Bears-Bills Joint Practice: Josh Allen and Caleb Williams each set to face depleted secondaries highlight the Top-3 matchups to watch
Another intense day of practice is coming up this week.
The Chicago Bears are two days away from hosting the Buffalo Bills in a joint practice setting leading up to Sunday’s second preseason game.
This will be a big opportunity for head coach Ben Johnson and his new team going up against an established AFC Super Bowl contender for the first time.
As for the Bills, head coach Sean McDermott will be looking to lead his squad into Chicago to get a further look at how his 2025 roster is shaping up. Here are three matchups to watch throughout Friday’s joint practice.
Tough challenge incoming for Dennis Allen’s secondary vs. Josh Allen
Kole: Last week, the Bears defense looked strong against the Miami Dolphins first-team offense forcing multiple turnovers during Friday’s joint practice.
The main thing head coach Ben Johnson wanted the secondary and linebackers to experience was going up against some speedy wide receivers and running backs. This week, the pass defense will be tasked with going up against the reigning MVP in Josh Allen, with limited numbers.
The cornerback room especially has been suffering through the injury bug. Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson has missed all of camp due to a leg injury while starting nickel Kyler Gordon missed time last week due to a hamstring injury. As far as depth goes, Terell Smith left the preseason opener with a groin injury while other CBs were held out of the game. Friday’s session will be a tall task for the Bears secondary.
Adam: In the team’s first preseason game, Sean McDermott said that Josh Allen would not play. As of this publication, there has still been no word on whether or not Allen will suit up at all for this game, or any game for that matter, during the preseason.
However, we have a sneaking suspicion that after James Cook’s holdout has ended and he’s officially ready to rock and roll, the team is going to want to get some meaningful reps in with their first-team offense. Despite Allen not playing, both Mitch Trubisky and Mike White shone after slow starts with explosive plays from WR Tyrell Shavers and WR KJ Hamler.
The team brought in some WR help for Allen this past offseason in Josh Palmer, and the organization is hoping for big things out of the veteran wideout. While we’ve seen plenty of highlight reel plays during practice from Allen, getting him out there against the Bears with his new-look offense will go a long way toward success in the regular season. The Bears are battling injuries in the secondary, which could make for a fun day at the office for Allen.
Joey Bosa and a young interior will be a nice barometer for the Bears OL and LT battle
Kole: Arguably the top position battle going on in Chicago is for the starting left tackle position, the spot who’s job is securing the blindside for quarterback Caleb Williams in 2025.
The main battle has turned into a 2-man race between returning starter Braxton Jones and rookie Ozzy Trapilo with Kiran Amegadjie dealing with a leg injury. Both Jones and Trapilo played in Sunday’s preseason opener with Jones getting the start. The third-year starter had more quality reps, including a few one-on-one reps against Bradley Chubb.
Both players will continue rotating in and out of the position looking to put good work on tape worthy of winning the starting job. Lining up against a 5-time Pro Bowler will be a solid test.
Adam: In the Bills’ first preseason game, it was the team’s first chance to see veteran Joey Bosa in action, and he left the Bills Mafia wanting more with his dominant, albeit limited, performance. Bosa was disruptive against the run, and if he can stay healthy, he will be a game-changer for the defense.
Brandon Beane spent valuable draft capital in an attempt to fortify the defensive line with draft picks T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker. Walker had the highlight reel play where he exploded in the backfield to bat down a pass from Jaxson Dart. T.J. Sanders got his hands dirty in the run game and was disruptive at getting after the QB. While none registered a sack, it left the fanbase wanting more.
With a rotating door of offensive linemen for the Bears, look to see these young guys (and Bosa) try to make life difficult for Caleb Williams and the offensive line.
Caleb Williams and Bears offense look to finally get in sync
Kole: So far, it’s been a slow start to camp for quarterback Caleb Williams and the entire starting offense attempting to master Ben Johnson’s extremely detailed scheme.
Essentially the install phase is over for the unit, now it’s all about cleaning up the minor mistakes such as pre-snap misalignments. As for Williams, the young quarterback needs to do a better job diagnosing pressure and getting the ball out of his hands quicker, something he still continued to struggle with against the Dolphins defense in last week’s joint practice.
Having a clean operation and stacking some plays in the passing game during team and situation drills will be an encouraging sight to see from this unit.
Adam: The Buffalo Bills have been battling their fair share of injuries on both sides of the football. Once again, it looks as though the team may be without both starting safeties, Cole Bishop and Taylor Rapp. Now, both have progressed and are doing some warm-up drills in practice, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to suit up and compete in the preseason contest.
With first-round pick CB Maxwell Hairston also out, the defensive backfield is depleted in Buffalo. Damar Hamlin, Cam Lewis, and fifth-round rookie Jordan Hancock will look to take the lion’s share of the S work if both Rapp and Bishop are down again. As for CB, it’ll be another look at Tre White opposite Christian Benford with Cam Lewis, Dorian Strong, Dane Jackson and even Ja’Marcus Ingram getting some reps in.
During the first preseason game, specifically with the injuries to the secondary, White was targeted heavily during the team’s first few series. Jackson was burned on a long touchdown; the secondary was targeted and rightfully so. How they bounce back against Williams could go a long way with fans worried about how the team may compete during the regular season.
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