Sunday’s NFL preseason clash between the Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears was a revealing look into Buffalo’s depth chart, and it wasn’t pretty.
With almost all of the Bills’ starters sidelined by design, the Bears capitalized on the mismatch, coasting to a lopsided 38-0 shutout that left head coach Sean McDermott frustrated and demanding more from his roster.
The ugly performance came just two days after a joint practice session between the two teams, a scrimmage that McDermott believed offered enough value to justify giving his front-line players the night off.
That decision, however, opened the door to an uninspired performance from Buffalo’s reserves, and McDermott didn’t hold back in his postgame remarks.
“That wasn’t up to our standard, what we expect,” McDermott said after the blowout. “It doesn’t matter who’s out there-ones, twos, threes, fours, whoever it is-we expect them to perform. That level of performance was simply unacceptable.”
Buffalo’s depth gets exposed in humbling loss
Even before the scoreboard spelled disaster, the stats painted a brutal picture. At halftime, Chicago had racked up 371 yards to Buffalo’s 47, notched 20 first downs to the Bills’ three, and was up 28-0 without breaking a sweat.
Buffalo’s best performer was punter Brad Robbins, who averaged 46.5 yards on five boots, a troubling sign when your punter leads the team.
McDermott clarified that the decision to rest starters wasn’t made lightly, but stemmed from the productive joint practice held Friday.
With coaches controlling the tempo and situations during the scrimmage, McDermott believed the team had checked many boxes heading into Sunday.
“Yeah, I thought we had moved in the right direction holistically coming out of that practice,” McDermott added.
“It’s not that they don’t still need work; they do. But tonight was also a chance to evaluate the rest of our roster, and to be honest, I was hoping more guys would rise to the occasion. I didn’t sense that as much as I hoped.”
Wide receiver Joshua Palmer and rookie safety Cole Bishop, both returning from extended time off, were the only two starters who suited up.
Their participation was more about shaking off rust than game planning. Everyone else, including quarterback Josh Allen and most of the offensive line, watched from the sideline.
But instead of backup players stepping up and making a case for increased roles, the performance only raised red flags.
Whether it was mental mistakes, blown assignments, or a general lack of energy, McDermott emphasized that being a backup shouldn’t lower expectations.
“We were competing against their ones, and we didn’t come close. Then it was twos on twos, threes on threes-same story,” McDermott noted.
“That effort across the board wasn’t close to the standard we’ve set in this organization.”
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