Buffalo Rumblings
Though All-22 analysis isn’t yet available, leveraging social media for good allows us to look back at Buffalo’s Week 1 preseason loss
The preseason wounds are still fresh following the Buffalo Bills’ 34-25 home loss to the New York Giants. If you weren’t able or interested in giving the game your attention, first understand that NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen didn’t take a snap on Saturday afternoon. It was the Mitch Trubisky show, with head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator anxious to see how QB11 did with (most of) the team’s starting offense.
By all accounts, Trubisky performed well, finishing 9-of-13 for 138 yards with one passing touchdown. Though he wasn’t credited with any rushing stats, Trubisky did show off a bit of behind-the-line / pocket mobility a fair amount of Bills Mafia had never seen before.
The quarterback battle holds heat only as far as the idea of QB2 behind Allen gets a person. Regardless of who’s available and rostered behind the reigning MVP, things are going to play out much different than is ideal. Did anyone else in the room make noise to rattle Trubisky’s chances at the role? Mike White may hold some sway in the argument, with him finishing 8-of-13 for 112 yards and two passing touchdowns. As for Shane Buechele, he went a perfect 8-of-8 for 89 yards.
Remember, Trubisky’s efforts came against a very talented group of starting Giants defenders. All told, Bills quarterbacks went a combined 25-of-34 for 339 yards, with three touchdowns.
Since exiting the playoffs once again at the hands (and feet) of the Kansas City Chiefs, three things stood out with Bills Mafia:
With those three ideas in mind, let’s take a look back at more of what went down in Orchard Park, NY on Saturday.
Regarding the defensive line, general manager Brandon Beane once again made a concerted effort to overhaul the unit where it was most observably deficient. Gone now is edge rusher Von Miller, replaced, in part, by edge rusher Joey Bosa. But also by other significant additions such as defensive end Michael Hoecht and rookie edge rusher Landon Jackson.
How did that trio perform? Bosa didn’t record an official stat, but he did have a couple pressures and he looked dominant in the early going.
Hoecht had one tackle, and Jackson appeared to struggle in his first live action, receiving a penalty that negated a would-be-turnover. That said, it’s too challenging to get a true read on these guys simply because of their limited time on the field, their relative newness to the team and, in the case of Jackson,...
