“Our standard was not out there today,” Bills fall 33-6 to Bears in preseason opener.

Third-string QB was sacked six times, O-Line allowed eight total.

Josh Allen and Co. are officially back in action — but it might not be that obvious given the preseason blowout they were handed by Chicago. 

The Bills’ offense, and defense, struggled heavily in the last three quarters, as the typical starters only played the first quarter. Still, there were no jaw-dropping plays during that time. 

SEE PICTURES FORM THE GAME, SCROLL DOWN

Allen was 2-for-3 in the first quarter with 22 yards, and one rush for 7 yards. Khalil Shakir caught the first pass for a seven-yard gain, but the Bills still found themselves at third and short.

The Bills’ first drive was a disappointing three-and-out after James Cook lost two yards on third-and-two.

The first half was a field goal fest. The Chicago Bears got on the board with a 30-yard field goal to take the lead in their first drive, which became a 6-0 lead with another field goal on their following drive.

Tyler Bass made a 24-yard field goal to trail 6-3 and capped an 18-play drive, which was the score at the half as the next three drives were punts.

Mitch Trubisky opened up the second and third quarter for Buffalo and started off the second half with a three-and-out.

The Bears opened up with an 8-play, 59-yard touchdown drive, despite fumbling on the second play of the drive, to lead 13-3 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

Buffalo continued to work Bass, setting him up for a 49-yard field goal to trail 13-6. Shane Buechele was behind center for that drive and was sacked twice. 

The nightmare game for Buechele was not over, though. His pass, intended for Frank Gore Jr., was intercepted and taken 53 yards for a pick-six. The Bears held a 19-6 advantage as Bills fans trickled out of Highmark Stadium.

Buffalo had back-to-back punts again, one which was a three-and-out and the other featured two sacks of Buechele… again. Buechele finished the game with six sacks, and Trubisky was also sacked twice. Looks like there’s some work for the O-Line.

While the Bills had a turnover on downs at their own 35-yard line and a punt for their final two drives, the Bears found the end zone on back-to-back drives to leave Orchard Park with a 33-6 win over Buffalo. 

While it’s only preseason, and no need to overreact, that was an ugly debut for the Bills' second- and third-stringers as there were no touchdowns for Buffalo, yet quite a few against them. 

“A ton to work on,” said head coach Sean McDermott post-game. “Our standard was not out there today.”

STATS:

QB-

Josh Allen: 2-for-3, 22 receiving yards, 1 rush for 7 yards

Mitchell Trubisky: 10-for-18, 82 receiving yards, 2 sacks, 3 carries for 12 yards

Shane Buechele: 6-for-10, 53 yards, 1 interception, 6 sacks, 3 carries for 22 yards

Rushing-

Frank Gore Jr.: 7 carries, 21 yards

Darrynton Evans: 3 carries, 11 yards

James Cook: 4 carries, 2 yards

Ray Davis: 5 carries, 2 yards 

 

Receiving-

Khalil Shakir: 3-for-3 with 28 yards

Curtis Samuel: 2-for-3 with 23 yards

Ray Davis: 3-for-4 with 19 yards

Frank Gore Jr.: 3-for-4 with 16 yards

Keon Coleman: 1-for-3 with 8 yards

Dalton Kincaid: 1-for-1 with 7 yards

Tyrell Shavers: 1-for-2 with 10 yards

Andy Isabella: 1-for-1 with 15 yards

 

Defensive-

Dorian Williams: 6 tackles (4 solo), 1 sack, 1 TFL

Joe Andreessen: 4 tackles (1 solo)

Deion Jones: 5 tackles (2 solo)

Kendall Williamson: 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 PD

Javon Solomon: 2 tackles (2 solo)

Damar Hamlin: 2 tackles (2 solo)

Rasul Douglas: 3 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL

Kaiir Elam: 2 tackles (2 solo) 

 

Kicking-

Tyler Bass: 2/2, from 30-yards and 31-yards

Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills Preseason 2024

 Bills fall 33-6 to Bears in preseason opener.

Gallery Credit: Getty Images

More From We are Buffalo