Another round of preseason action in the NFL is coming up between the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills. Check out the matchup on Saturday, August 10, at 1:00 PM ET at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Bears are favored with a point spread of -1.5 (-110).
The Bears were successful in their preseason opener against the Houston Texans, finishing 21-17. Brett Rypien led them with three touchdowns and completed 11-15 of his pass attempts.
They finished third in the NFC North with a 7-10-0 record last season and aim to be at least a .500 team this time. Plenty of games last season did not go their way and ended in close losses, so it should be interesting to see how they respond.
Their offense accumulated 360 points, which is 21.2 points per game. This ranked 18th overall last season, so it was a little bit behind the league average.
Defensively, they allowed opposing teams to gather 379 points, or 22.3 points a game. This ranked 20th overall, so they needed a more substantial defensive presence.
The Bills had another brutal ending to their previous season, coming up short in the AFC Divisional Playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24. That stung their roster again for a "what could have been" type of season, as they have been a great team come playoff time.
They finished 11-6 in the AFC East and were a solid favorite to win the Super Bowl last season. Now, they must move forward and hope they made enough adjustments in the offseason to attempt another playoff run.
The Bills scored 451 offensive points, averaging 26.5 points a game. This ranked sixth overall in the league, making them a dangerous team to have the ball late in the game.
On defense, not many teams had blowout-type performances since they allowed 311 total points. This averaged 18.3 points per game and ranked fourth.
MyBookie has the best NFL preseason betting odds, with the Chicago Bears as 1.5-point favorites. The market shows these two teams should have a close game as they test out their options on both sides of the ball.
A handful of the Bills' offensive players will be questionable at the time of this game. No starters are expected to play here for quarterbacks, but there may be some room for other positions as both teams have added (and lost) key players due to trades or signings. The Bills are at home and are arguably a better team despite their starters.
