The Buffalo Bills will host the Cincinnati Bengals in their “dress rehearsal” preseason game on Sunday at New Era Field.
By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The third preseason game is often referred to as the dress rehearsal because teams will do a couple of things different in this preseason game compared to the other three.
First, the starters will play longer, and second, a little game planning and strategy will be put into the effort. In other games, teams will play plain, won’t game plan their opponent, and essentially, just play football while evaluating their players.
Ahead of Buffalo’s final practice prior to the game on Friday, head coach Sean McDermott discussed how much is going into Sunday’s process. In terms of his starting units, they’ll play a longer than they have so far in the preseason. Expect to see starters into the second half.
”They’ll go about two quarters and some change after half,” McDermott said. “There will be some slight variation based on the individual, but overall, they’ll come out of the locker room after half for the most part and get used to that routine. Going into the locker room, going through that, those adjustments, and coming out of the locker room and going back to work there.”
Much of that is likely aimed at rookie quarterback Josh Allen, who’s making his first start this preseason under center. Earlier this week McDermott said the Bills are running their schedule as if it was a regular season week since the game will be played on Sunday, like most of Buffalo’s regular season games.
“We talk a lot about routine,” McDermott said. “Part of the reason we shape this week is for guys to get into a routine. Josh (Allen), no different.”
McDermott also said this week that his grading of Allen as the starter will go pretty deep. He wants to see how the rookie handled things during that weekly schedule. With that in mind, it should come as little surprise that Allen and the starters will have a chance to play after half.
In terms of actual game planning for the Bengals, McDermott said it’s somewhere in the middle.
“(Game planning) is more than it was last week but still pales in comparison to what we’re going to do in the regular season,” McDermott said.
After Allen exits the game, it’s likely only Nathan Peterman will play under center for the rest of the game as AJ McCarron continues to recover from “shoulder soreness.”