One preseason game down, and one win for the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo opened its 2021 preseason on Friday night with a 16-15 over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
Here are my Arrows Up and Down, starting with Up since the Bills won, which, by the way, was the team's sixth preseason win in a row:
ARROW UP:
Devin Singletary
Although his very first run of the game, a 15-yard gain, was called back due to a holding call, Singletary started with a bang and looked very good all night long. In fact, on his next two plays, he went for 15 yards again, then six yards, and finished the game with 42 yards on eight carries, averaging 5.3 yards per-attempt. He looked elusive and shifty.
Greg Rousseau
What a way to start your professional career, even if it’s only preseason. On the third play of the game, Rousseau sacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff for an 11-yard loss. He continued to look good pressuring the quarterback at other times throughout the game, as well.
Andre Smith
I’ve noticed Smith a lot during training camp. He’s already considered in the mix to make the roster due to his special teams ability, but he’s also really fighting for reps on the defense. He looked really good Friday night, collecting eight total tackles, including one for a loss, and also had a terrific, athletic interception that was unfortunately called back due to a penalty.
Joe Giles-Harris
I’ve been saying for weeks that the Bills' linebacker group is really deep and underrated on the back end. Along with Smith, Giles-Harris showed an example of that. He was all over the field, and seemingly always near the ball, finishing with five total tackles.
Damar Hamlin, Jaquan Johnson, Josh Thomas
The battle for the third safety position behind Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde was always going to be a good one. All three of these guys really stepped up to show they want to win it, and, at least, for one preseason game, showed that the team could still be in good hands if either of the two starters were unable to go. Hamlin had two total tackles, one for a loss, a quarterback pressure, and a sack. Thomas added three tackles, including one for a loss, and Johnson had another tackle of his own. All three seemed to be in position, knew what they were doing, were confident in doing it, and were constantly around the football.
Davis Webb
It was great to see Webb finally be able to put on a Bills helmet and play against another team. With no preseason last year and his stay on the practice squad all year, he never saw any action at all. He went 11-of-16 for 90 yards and a touchdown in this one, but also showed some great decision-making, which turned into showing off more speed and athleticism than many realized he had, running twice for 26 yards.
Jake Fromm to Marquez Stevenson pass
Fromm hadn’t done much of note since entering the game early in the fourth quarter, but when the Bills were down to, what could have been, their final play down 15-13 and facing a 4th-and-10 from their own 20-yard line with only 49 seconds left, Fromm laid a beautiful ball right on the money to rookie wide receiver Marquez Stevenson for a 42-yard gain. That set the Bills up in Lions territory, and eventually for the game-winning field goal kick by Tyler Bass.
Tyler Bass
I have yet to see Bass miss a kick during any training camp practice. Then he went out and was perfect, going 3-for-3 on Friday night, including the game-winning 44-yard kick with only 15 seconds left. He also connected on kicks of 50 yards and 37 yards.
Tommy Sweeney
Sweeney makes this list for two reasons. First, until the pass to Stevenson at the end of the game, he was the Bills' leading receiver with two catches for 34 yards. Second, he did it after all he went through last year, missing the entire 2020 season after being diagnosed with myocarditis due to COVID-19.
Red zone defense
No matter who was on the field for the Bills defense, they did a good job of tightening up once the Lions got inside their 20-yard line, not allowing a touchdown at all. Detroit was 0-for-3 in the Bills' red zone.
Third down defense
The Lions only converted 5-of-13 (38.5%) third down attempts into first downs.
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ARROW DOWN:
Bobby Hart
Hart’s night started bad and only got worse. He was the one called for the holding penalty on the very first play of the game, negating Singletary’s 15-yard run. Then he allowed numerous pressures as the game went on. He’s getting chances to play with Dion Dawkins still sidelined, but did himself no favors at all trying to compete for that backup role.
Tommy Doyle
Doyle‘s night was not as bad as Hart’s, but he was underwhelming. He needs to learn how to bend a little bit better against quick NFL pass rushers and adjust to the speed of the game before he can be relied upon to contribute on this offensive line. He was also called for a false start once, costing the Bills five yards in a tied game.
Rachad Wildgoose
I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Wildgoose at camp, because of his energy and physicality, and his ability to find the football. However, he didn’t do a good job of that on a big play late in the game. The Bills were leading 13-12 when the Lions had the ball at their own 15-yard line. Wildgoose gave up a long pass on first down for 35 yards to midfield, which helped set Detroit up for their go-ahead field goal before the Bills ultimately won it. Earlier in the half, the rookie was also called for a defensive pass interference penalty, costing his team 25 yards on, what was, a 3rd-and-15.
Antonio Williams
With Zack Moss not playing due to a hamstring injury, I was hoping to see more from Williams, who is trying to make the roster. However, he didn’t do much to state his case, only gaining 15 yards on seven carries, averaging 2.1 yards per-carry, and also fumbling once.
Matt Breida
Same as above about Williams can be said for Breida, but mostly because we didn’t see the speed he’s known for in the run game, including a couple of times where he had a shot to get to the corner. He ran 10 times for 27 yards, averaging 2.7 yards per-carry. He also caught two passes for 15 yards.
Penalties
Of course it’s only preseason and officials may be calling things a little bit differently right now, and players are still adjusting in other areas and don’t have technique completely buttoned up yet. However, the Bills had nine penalties for 112 yards, which is far too many for too much, no matter what game it is.
Third down offense
As good as the Bills' third down defense was, their offense was not, as all three quarterbacks and the entire offense combined for only a 28.6% conversion rate on third down, going only 4-for-14 overall.
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