This Sunday’s Week 18 matchup against the New England Patriots should be a very boring one for the Buffalo Bills. There’s no need to play the starters more than one series, or if at all. We already know that Josh Allen will start, but to only keep his start streak alive and will then be pulled.
It will be the Mitch Trubisky show on offense, and it could become the Joe Andreessen show for the Bills’ defense. According to Sean McDermott, per Chris Brown, linebacker Terrel Bernard will not practice today for the Bills and has already been ruled out for Sunday with a quad injury, that should only be day-to-day. With that, Andreessen will get more playing time this Sunday than he has all season.
HC Sean McDermott said LB Terrel Bernard (quad) will not practice during today's walk through practice and will not play on Sunday. He indicated it's more day-to-day type injury. McDermott also said that LB Joe Andreessen will play quite a bit Sunday. #Bills
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) January 1, 2025
Andreessen signed with the Bills after going undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft, having spent time at Bryant University and the University at Buffalo. After impressing the coaching staff at rookie minicamp tryouts, Andreessen got his shot in the preseason and he took advantage of the opportunity.
He shined in Buffalo’s 9-3 preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with 12 total tackles, two of them being for a loss. Andreessen beat out veteran linebacker Deion Jones for a spot in the linebacker room and earned himself a spot on the final 53-man roster.
Joe Andreessen is living out the dream playing for his hometown team
Andreessen has had the chance to play in seven games this season. He has racked up 16 total tackles, including one for a loss. Infact, Andreessen led the Bills in tackles last week against the New York Jets yet he only played in one quarter.
Sean McDermott told the media today how Andreessen impressed him and Brandon Beane at tryouts back in May and how even though it’s a feel-good story for Andreessen and the city of Buffalo, Andreesseen has “earned every last piece of it” per Thad Brown.
Sean McDermott told the story of how Joe Andreessen landed on his radar at rookie tryouts.
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) January 1, 2025
"Some people thought early on it was a nice PR thing... but Joe's earned every last piece of it."#Bills pic.twitter.com/WLAepppnLp
As the Bills prepare for their second game against the Patriots in three weeks, Andreessen will have the opportunity to show what he can do when given more chances than on special teams or just one quarter.