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They didn't allow 700 yards. They allowed 528. You seem to have taken the total yardage as the passing yardage then added the rushing yardage to it. It was 528 total. And as for continuity... you won't see any. They didn't have their guys out there and as a result they were a bit mixed and matched all night. It was rarely "mostly the 2s" or "mostly the 3s" it was very mismatched. That isn't to say there are not concerns - especially 3rd downs. It's been an issue throughout with Babich.

First of all nobody should freak out. McDermott did say before the joint practice he would decide after it how to treat this game. By all accounts the Bills showed well in practice and as such they sat a ton of guys here. The Bears were playing a team, or a team and a half above the Bills all night.... but there were some things that could be taken from it..... even if my first reaction was "Wow... gotta find five "good nights" out of that!" Anyway, glad I only stayed up for the first quarter before going to sleep. Have watched the rest of the game this morning so here goes: Good Night for... Brad Robbins - Yes, it was that kinda night.... the first place by head goes is the punter played well! But just generally through the two pre-season games so far I have been impressed with Robbins. It is worth reminding yourself that he was actually drafted in 2023 by the Bengals but lost the job after one year. I wonder if he has benefitted from the year off because his leg looks plenty strong right now and there were two well judged shorter punts downed inside the 20 too. I'll add to it the coverage units have been pretty decent through two pre-season games when traditionally it is tougher to get that right with guys cycling through. Laviska Shenault - Three solid returns averaging 28 yards and he did look decisive on them. I don't think he is separating himself from Codrington yet (he had two for 27.5 average) and the competition still rages but the fact that Curtis Samuel can't get on the field and Elijah Moore can't catch a dump off means there is a potential gap there for a shifty, gimmick style receiver - something they might think Shenault can offer in addition to his returning. Not ready to say he is making the roster right now, but I have been pretty sniffy about his chances since he signed and my position is softening somewhat. Tyrell Shavers - The reason Shenault needs one of Samuel or Moore to fall by the wayside is Shavers. He just continues to perform, is out there as a gunner on special teams, made a nice catch on a back shoulder throw from Mike White and looks like a guy who can run routes outside (as has been much discussed the Bills are overloaded with guys who prefer to play the slot). He is getting closer and closer to the 53. We have had guys like this feel like they have made it before under this regime only to end up on the cutting room floor but I think Shavers is trending towards making it. Frank Gore Jnr - Okay he had the fumble on a catch in the redzone that ended the Bills best drive in the 3rd quarter. But on a night where so many guys sucked and played at half speed Frank Gore went out there second half and played like it was the Superbowl. Ran hard, made himself available in the pass game and put his body on the line as a blocker. He ended with 81 of the Bills 180 offensive yards. He is kind of the perfect practice squad back in that he doesn't have special traits that are likely to get him poached but he is an absolute pro. If the Bills had a running back go down in year and had to call Gore up to the roster he would not let them down. Challenges - McDermott won a challenge! Hey, I was running out of positives..... Bad Night for... Cole Bishop - Can't start anywhere else. He was the one likely starter that suited up for the Bills on defense, he played one drive and ended it giving up a touchdown after being lost and late in coverage again. Yes - he ended up on a slot receiver, tough matchup. But this wasn't a guy just out doing him athletically. He was in the wrong position, slow to read it and slow to react before the athleticism even became a factor. And this was not some super complex defensive call either, it looked like pretty vanilla single high with Bishop as the box safety (which is the role he is generally more comfortable in and played more in college). I'm really worried about his coverage struggles. It looks too much for him mentally to me. Joe Andreessen - Possibly the first time since the train left the station last summer that someone has pumped the breaks but that was a rough half of football for Buffalo Joe. Again getting the start as the 2nd string MLB he struggled with Ben Johnson's play action calls - was not getting his depths right, was attacked in zone coverage and then made a mental mistake in man coverage too and dropped his guy. The suspicion has been there throughout that he is a bit more of an AJ Klein type who is a lot happier moving forwards than backwards but the Bears might be the first team to have really exposed it. Mike White - I am not here to tell you Mitch Trubisky is good, but he is better than this. White's accuracy is a total lottery ticket. I will give him his props, I like how he stands in there and is willing to take a hit to get the ball off but he just misses too many throws. He didn't get a ton of help, I admit, but 4/11 for 54 yards with the 2nd string receivers and the best collection of offensive linemen the Bills had active was not a great statement in the backup QB battle. Ryan Van Demark - It's been a good pre-season for Vandy to this point, he started camp splitting time with Tylan Grable at right tackle in Spencer Brown's absence and then has switched over to the left with Dion missing a couple of practices and he played well in pre-season game one. However, this was a poor outting. Two false starts on the first drive set the tone and it seemed to affect him because I thought he was chasing his blocks a bit after that and it affected his balance and technique. Zach Davidson - This guy is toast. The drops last week, two bad penalties that wiped out chunk plays this week. It's over. Pick the bones out of that if you dare folks.... one more to go!

