LAKE FOREST, ILL. – The Bills stepped onto a different practice field on Friday morning as they had a joint practice against the Chicago Bears ahead of their second preseason game on Sunday.
Buffalo walked away from the practice with several reasons to feel good about where their team is at with less than two weeks before roster cuts.
Here are the top three things to know from Friday's practice against Chicago at Halas Hall.
McDermott's plan for Week 2 of the preseason + injury updates
Bringing Buffalo's entire team and practice setup to a different state for a practice and a preseason game is a lot to take on, but head coach Sean McDermott values a chance to go up against another opponent in a practice setting.
"It's a good time and place for us to go against another opponent, especially on the road," McDermott said. "And in doing so, we come together a little bit more as a team, hang out a little bit more over the course of the trip. And then we can also see where we're at a little bit more as a team."
With roster cuts approaching, McDermott and the staff believes evaluating the roster against a different team will help them figure out the right 53.
The Bills will also get a second chance at the Bears as they'll face them on Sunday in their second preseason game. McDermott wanted to get through Friday's practice before figuring out who will take the bulk of the reps on Sunday night.
"I would just say we got to get through this practice, go back to the hotel, home away from home, and go through the injury report and then reset the table for the game on Sunday night," McDermott shared.
McDermott also didn't have a decision on whether quarterback Josh Allen will see the field against the Bears.
"Just continue to sharpen where he's at in his preseason journey," McDermott said of what he wanted to see out of Allen on Friday. "…Josh has been in a good spot, it's just his continual development this preseason with making sure he feels good about where he's at and with his receivers in particular, I think that's going to be big for him."
Good news for the Bills – the list of players missing practices is shrinking down. McDermott said just five players missed Friday's practice.
"Out from practice today will be (Khalil) Shakir, (Tylan) Grable, (Sedrick) Van Pran-Granger, Maxwell (Hairston) and Cam Lewis," McDermott said.
A much bigger group was limited on Friday, which means plenty of players are making strides in the right direction.
"Limited for practice will be Tyler Bass, Curtis Samuel, Shaq Thompson, Daequan Hardy, Cole Bishop, Taylor Rapp, Larry Ogunjobi and Alec Anderson," McDermott added. "So, most of those guys, when we say limited, they'll be individual only. A couple of those guys, like the safeties, will get a few reps."
Bass is still dealing with a pelvis injury, however McDermott hopes to have him back for the final preseason game.
"We're trying to take it, no pun intended, but one step at a time where he is," McDermott said. "Stationary and just kicking from a stationary position, then getting one step, then two steps, and then into his approach. So, we're really just trying to be smart and make sure we don't have a setback and get him into a rhythm with the goal of him kicking at Tampa."
Samuel hasn't seen much of the practice field this training camp as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Now getting back into the fold from a limited perspective, McDermott said the wide receiver needs find his fit in this year's offense.
"We need to see how he fits into our offense this year, and availability is important, as well as special teams," McDermott shared. "So, when you're not wide receiver number one, that's true of everyone."
Pass rush impresses + wide receivers showing consistency
To set the scene, joint practices are a little chaotic for the viewer. During Friday's practice there was action happening on two fields simultaneously. Buffalo's wide receivers would be doing one-on-one drills against the Bears defensive backs on one field, while the Bills defensive backs would do one-on-ones against Chicago's skill players. It was the same case for team periods and two-minute drill.
All that to say, it was tough to see every single play. Although, it was easy to come away with some big positive themes after just one practice against the Bears.
Defensive line's strong day
Starting with the defense, the defensive line was on point during Friday's practice. The whole unit had their Wheaties before stepping onto the practice field with a physicality about them. It didn't show up in just one-on-ones or team periods, it was consistent throughout the entirety of practice. The Bears have several new pieces on the offensive line and are still building chemistry, but you can say the same for Buffalo's defensive line.
It really looks like the unit has done a great job building chemistry off the field, which helps during practices. The new pieces are elevating the play of veterans like defensive tackle Ed Oliver and defensive end Greg Rousseau and vice versa.
The defensive line dominated one-on-one drills from starters to second and third team. During team drills, we heard plenty of whistles as plays were called dead due to the pressure the Bears offense was feeling. We counted a mix of sacks and pressures from Rousseau, Oliver, defensive end Joey Bosa, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders, defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, defensive end Michael Hoecht, defensive end Javon Solomon and more.
Dominant against the run + sticky coverage by DBs
The defense as whole was also dominant against the run. The linebacking unit and defensive line linked up for multiple tackles for loss and stops at the line of scrimmage. The group had sound technique to stay in their gaps and read their keys instead of reacting to the wrong thing. Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, linebacker Matt Milano and linebacker Dorian Williams had noteworthy stops in the run game.
