ORCHARD PARK — Sean McDermott wasn’t happy the Buffalo Bills were battered by the Chicago Bears at the line of scrimmage. He certainly wasn’t pleased about the disparity in run success.
The Bills mustered a measly 3 yards per carry in the preseason opener, as running back James Cook managed just 2 yards on four attempts and backup Ray Davis had 2 yards on five carries in the game. It was a departure from a team that averaged 156.4 yards rushing under offensive coordinator Joe Brady last year, posting 4.2 yards per carry.
But at the end of the day, it was a preseason game. There was little planning for the Bears and Brady was calling the game to get snaps against certain defensive fronts in specific situations.
“I want to win anything I ever do, every play,” Brady said. “But there’s also bigger pictures and some intentionality, in terms of hey we need to make sure some of these runs, or some of this type of thing versus these types of looks. In a game, it’s like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get a first down.’”
The starting offensive line only played two series in the game and quarterback Josh Allen was pulled after eight snaps. So it’s hard to gauge much in a limited sample size, but right guard O’Cyrus Torrence felt it was enough for the Bills to lock in, except they came out flat.
At the same time, the Bills would normally audible or tweak a play based on what the quarterback and offensive line see before the snap. In the preseason, the Bills are largely running the play that was called.
“We were running into a pressure more than we would like in the run game,” Torrence said. “The way our run game is based, we like to have alerts and checks and certain things when we see a defense we don’t like. Going into the preseason game, we just had a list of runs we wanted to run no matter what, just to see what it’d be like.”
On Tuesday, though, the Bills went back to work on their running game, with the first 11-on-11 session of practice devoted to short-yardage situations. The Bills had six plays against the Bears with 2 yards or fewer to gain and went just 2 for 6, gaining 14 total yards, with three plays resulting in lost yardage.
The Bills ran 15 plays during the practice period, with 13 of them called run plays. Most of those plays were successful, save for linebacker Dorian Williams beat pulling left guard David Edwards to his spot and stuff Davis in the hole, while Darrynton Evans was dropped for a loss by cornerback Kaiir Elam, who came off the edge unblocked.
“It’s good when you’re still getting yards on certain plays when the defense knows you’re going to run,” Torrence said. “In a game, when it’s a little slowed down, the defense might not know, so if we got more confidence in what we’re running, I think it’s just kind of good for us, and us and the defense just to get that edge back after a game like we just had.”
Allen’s practice was a mixed bag
In regular 11-on-11s, Allen went 11 of 17, starting with four consecutive completions to Keon Coleman, Andy Isabella, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and back-to-back throws to tight end Dawson Knox. Allen’s best throw went to Isabella on a slot fade that resulted in a 20-yard gain.
That particular session, though, ended with Allen missing an open Quintin Morris on a seam pattern and then a sack by defensive end A.J. Epenesa. The second period saw Allen hit tight end Dalton Kincaid on a wheel route, Khalil Shakir on a crossing pattern and Knox on another crosser, but then saw consecutive drops by Mack Hollins and Cook — one of two on the day — before Allen missed Knox on a deep corner route.
In a short red zone period from the 7-yard line, Allen missed Shakir in the end zone, but found him in the right corner for a touchdown on the next play. Defensive end Greg Rousseau closed the period by combining with defensive tackle Ed Oliver for a sack.
On Allen’s lone pass attempt in short yardage work, his pass on the run was behind Valdes-Scantling and safety Taylor Rapp made a diving interception.
• Cornerback Christian Benford had a strong showing in one-on-one drills, pushing receiver Keon Coleman to the boundary on a pass that sailed out of bounds and then knocked a pass away from Lawrence Keys III.
• Coleman came back strong, though, beating Kaiir Elam on a quick hitch and Cam Lewis on a deep route.
• Receiver K.J. Hamler got the better of All-Pro slot cornerback Taron Johnson twice on quick moves.
• Justin Shorter and Valdes-Scantling both won routes, but saw the ball slip through their grasp.
The Bills do not have a practice open to the media Wednesday before Thursday’s joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is closed to the general public.