Bills Starters Find 'Energy & Juice' in Surprise Appearance

Forced into a Saturday drive after a disaster in Pittsburgh, the Buffalo Bills starters were able to gain modest momentum against the Chicago Bears in the preseason finale.

The Buffalo Bills' premier men have endured both sides of the "It's only preseason" debate.

Western New York's detractors were chanting it after Saturday's preseason finale at Solider Field, which saw a 24-21 victory over the Chicago Bears for the visiting Bills. A sterling performance from Buffalo's top unit brought about the latest summer reminders, as Josh Allen and Co. went 72 yards on a dozen plays to score the first points of the contest on a Damien Harris punch-in from two yards away.

"I think just in terms of energy and juice we had this game compared to last game, guys were ready to go and you can notice a difference," Allen, who completed 5-of-7 passes for 49 yards, said in the aftermath.

While the NFL's new normal often has teams rest their starters for the third and final preseason showcase (gone are the days when the third exhibition was a de facto dress rehearsal), Buffalo management opted to display their stars after a brutal showing in Pittsburgh last week. In that game, which eventually became a 27-15 defeat, the Bills' top men mustered only 36 yards on 15 plays. That grim output, which also featured four charged penalties, more or less forced the Bills' hand in the Chicago visit.

Coach Sean McDermott took a particular interest in offensive progress on Saturday, turning defensive playcalling duties over to defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator John Butler. With Chicago playing its own starters, including franchise quarterback Justin Fields, Butler's direction helped create consecutive three-and-outs to keep the Bears' scoreboard blank.

"I didn't get into details during the week, we didn't get into details on how much they'd play," McDermott said. "(I) wanted to see them come out ready to play and see certain things. That's part of the reason why I didn't call the plays either on defense. I wanted to be able to have my eyes available to see certain things from our team. For the most part, I saw that early at least and then we started getting some guys out."

Little more offensive elaboration was necessary after the opening score: Buffalo (2-1) converted three downs on the 12-play trek, all through Allen aerial affairs. Stefon Diggs was responsible for two of those fresh sets of downs while presumed premier back James Cook had 23 yards on five attempts before red zone option and former divisional rival Harris put the Bills on the board. 

"(Offensive coordinator Ken) Dorsey did a good job of getting the plays in quick for us, allowing us to see things going on and guys were in the right spots," Allen said. per WGRZ. "We had kind of rehearsed some of the first third downs, and first looks that we were going to see, so I thought guys were doing a good job flying around and knowing their jobs. The better we can do that, the better success that we're going to have." 

"We weren't really sure how long we were going to play today, so we were expecting to play quite a bit. I think just having that mindset of going out there like, alright, we're here. Let's get some work, and I think that was important for us."

Allen's next workload will count toward the actual standings, as the Bills return to action on Sept. 11. A visit to MetLife Stadium will round out the NFL's opening week slate as Buffalo faces the revamped New York Jets in prime time (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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