The fourth and final game of the NFL’s preseason is here for the Buffalo Bills (1-2), who like many of the teams in the league face some difficult decisions leading up to Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline to reduce the roster to 53 players.
The players who are fighting for a spot on the roster will have one last chance to impress head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane when Buffalo travels to face the Chicago Bears (2-2) at 8 p.m. Thursday.
It is widely thought that both teams will rest their starters on both sides of the ball, or at the very least, have them play in a series or two in the preseason finale. The Bears already announced that veteran third-string quarterback Tyler Bray will be under center for all of the game’s snaps, barring an injury.
Bills fans might want rookie Josh Allen to go out for a few series and put the dismal performance in Week 3 of the preseason behind him, but only McDermott knows who will start this last game of the preseason, and as of Wednesday night, McDermott was mum on his plans for the starting QB.
There are many positional battles that are still undecided:
- Wide receiver (beyond Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones, Jeremy Kerley)
- Tight end (after Charles Clay and Jason Croom, have either Nick O’Leary, Khari Lee, or Keith Towbridge done enough to make the roster?)
- Defensive end (will Mike Love or Terrence Fede make the roster as valuable depth?)
- Defensive tackle (Rickey Hatley and Adolphus Washington could use a strong showing to cement their roster spots)
- The No. 2 cornerback job (which appeared to be Vontae Davis’ until a mediocre showing against the Bengals)
- Punter, where Jon Ryan is making a push to take Colton Schmidt’s gig.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the game.
TV Schedule
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2018
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Channel: The game will be carried locally on CBS on WKBW 7 in Buffalo, WROC 8 in Rochester, WSYR 9 in Syracuse and Utica, WETM 18 in Elmira and Binghamton, WXXA 23 in Albany.
Announcers: Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Steve Tasker (analyst), Thad Brown (sideline reporter)
Location: Soldier Field | Chicago, Illinois
NFL Network replay: Saturday, September 1 at 6:00 AM ET
Radio: WGR 550AM (Buffalo), WCMF 96.5 FM and WROC 950 AM (Rochester), Fan 590 AM (Toronto), WTKW 99.5 FM and WKTV 105.5 FM (Syracuse).
Radio Play-by-Play: John Murphy and Mark Kelso in the booth with sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.
Online Streaming: Local live stream or NFL Game Pass (Free 7-Day Trial)
Bills 2018 preseason schedule:
Week 1: Carolina Panthers 28, Buffalo Bills 23
Week 2: Buffalo Bills 19, Cleveland Browns 17
Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals 26, Buffalo Bills 13
Week 4: at Chicago Bears; Thu, Aug 30, 8 p.m. ET