Taking place as part of the loaded 10-game NFL preseason slate, the Buffalo Bills will face off with the Cleveland Browns.
The Bills picked up a 29-14 victory in their opening preseason matchup over the Panthers, while the Browns fell 34-10 at the hands of the Bears. These two teams have participated in joint practice all week, and both sides will be further looking to evaluate their roster in the second preseason action.
Looking at the odds, the Browns enter as three-point favorites with -155 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Bills hold +130 odds to pull off the upset, with the game total set at 36.5 points.
Bills at Browns Preview
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills cruised to a 29-14 victory in the preseason opener over the Panthers. Buffalo got off to a 13-0 lead and never looked back. Josh Allen and several other notable starters played the first quarter and showed flashes for why the Bills must continue being taken seriously when discussing the hierarchy of the league. The 2024 MVP completed six of his eight passes for 111 passing yards and a touchdown. Kyle Allen stepped in following Allen’s first two drives, completing 14 of his 16 pass attempts for 108 passing yards. Former SMU product Shane Buechele also took snaps under center, completing six of his nine pass attempts for 50 yards.
Heading into the second preseason matchup, the outlook is expected to be different for the Bills. Buffalo played their starters a bit more than many teams, with this being the first year with Joe Brady as head coach. The pair of teams seemingly have a bit of a handshake agreement that they would lean on their starters more throughout the joint practice, and for this preseason matchup to be more about the evaluation deeper down on the roster.
Expect these to be some important snaps for Buechele as he looks to secure his NFL footing. He spent his collegiate years at Texas and SMU, last playing in 2020. He went undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft and ended up on the Chiefs’ practice squad after the fact. Buechele was eventually released and was signed to the Bills’ practice squad ahead of the 2023 season. The 28-year-old did another stint with the Chiefs amid their quarterback injuries last year and made an appearance in which he completed seven of his 14 pass attempts for 88 yards, which marks his only NFL statistics in his career. Kansas City released him after that final game, and Buechele landed back in Buffalo ahead of this season, still looking to prove himself.
Outside of the quarterback spot, there will be plenty of positional battles taking place at both lineman positions. The linebacker roles are also not quite solidified, and plenty of eyes will be on Josh Palmer following a first season in Buffalo that was interrupted by injuries. Running back Ian Wheeler has caught some eyes in training camp, and will look to carry this into his first preseason opportunity. Expect most of the key names that we will be paying attention to in the regular season to remain on the sideline, while plenty of fringe players on the roster put their best effort forward.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns fell 34-10 at the hands of the Chicago Bears in their preseason debut. Cleveland leaped out to a 10-0 lead before Chicago stormed back with 34 unanswered points. The quarterback battle if a major storyline of the preseason, with no announcement made yet on who will be starting Week 1. Deshaun Watson saw the first opportunity, completing 11 of his 15 pass attempts for 126 passing yards. He played the entirety of the first half before Shedeur Sanders took the reins. The Colorado product completed six of his 11 pass attempts and also tallied an interception. Dillon Gabriel also got a chance, completing five of his eight passes for 23 yards and also recording an interception.
Cleveland’s head coach Todd Monken has made it clear that he also plans on resting the starters for this Week 2 preseason matchup following the grueling stretch of practice days. The expectation is for Sanders to get the start in this game, and head coach Todd Monken is inching toward an official announcement for the regular season starter.
The quarterback competition will continue to dominate the conversation and headlines as the season inches closer. But there are plenty of other noteworthy positional battles to eye, and this second preseason matchup will play a larger role in deciding. 24th overall pick KC Conception has drawn rave reviews in training camp and especially this week of practice at the wide receiver position. There are some concerns on both the offensive and defensive lines, as well as competition at the tight end position and in the secondary. Expect most of the solidified rostered players to largely remain on the sideline for this matchup while plenty of the players deeper on the depth charts leave it all on the field to solidify their standings in the NFL.
Bills at Browns Pick, Best Bet
Both of these first-time head coaches are still attempting to set a culture in their respective organizations. But they are at very different stages of the process. Buffalo elevated Joe Brady to head coach after he served as the offensive coordinator across the past three years, while Todd Monken spent the last three years as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator, and this marks his first time as an NFL head coach.
My lean is toward the Browns securing the win and covering the three-point spread. Each of the quarterbacks will be making a clear effort to prove what they can do, and have more to play for in comparison to the Bills’ depth chart. Without Allen on the field, expect the offensive outlook for Buffalo to be much less menacing.
But for this reason. I am backing the game total to remain under the 36.5 line as my best bet. Cleveland was outgunned 430-314 against the Bears, were just 1-for-3 in the red zone, and they turned the ball over three times in the first preseason matchup. The Browns put up 10 points through the first quarter and a half of action before the offense went silent.
On the other side of the matchup, the Bills’ offensive outlook took a major hit once Allen and the rest of the starters stepped off the field in the first preseason game. Buffalo was just 3-for-6 in the red zone and benefitted from a Panthers team that struggled greatly and put up just 201 total yards of offense. Allen’s importance is evident, and he showed this in his limited performance in the opener. Don’t expect Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele to set the tone in the same way.
Buckle up for some sloppy football and expect both teams to dig deep into their depth chart throughout this game. Expect points to be difficult to come by for both sides in this type of tryout setting. Count on the 36.5 game total to be too high and for the touchdowns to be difficult to come by throughout.
