Game Recap

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Bills 31, Browns 7 | Final score, game highlights, key stats | Preseason Week 2

Aug 22, 2026 at 05:09 PM

Mike Maynard

Seasonal Writing Associate

Final score: Bills 31, Browns 7

Location: Huntington Bank Field

Records (preseason): Bills (2-0), Browns (0-2)

Up next: home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7:00 p.m. EST

The lead: The Bills wide receivers flashed in a dominant all-around performance against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. A lightning delay forced both teams to vacate the field with 13:11 to play in the first quarter, but Buffalo wasn't affected by the delay. Most of the Bills starters didn't see the field against the Browns, but the team didn't miss a beat.

Game Recap

Buffalo continued its hot start to the preseason on Saturday in Cleveland, putting together splash plays on both sides of the ball despite few starters seeing playing time, and a lightning delay pausing the game just under two minutes into the first quarter.

The play of the day came late in the third quarter offensively, with quarterback Shane Buechele faking a handoff up the middle and watching as his teammates picked up a blitz. Wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin crossed over from the right side to the left with separation, with Buechele hanging in the pocket and delivering a strike.

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Maclin made the catch in stride, turning on the jets, beating two defenders to the edge, and continuing to roll down the left sideline. 71 yards later, Maclin finally slowed down as he made his way into the end zone after showing off his speed.

The undrafted rookie had another big play earlier in the day with a different quarterback getting him involved.

With just over a minute to go at the opposing 38 yard line in the first half, quarterback Kyle Allen wanted to finish his final drive of the day with points. On the second play of two-minute drill, he found Maclin with a step on a deep ball down the right sideline.

Allen's beautiful pass caught the young receiver in stride with a defender on his back, picking up 37 yards into the red zone in the process. Maclin finished the day with 108 receiving yards on just two catches, showing off his big-play ability.

Just one play after Maclin's grab, Allen got the ball out of his hands quickly to WR Mecole Hardman on a screen to the left side. Hardman followed his blockers, cutting up the middle and breaking a tackle before barreling into the end zone with just 15 seconds on the clock for a touchdown.

Allen finished his day 10-of-12 passing with 128 yards, along with a touchdown and no interceptions. Buechele, who entered in the second half, had 111 yards in the win on 5-of-10 passing, also with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Wide receiver Trent Sherfield also stepped up for a banged-up Bills wide receiver room on Saturday, getting his great day started on the first offensive drive of the game. On the last play before the lightning delay, Allen found the veteran receiver with space on a deep out route to his left for an 18-yard gain by the sideline.

Coming out of the delay, Sherfield got right back into the flow of the game, faking out his defender on a zig route again on the left side. Off a play action fake, Allen got the ball to his wideout in open space, picking up seven yards after the catch for a total of 17 yards.

The big plays from Sherfield on the inaugural drive helped supplement an impressive start from running back Ray Davis as well. Davis ran for 21 yards on the opening drive, capping things off by plowing into the end zone behind his blockers from one yard out.

Maintaining a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, Buffalo's offense kept the pressure on. An 11-play, 63-yard drive down the stretch was capped off by Buechele using his legs. The 28-year-old rolled to his right, finding a lane to sneak inside the front-right pylon from five yards out.

On the defensive side, the Bills also made some huge plays, generating multiple turnovers in Jim Leonhard's second game as the team's defensive coordinator.

Just a few minutes into the second quarter, the Browns strung together a long drive into the red zone, with Buffalo searching for a stop. Inside linebacker Joe Andreessen got his hand on a pass over the middle, batting it up into the air. Safety Damar Hamlin got underneath the floating ball, making the catch for an interception and putting a halt to the six-minute drive.

The defense wasn't done there, with DB Jordan Dunbar tipping another pass into the air later in the third quarter. DB Te'Cory Couch leapt up and snatched the errant ball out of the air with a receiver in his face, coming down with the team's second interception of the day.

After coming away with four sacks in the first week of the preseason, Buffalo's defensive front didn't have as much success getting the quarterback to the ground. Instead, the big plays came against the run, with five tackles for loss on the day.

Buffalo moves to 2-0 this preseason and has outscored its opponents 60-21 through its first two games. The Bills will return home to close out the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m.