The Buffalo Bills took another loss in the preseason on Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles with a final score of 20-16, but again, who really cares about the score? The first offense was everything but impressive. The first unit of the defense on the other hand was one of the bright spots in the game.
Zay Jones
Jones made his first NFL catch today from Tyrod Taylor and continued a bit of success with Nathan Peterman. He finished the game with three catches and 42 yards. Two of his more impressive plays were an incomplete pass in the endzone and another was called back because of a penalty. Jones is going to have a much bigger role than he did a week ago going forward. Without a true number one receiver, he will be relied on as a main target. Check out this catch from late in the first half.
Jerry Hughes
What more can you say about Jerry Hughes? Out of all players who will do better switching to a 4-3 defense, Hughes might benefit the most. In Thursday’s game, Hughes had 2 tackles and one sack in a quarter of playing time. Setting the edge doesn’t show up on the stat sheet but it is what Hughes does exceptionally well. Forcing ball carriers to cut back into other defenders or try to get to the edge is vital to every defense and prevents big plays. Hughes is primed to make a lot of plays this year, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams will eat a lot of double teams leaving Hughes one-on-one with offensive tackles.