Buffalo Bills preseason preview

The NFL has changed from 16 games played in the regular season to 17, resulting in the preseason being cut down from 4 games to 3 games. This year, the Bills will play the Colts and Broncos at home before hitting the road to play at the Panthers.

The preseason is a chance for NFL coaches to see the talent on the roster go up against live competition, and it’s also a chance to see how their playbook works in real scenarios. This preseason will be vital for first-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who has said he’ll start out calling plays from up in the booth.

Expect to see little or no action in the preseason from guys like Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Von Miller, etc. The Bills’ depth chart is almost maxed out so this will mainly be an opportunity to see who can make the final roster spots and who is worth stashing on the practice squad.

August 13: Buffalo Bills vs Indianapolis Colts 

The Bills will play the Colts on Saturday, August 13 at 4 p.m. EST to start their preseason. The live TV broadcast of the preseason game is on NFL Network. Ticket prices for the game are as low as $5. 

Colts head coach Frank Reich says his starters will likely see an “incremental” increase in preseason playing time in an effort to reverse the team’s recent slow starts to the regular season. Reich said starters could play about a quarter in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Bills. The Colts acquired QB Matt Ryan from the Falcons this offseason and will look to work him into the offense. As for the Bills, we won’t be seeing Josh Allen out there for at least this contest:

August 20: Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos

The Bills play the Broncos on Saturday, August 20 at 1 p.m. EST for their second tuneup game.The live TV broadcast of the game is on NFL Network. Ticket prices for the game are as low as $9. 

The Broncos are another team, like the Colts, who have added a veteran quarterback through a trade. Russell Wilson is going to be a big part of the Broncos’ success this season, though the coaching staff has not said much about Wilson playing in this game. But, you could guess he will most likely not play a lot. 

The Bills will be holding a “Kids Day” presented by Fisher-Price for this game:

You can expect to see a ton of Matt Barkley this preseason, especially after Case Keenum gets settled in. Having veteran guys at QB will make getting a look at some of the skill position battles a lot easier. The Bills won’t have to worry about developing their quarterbacks.

August 26: Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers

The Bills play the Panthers on Friday, August 26 at 7 p.m. EST to wrap up their preseason. Ticket prices for the game are as low as $17.

The Panthers are a below-average team trying to find a spark. The preseason will help their coaching staff finalize a starting quarterback between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold heading into the 2022 season. For the Bills, the final game may be when fans get to see Josh Allen for a drive or two, but resting him for the entire preseason wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings I don’t think. This could be a game where some last-minute decisions are made to round out the roster in areas such as wide receiver, running back, cornerback, tight end, and punter.

After that, it’s on to the regular season for the Bills.