Milano continues to show flashes of his old self. The linebacker was present against the run and the pass. He had a couple of pass breakups, showcasing his ability to drop into coverage. On one play, Milano was underneath and dove to knock out the ball and force an incompletion.
During a red zone period, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams targeted Rome Odunze near the end zone but cornerback Christian Benford and safety Taylor Rapp provided great coverage and pushed Odunze out of bounds before he could get two feet in.
Josh Allen's solid connection with several skill players
In terms of the offense, the offensive line put together a nice performance by keeping the pocket clean through most of practice and opening up some nice lanes for the running backs. Josh Allen did a good job of getting valuable reps with playmakers like wide receiver Joshua Palmer, wide receiver Elijah Moore, wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid.
Moore had one of his best practices of camp yet. It looks like the time on task between him and Allen is paying off. On one play, Moore caught a screen pass from Allen and made an incredible cut to the inside, which threw off Bears defenders. Once he bounced it inside, Moore cut up the field for an extra 10 yards.
Allen also linked up with new receiver Joshua Palmer on one play in the red zone. Allen targeted Palmer in the middle of the end zone, Palmer was tightly covered but showed off his strong hands at the catch point to maintain possession all the way through for a touchdown.
Keon Coleman's productive day
Allen has been laser focused on building chemistry with second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman this training camp. It's showing as the two continue to put consistent practices together. During a red zone period, Allen connected with Coleman toward the corner of the end zone. Allen did a great job of placing the ball and Coleman positioned himself perfectly to make sure he got two feet in quickly before going out of bounds.
During a two-minute drill, Allen targeted Coleman on back-to-back plays that ended in a touchdown. The play of the day came when, Allen tossed a ball deep to Coleman. The QB did an impressive job of placing the ball in a place that was unreachable by defenders but also allowed Coleman enough time to win his route and score the touchdown. Coleman beat his man off the line of scrimmage, ran a great route and extended his hands as he stepped into the end zone to catch Allen's beautiful ball.
Other notable plays
A few other notable plays by the offense – running back James Cook popped off a tough, physical run in the red zone to bring it to around the two-yard-line. He also had a couple good gains due to his patience while waiting for a hole to open.
During a red zone period, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky found rookie tight end Keleki Latu for a touchdown. Trubisky scanned the field and threw a ball high that he knew his 6'7 tight end could catch. Latu was in a sea of Bears defenders, but none could reach the ball as the tight end plucked it out of the air to score.
During a two-minute period, Trubisky targeted a wide receiver near the sideline but the ball popped out quickly. Running back Frank Gore Jr. was in the right place at the right time to catch the ball as it popped out and sprinted up the sideline to score.
Buffalo's offense scored on two drives during the two-minute drill period and the defense had stops against the Bears offense on two of their three drives.
Former Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky reminisces on the "good memories" in Chicago
There's plenty of player crossover between the Bills and Bears. Bills players were excited to see their former teammates in Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, offensive lineman Ryan Bates and cornerback Nick McCloud.
Edmunds was drafted by Buffalo in 2018 and spent his first five seasons with Buffalo. Similar to Edmunds, Bates also spent his first five NFL seasons with the Bills (2019-24). McCloud was picked up by the Bills in 2021 as an undrafted free agent and was signed by the Bears in March.
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and running back Darrynton Evans were also eager to see their former teammates. Evans has had three stints with the Bears, while Trubisky was Chicago's second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
"Brought back a lot of good memories coming back here," Trubisky shared. "So, I felt like we had a really good joint practice today. Nice catching up with some old friends, and it's good to be back."
Trubisky spent his first four NFL seasons with the Bears. During those years, Trubisky had 1,010 completions for 10,609 yards and 72 total touchdowns. His best season came in 2018 when he threw for 3,223 yards, scored 24 passing touchdowns and finished with an 11-3 record.
"Just felt like we couldn't lose, and we just had a really good team," Trubisky said of lasting memories from that year. "It was one of the most fun years of football I had and always remember that and all my teammates that we had that year. It was a great run."
The Bears have a new first-round quarterback in Caleb Williams who's getting ready for his second NFL season with a new head coach in Ben Johnson. When thinking back to those first few years, Trubisky's advice to Williams is to enjoy the moment.
"I only had it for four years, I wish I had it for longer to be honest," Trubisky said. "Take it in, enjoy the process. All eyes are on you in this city, but it's really a privilege. And there's a lot of pressure that comes with that…It's a lot of fun to be the franchise guy, especially in a city like this."
