We have finally made it to the last week of the NFL preseason and that means we are so close to the start of the season. The Buffalo Bills picked up their first win last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a snoozefest, winning 9-3. While the offense continued to struggle, there was atleast momentum at times compared to the first preseason game against the Bears.
When it comes to the defense, they were steller and players like Greg Rousseau and Buffalo native Joe Andreessen shined through for the Bills against the Steelers. As Buffalo prepares for the Panthers in their final preseason game, this will be a game where players will have one last chance to make a big push to impress the coaching staff. While we know the most common players that will be on the team, there are still some wild cards at various positions.
With Andreessen’s performance against the Steelers and the injuries that Buffalo has had at linebacker, he may have a legit shot at potentially making the roster. Even though there is a more likely chance that Andreessen makes it onto the practice squad, this Saturday’s game could help steal a roster spot from someone like Deion Jones.
While players will be focused on the game, there is one important factor that the Bills need to hope goes right in their favor. Throughout training camp, the Bills have been hit with a massive injury bug across the roster.
The injuries kept piling on after last weekend’s win in Pittsburgh to players like Mitch Trubisky, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Quintin Morris. The Bills have had to make roster signings the last two weeks just to bring in players to get them through the preseason. They lost quarterback Shane Buechele for the year (even though he was not going to make the final 53-man roster), as well as Chase Claypool to the point where he and the Bills came to an agreement to be released from the roster.
As Buffalo comes back to Orchard Park this weekend, the starters will not be playing and the team will just need to get through four quarters injury-free.
The Bills need to hope that they leave with 100% health
Injuries are part of the game and they are unavoidable. However, the Bills have been hit with a curse with them this preseason and it is not a good sign heading into Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals. Sean McDermott and his coaching staff need to hope that they don’t need to replace anyone else beyond this weekend.