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Bills' Preseason Week 3 Media Guide, Depth Chart, and Game Notes


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The Bengals head to Buffalo Sunday for their third preseason game of 2018. The visit marks Andy Dalton's first visit to Buffalo since his Week 17 heroics, which helped end the Bills' playoff drought.
 
With the third week of the preseason upon us, the all-important dress rehearsal game is set to take place. The Buffalo Bills will face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in the most meaningful of the meaningless football games played in August.
 
While the number one objective is to leave the field fully healthy on Sunday, there are plenty of positional battles still going down in Buffalo. Here are a few worth noting.
 
Defensive Ends
Wide Receivers
Slot Corner
Offensive Line
Quarterback
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Quick Hits: Starters to Go More than a Half Sunday

Preseason game number three is typically the one in which the starters see the most playing time in preparation for the regular season opener. Head coach Sean McDermott confirmed that will be the case in his Friday press conference.

 

“They’ll go about two quarters and some change after half,” he said. “They’ll be some slight variation based on the individual. But overall, they’ll come out of the locker room after half for the most part. We want them to get used to that routine of going into the locker room, going through those adjustments and then coming out of the locker room and then going back to work there.”

 

Allen handled game week routine well

Bills will exercise caution with McCoy, Dawkins and others

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Will the Josh Allen era begin, and 6 more things to watch in Buffalo Bills' matchup vs. Bengals

 

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7 things to watch vs. Bengals
 
By Ryan Talbot | Contributing writer
 
The Buffalo Bills will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon in the team's third preseason game. Buffalo's dress rehearsal for the 2018 season will feature rookie quarterback Josh Allen starting for the Bills. Although Allen will be the main attraction on Sunday, here's a look at some of the biggest storylines for the game.
 
Will the Allen era begin vs. Cincinnati?
How will Bills fans greet Andy Dalton?
Which tight ends step up for Buffalo?
Which starting offensive line shows up for Buffalo?
How does the starting DL look vs. Bengals run game?
Will the cornerback depth chart come into focus?
Who steps up in the punter competition?

 

 

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From the other side:

 

3 Things To Watch – At Buffalo

 

Third preseason games are significant as indicators for players, with starters typically playing into third quarters of these contests. For head coach Marvin Lewis, Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills is also a dress rehearsal in which a modicum of game-planning is in order, making it a semi-revealing look at his squad’s game-day and game-prep capabilities.

 

1. Connecting The Dots – Lots of storylines in this pre-season game. At the top of the list is perhaps the most high-profile and nationally recognized story — Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver Tyler Boyd are visiting Buffalo for the first time since their 49-yard touchdown connection in the waning moments of last year’s finale at Baltimore defeated the Ravens and helped put the Bills in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

 

The play sparked a wave of goodwill from Bills fans, and in the end resulted in more than $550,000 in donations to both Dalton’s foundation and Boyd’s hometown youth sports league.

 

2. Position Battles – While most of the 53-man roster appears set, there are still a few spots open before the start of the 2018 campaign.

 

3. Return Of Eifert – Last week before the Cowboys preseason game when asked about Tyler Eifert’s availability, head coach Marvin Lewis responded with a “we’ll see.” Eifert dressed and went through pregame warmups, but did not see in game action.

Edited by 26CornerBlitz
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Buffalo Bills run defense looks to rebound in third preseason game

 

The Cleveland Browns’ rushing attack wasted no time gashing the Buffalo Bills’ defense in week two of the preseason. Cleveland’s first possession on offense was a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Sixty-three of those 70 yards were generated on the ground.

 

After four quarters of action, the Bills ended up allowing 164 rushing yards to the Browns. Cleveland carried the ball 32 times, resulting in an average of just over five yards per attempt.

 

Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was asked if those struggles to stop the run are concerning.

 

“It’s a concern any time they run the ball successfully, whether it’s preseason or the regular season,” said Frazier. “You want to really hone that up and get it taken care of, and that’s something we’ll work on this weekend.”

 

The sight of opposing running backs roaming free last week was eerily reminiscent of the Bills’ inability to stop the run a season ago.

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5 Bills storylines to watch vs. Bengals

The Buffalo Bills continue their preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals Browns on Sunday at 4 p.m.
 
It’s the third preseason game for Buffalo but there is no shortage of storylines in this one.
 
Here are five of them to follow on Friday as the Bills host the Bengals:
 
Dalton’s welcome
Does Allen do it?
Trench works
Homecomings
New competition
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CAPACCIO: Allen, Edmunds, TE and WR battles among things to watch closely Sunday

As the Bills get set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in each team’s third preseason game Sunday at New Era Field, which should be the final chance we get to see the majority of starters on both sides of the ball before the regular season begins, here are seven things I’ll be watching for closely:
 
1. Josh Allen with the starters
2. Improved run defense
3. A better Tremaine Edmunds
4. Can Marcus Murphy continue to impress?
5. The tight end battle
6. What wideouts will step up on offense and special teams?
7. Better pass protection
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Bills roster bubble: 10 players who need a big game vs. Bengals

The Buffalo Bills will welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to New Era Field on Sunday in the all-important third preseason game. All 60 minutes are important.
 
After a recent rule change, there’s no middle cuts during training camp. Teams will carry 90 players until the end of the preseason, but with every game comes opportunity.
 
With that, here are 10 players on the bubble of the Bills’ roster to watch vs. the Bengals:
 
RB Travaris Cadet
WR Brandon Reilly
WR Rod Streater
TE Nick O’Leary
OT De’Ondre Wesley
DE Mike Love
LB Julian Stanford
CB Levi Wallace
DB Siran Neal
P Colton Schmidt
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