most of the guys that played will be cut

Codrington started. You don’t need to know anything else…you always have to read between the lines for preseason games. The bills just wanted to evaluate guys. The bears want to establish something else. the bills have been the best third down defense under McDermott so it is it the same year in and year out. You cannot tell anything about this team from last nights games.

Welp, we’re f***ed. See you guys in March for Free Agency and the Draft.

And who had the lead in summoning allies? We know it wasn’t the last guy that held the office of president even though it all started on his watch. You and the OP are both clueless.

I’ll say this…our second and third stringers getting thumped by their starters is understandable. But our second and third stringers were getting dumped by their backups. If you can’t compete with their backups why are you in the NFL

Right? 😆

I hate when the very old get lazy.

Or that 100 year old Marv Levy

I got a little cash set aside and I was wondering if I could invest it with you given your well-honed predictive skills?

I am pleased to report NO hangover and only a mild Ring of Fire this morning.

I blame Ralph Wilson

I hope beyond hope that this is the reality. However, we were almost the worst defense in the league on third down conversions allowed. 700 yards of offense is always a complete embarrassment.

The Bills were merely trying to be funny last night...to amuse us Bills Fans...like clowns...

Correct. But our 1st level of Depth players were on the field a ton and they left a lot to be desired...Sanders, Walker, Jackson, Hancock all had poor games and they were supposed to elevate this team's defense.

It's the Pre-Season. Did you watch the Pre-Season last year? The Bears beat us 33-6. We lost 2 of 3 games and only beat the Steelers with a score of 9-3. We still did alright when the real bullets started flying. Sean doesn't show anything in the Pre-Season. They don't get off the first page of the playbook on Offense and they don't scheme anything on Defense.

It is the coaching

Hamlin is quite literally at least the second best S on the roster. He’s also occasionally a disaster. Its a real mess

Every team that wins a game has to outscore the opponent.

By the second preseason game you should start seeing some kind of continuity on both sides of the ball. 700 yards allowed and not even a garbage time score?

Didnt we have only two starters playing? This is why I don’t even watch the preseason.

Knox won't play on his 2026 number. That's almost certain. There is either an extension and re-working of that deal or he will be released.

McDermott is not the defensive coordinator. I do think he might have to be at some stage though. I don't love that idea, I didn't think it worked great in 2023.... but I have significant concerns about Bobby Babich at this stage. I really don't know if he has feel for calling a game. The third down defense has been trash since he took over. That had previously been a strength of this team, especially under Leslie.

A common psychological thread amongst dictatorial types, is that they are afraid of losing power. It's not a hard trait to follow, figure out, and predict future moves. That's why they are weak leaders. Trump is not hard to figure out, but his proponents are adhering to a suspension of disbelief. I think Winston Churchill said something like, 'Americans will always do the right thing- once all other options are exhausted.' I believe, and hope he's right.