The Buffalo Payments beat the Cleveland Browns 31-7 for the second straight resounding preseason win, and after the rating was 7-7 within the first quarter — post-lightning delay — Joe Brady’s membership dominated for the rest of the sport.
You may learn staffer what Sean Murphy’s wrote his replenish/inventory down piece instantly following the victory, and Fernando Schmude posted his observational pocket book from this contest. Test ’em.
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These have been my takeaways from this convincing Payments win.
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New developmental items are arriving
Through the Brandon Beane period, the Payments have performed a outstanding job creating high-caliber skills who enter the league with uncooked talent units. Look no additional than Josh Allen. However Ed Oliver, Dawson Knox, Spencer Brown, Greg Rousseau, James Prepare dinner, and Cole Bishop are different examples of these project-y varieties who’ve blossomed inside the Payments group since arriving in Orchard Park.
And the subsequent wave is arriving.
Landon Jackson, a 2025 choice that at all times felt like a decide for 2026, seems to be locked and loaded within the 4i – 5tech function. Not simply bigger, thicker, and prepared for soiled work. However he maintained his explosiveness by means of his offseason physique transformation — and keep in mind, he ran 4.68 with a 40.5-inch vertical at 6’6″ and 264 kilos on the 2025 NFL Mix. He is formally a scary specimen for opposing offensive traces.
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T.J. Sanders, whom I wrote about as the last word X-factor on this 12 months’s Buffalo protection, seems to be extra motivated and with extra pop in his palms than a season in the past. Even Jordan Hancock, who was in all probability the least project-y of this youth motion on protection due to all of the hats he wore at Ohio State, seems primed to be a magnet to the soccer together with his 4.46 velocity and 41.5-inch vertical explosiveness. Do not sleep on new swing sort out Tylan Grable, Jalon Kilgore, Keleki Latu, or rookie Ar’maj Reed-Adams both.
After a fabulous 2022 draft class that featured Prepare dinner, Terrel Bernard, Khalil Shakir, and Christian Benford, the Payments’ clear hits had been a bit extra spotty. However with the brand new upside-based initiatives beginning to arrive, these drafting perceptions will change in 2026.
The Payments are out of the blue loaded at RB and TE
Certain, they have been working towards backups in Cleveland on Saturday, however they too, are backups, and have been on the sector with Payments backups — Buffalo’s working backs have been sensational within the group’s second preseason recreation.
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As a longtime advocate of ready for working backs within the draft, due to the excess of succesful skills obtainable on Day 3 I am actually satisfied that if Phillip Wheeler wanted to take regular-season carries behind the Payments beginning offensive line he might be completely high-quality as a complementary piece to the membership’s run recreation. The identical goes for Frank Gore Jr.
Wheeler has pressured 5 missed tackles on 21 preseason makes an attempt so far — good for a 23.8% missed sort out pressured price, and something above 20% is high-end for a working again. He additionally has a pair of 10-plus yard runs and a hefty 3.24 yards-after-contact-per-rush common. Gore has pressured six missed tackles on simply 16 makes an attempt, good for a 37.5% MTF price. He has three runs of 10 or extra yards.
I went into the coaching camp with a low-key concern in regards to the depth in Buffalo’s backfield. That concern has vanished. Severely. In the event that they’re referred to as upon this season — both from the 53-man roster or by way of practice-squad elevation, these two will likely be prepared.
The identical goes for the tight finish group, though with Dalton Kincaid, Knox, and Jackson Hawes, all of us presumed the Payments have been deep at that place. However because it at present stands, Keleki Latu and even Shane Zylstra have performed sufficient to legitimately deepen Buffalo’s tight-end room.
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Zylstra had three snags for 29 yards — that featured 13 yards after the catch and two first downs — towards the Browns, and for the second-straight week, was a ferocious blocker for the run and cross recreation. Latu blocked his behind off towards the Panthers and was a formidable edge-protecting presence in cross safety towards Cleveland. Plus, at north of 6’6″ and 250-plus kilos, he is truly most tantalizing as a receiver.
There’s extra range to this Payments offense
After all Brady wasn’t exhibiting something remotely near his full hand in the course of the preseason, but what he has proven has been a formidable array of pre-snap alignments and play-calling.
Kyle Allen’s utilized play-action on simply over 31% of his drop backs. Shane Buechele’s thrown off play-action 52.4% of the time, and 5 of Josh Allen’s 9 drop backs featured play-action. HELLO. And lots of of those play-action drop backs have come from underneath middle. We have seen jet sweeps. Jumbo seems to be. Hole-scheme working. Exterior zone. Tunnel screens. Pitch performs. Exterior screens. Deep overs. Shot performs down the sideline. Extra utilization of the center of the sector on the intermediate stage.
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I do not wish to try to glean an excessive amount of from these first two preseason video games from a schematic offensive perspective, however assuming there’s been little to no game-planning, and we have solely gotten a sliver of Brady’s full-scale offense, I am assured venturing a guess the Payments will likely be throwing the kitchen sink at opposing defenses this season.
Buffalo’s run matches on protection really feel extra pressing and basically sound
The Payments have surrendered 3.1 yards per carry in consecutive preseason video games. Sure, it is simply the preseason, however in watching the movie, Buffalo’s run-defense unit feels noticeably extra buttoned up and quicker to the soccer from all 11 gamers on the sector.
I can not say I do know all of the intricacies of Jim Leonhard’s run-defensive philosophy and the way he coaches it in a different way than Sean McDermott or any of theBills defensive coordinators in the course of the McDermott period.
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However I’ve a hunch Leonhard’s public feedback in regards to the seriousness of tackling reliability have one thing to do with it, and I am going to actually be monitoring this in the course of the common season. In 2025, the Payments averaged 8.8 missed tackles per recreation in the course of the common season. They have been credited with seven missed tackles towards the Panthers and simply 4 towards the Browns.
After all, people make tackles, and lots of the gamers who noticed the sector in Cleveland for each the Payments and Browns will not be taking part in a lot — if in any respect — as soon as the common season arrives.
However collectively I’ve seen fewer out-of-control tackling makes an attempt and extra defenders getting squared up with their ball-carrying targets.
And Buffalo’s defensive entrance, distinctly taking part in extra read-and-react than previous iterations, has been noticeably harder for working backs to search out creases by means of.
