Thursday night was the preseason finale for the Buffalo Bills. The Bills ended the preseason with a thrilling 28-27 comeback win against the Chicago Bears.
While the preseason finale was far from pretty and was played by players who will most likely be cut by both teams, the fourth quarter was entertaining and provided the Buffalo Bills fans still watching with some fun entertainment as they rallied from down 27-3 to stun the Bears.
While the outcome was fun for Bills fans, the game itself actually provided some clarity to the Bills brass in terms of cutting and retaining some players for the 53-man roster that is due by 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
Let’s take a look at three Bills who helped their stock to make the final roster with their performance last night.
While McCloud finished the game without a catch and actually banged up his knee during the fourth quarter, he did impress on the special teams side of the ball.
McCloud had three punt returns for 44 yards, including a long of 25 yards. He also added a 32-yard kickoff return. On the returns McCloud flashed his play-making ability and an elusive running style, nearly breaking off a couple of them. Ray-Ray also added a five-yard run.
McCloud was jumbled amongst a group of Bills wide receivers who were fighting for the final few spots on the receiver depth chart. With his strong special teams performance he showed that he can contribute in an area that some of the players he is competing with cannot.
That will go a long way in helping him make the final 53-man roster. At this point I have McCloud on the 53-man roster, and his performance last night helped to solidify that.
Borders was firmly on the roster bubble heading into last night’s preseason contest. He was fighting with several other players for the final cornerback spot on the Bills roster.
Borders helped himself in a big way last night by making three tackles, providing sound coverage and picking up a key interception that helped spark a momentum change and start the Bills comeback in the fourth quarter.
A performance like the one last night will go a long way with the Bills coaching staff that values players in its secondary who are sound tacklers and have a keen eye for making turnovers.
Considering that Borders showcased both last night, he may have won himself a roster spot with the performance. After last night I have Borders on the roster as the final cornerback on the depth chart.
Neal was the Bills fifth-round draft pick in the 2018 draft who found himself having a roller coaster training camp and preseason. Neal came from a smaller NCAA program at Jacksonville State, and perhaps the step up in competition was a bit much for him at the onset.
However, he has made significant strides the past few preseason games and has shown that he is adapting to the Bills defensive game plan and coaching. Last night he finished the game with a game-high eight solo tackles. He finished the game with twice as many tackles as any other Bills OR Bears player and was seemingly all over the field last night.
Like Borders, Neal flashed a strong ability to make tackles in the open field, which is an attribute that the Bills coaching staff values with great significance. With his performance last night Neal may have secured the final spot on the 53-man roster and secured the fifth and final safety spot on the depth chart.
Neal also offers versatility to play cornerback, safety and linebacker positions. That versatility is a key reason why he was drafted by the Bills and will also help him make the 53-man roster. After last night’s strong showing I have Neal making the cut and landing on the 53-man roster.
While we are a little over 24 hours from the Saturday 4:00 p.m. 53-man roster deadline, many more moves will be made throughout the weekend. The Bills will also be looking to fill their 10-man practice squad and will likely scan over the cuts from the other teams in the league to see if any of them would serve them better than players they already kept on their 53 man roster and practice squad.
Additionally, GM Brandon Beane is known to make splashes in the trade market so that avenue is something else to keep an eye on.
With only a little over a week to go before the Bills opening game, it will be a busy weekend of roster tinkering and finalization for the Bills brass over at 1 Bills Drive.