The Buffalo Bills are coming off a nice preseason win over the Cleveland Browns, but at what cost? The Bills possibly lost their projected starting Quarterback AJ McCarron for a few weeks due to a hairline fracture in the shoulder sustained during the game. So, as they prepare for the Season opener in a few weeks, they will have to do it without him. The NFL’s third preseason game is treated around the league collectively as a “dress rehearsal” before the regular season. In this game the starters should go well into the first half, possibly into the third quarter. However, there are still many questions that need to be answered before the Bills take the field week 1 versus the Ravens.
The Quarterback controversy in Buffalo is a real thing, many -not including myself- believe that Josh Allen is the clear number one starter to open up the season. Allen has looked impressive through 2 games thus far in the preseason, he is 18/32 with 176 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with 0 interceptions. My reasoning behind why they should sit Josh Allen as long as possible is simple. The Bills are far from Super Bowl contenders and with a fairly weak offensive presence, why rush the development of Allen who is just 22-years old. In my eyes regardless of how well the Rookie standout plays Sunday, they should let him mature a little while longer before throwing him out to the rest of the NFL teams to feast upon.
Looks like future hall of fame Running back Lesean “Shady” McCoy is dinged up. Normally this wouldn’t be of any concern for such a talented Running Back, but, Shady is 30 years old and the general consensus around the NFL for running backs is that once you hit your thirties as a Running Back your production tends to take a steep drop off. If McCoy doesn’t play this weekend the idea of a possible injury riddled season could lead to troubled minds in the city of Buffalo as their superstar Running Back continues to age.
The Buffalo defense hasn’t played as much as I would like in order to make a fair assessment of them, and the third preseason game is really the only game in which a proper assessment can be made on a defense that was rock-solid last year. Look for key turnovers in this game, as well as stops inside the RedZone for the Buffalo defense. If the Bills can be as solid as they were last year look for them to lead them into the playoffs again this year.
The Bills will tackle the Cincinnati Bengals in Buffalo in their third preseason game this season. With the season quickly approaching, we will see if they can calm the uneasy feeling the fans of buffalo must surely have.
