had no other choice. Taylor showed very good pocket presence and even climbed the pocket on a couple of his throws to be able to deliver a better pass to his receivers. Of his ten attempts, two passes were drops by open receivers, and one was a ball he threw away when there was no other play to be made. Taylor was accurate, on time, and efficient once again on his passes. And when the play broke down and he had to scramble, Taylor showed his athletic ability to make defenders miss with ease. Matt Cassel did not receive any playing time against the Browns, and EJ Manuel played the entire second half. Don’t read too much into that as Cassel and Taylor appear to be the favorites to win the starting QB job when the regular season starts. While Manuel threw the only TD pass of the game for the Bills, he got off to shaky start with his accuracy and decision making until finally putting it together for the Bills’ game winning drive. It appears Taylor has pretty much won the job after his Week 2 performance, but some of the coaches on the team feel Cassel gives the team the better chance to win since Taylor has zero career starts in the NFL. Rex Ryan seems to want Taylor to start, so this should turn into an interesting development in the coming weeks. We’ll keep an eye on the competition as the preseason progresses, but it looks like Manuel’s time is up in the Bills’ organization.

2) The injuries are mounting up: With injuries to wide receivers Chris Hogan and Marquise Goodwin in the game against the Browns, the Bills are left with no starters from last season at either the WR or RB positions. New addition LeSean McCoy suffered a strained hamstring during practice earlier in the week, and will miss the rest of the preseason. The team is “cautiously optimistic” that McCoy will be ready for Week One of the regular season, and his MRI seemed to show more of the same, so that’s encouraging. Rookie running back Karlos Williams had an undisclosed injury that required minor surgery, with no time table for his return. Williams looked impressive in his time during Week One’s matchup against the Panthers, so the injury is disheartening to many people. Bryce Brown and Fred Jackson have hamstring injuries as well, and Anthony “Boobie” Dixon is dealing with a calf injury. With all the RB injuries, the Bills were left with Ricky Seale, Bronson Hill and Cierre Woods to shoulder the load in the backfield against the Browns, and none of three backs separated themselves from the others during the game. The Bills even used Marcus Thigpen and Marquise Goodwin in the backfield to try and make something happen without their top 5 running backs available. Perhaps next week, the Bills’ backfield will be able to get more yards if they’re called upon again. Or perhaps, the Bills will bring in a veteran to fill the void while McCoy and company get healed up and ready for the season to start. The running back situation should fix itself as the season progresses, but for right now, the injuries are becoming more of a hindrance to the offensive backfield than anything else. In terms of wide receivers, Sammy Watkins, Percy Harvin, and Robert Woods were all on the bench for the game against the Browns. That allowed third year receiver Marquise Goodwin and Chris “711” Hogan to step up in their absences and make the most of their opportunities. That didn’t last long, as Hogan injured his ankle and had to be carted off the field, and Goodwin also got injured, but later returned to the game. He didn’t do much on the field either, but it’s a positive sign that he was able to get back on the field without any major complications. Deonte Thompson made some clutch catches during the game and provided a bigger target for both Tayler and Manuel all game. Dezmin Lewis was thrown to several times, but the Browns defense held Lewis in check most of the game. Thompson and Taylor were both teammates in Baltimore, and they may be able to develop better chemistry given their past as teammates. Watch for Thompson to quietly make plays when his number is called and add another weapon the offensive arsenal. 3) The Bills have a very talented defense, even without the starters: Even after the Bills’ starting defense was out of the game, Rex Ryan, Dennis Thurman, and the Bills’ defense were still able to dial up several exotic looks and blitz packages, causing Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel all sorts of headaches throughout the game. This Bills defense may be deeper than they’ve had in a long time, and that’s something to be excited about. The defense was the sole reason the Bills were able to come back and win the game against the Browns. Rookie Ronald Darby had two interceptions thanks to his exceptional coverage skills, and the front four of the Bills were able to apply all sorts of pressure on the quarterback all game long. To Bills fans, this is nothing new; the defense has been getting better and better each season. But, for people who may not follow the Bills closely, watching this defense fly around the field was sure to open some eyes. If the defense plays the way it’s been playing all preseason (which it should), the Bills will never be out of a game all season. Their ability to contain the quarterback, running back, and passing game will allow the offense to work with a shorter field, and with all the weapons the Bills now have on offense, that may be scarier than facing the defense.

As you can see, the Bills not only got the win after fighting hard all game, but they were able to put constant pressure on the Browns all night, and the first string offense looked good enough to keep the game close going into the final two minutes of the game. The energy around Buffalo is higher than ever, and everyone is ready to see what this team can do. In two weeks, we’ll all get to see just what this team is made of.