(Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part weekly series with Olean native Colby Cummings, a trading analyst at BetRivers, on the current nature of sports betting. Today, betting on the Bills in an uncertain season.)
AP
Much has changed in Buffalo and Arizona in the four years since the teams last met in the desert, when Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray sealed a 32-30 win with a last-second touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins. The play was instantly dubbed the “Hail Murray.” The two non-conference teams meet for the first time since to open the season at the Bills on Sunday. In Arizona, Murray is seeking to reclaim his place among the NFL's elite after missing 11 months spanning the 2022-23 seasons with a torn ACL. In Buffalo, the four-time defending AFC East champions are coming off an offseason overhaul that led to the departures of six of eight captains.
Like it or not, narratives play a big part in who wins awards, especially in sports.
ORCHARD PARK — The fear has swept over Bills fans before as they’ve watched a preseason darling emerge:
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have sat atop the AFC East for four straight years. Their drive for five could prove to be the toughest task of all.
On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills made their final decisions to get their roster down to 53 players before the NFL’s 4 p.m. deadline.
ORCHARD PARK — Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Joe Andreessen has made the team’s initial 53-man roster after a standout performance during the preseason, a source tells Syracuse.com.
ORCHARD PARK — The first touchdown of the Buffalo Bills’ preseason belonged to Darrynton Evans and Ben DiNucci.
ORCHARD PARK — Bryce Young made Panthers coach Dave Canales’ decision easy in determining how long he was going to keep the Panthers’ starting offense on the field in their preseason finale at Buffalo on Saturday.
OLEAN — Fans of two popular Buffalo Bills wide receivers can show their support while shopping locally after a recent catch for the Sports Locker’s marketing and e-commerce department.
ORCHARD PARK — Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are two of the wide receivers Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane brought in this offseason to offset Stefon Diggs’s and Gabe Davis’s departure.
ORCHARD PARK — The debate among Buffalo Bills fans on social media has raged since Saturday on whether rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman should have caught a would-be touchdown pass from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
The Bills Mafia are known for breaking tables ahead of regular season games at Highmark Stadium. In a high-stakes costume contest, one Buffalo Bills fan used that tailgating experience to bring home the trophy and a once-in-a-lifetime prize.
ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills face the prospect of limping into the regular season with a mounting number of injured players, who now include receivers Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, safety Damar Hamlin and backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
Fans who tuned in to see the promised quarter-and-a-half of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills’ starters instead got a look at the Greg Rousseau and Joe Andreessen show.
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Wilson has been playing football for a long time. He’s well-versed in the rhythms of a season. The highs and lows and everything in between.
PITTSBURGH—The Buffalo Bills plan to play quarterback Josh Allen and the starters for about a quarter and a half against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
AP
Russell Wilson is expected to be in the lineup when the Pittsburgh Steelers host Buffalo in their second preseason game. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says Wilson will run out with the starters as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks from a calf injury that has slowed him during training camp. Tomlin estimates the starters will play about four series against the Bills, though he may shorten that if Wilson and company find early success. The Steelers signed the 35-year-old nine-time Pro Bowler to a one-year deal in March.
The Buffalo Bills will once again have to make due without the backbone of their defense with linebacker Matt Milano out indefinitely and expected to miss at least the first few months of the season with a torn left biceps.
ORCHARD PARK — Joe Andreessen remembers stepping foot on this field before, seven or eight years ago.
AP
The Buffalo Bills placed receiver Chase Claypool and third-string quarterback Shane Buechele on injured reserve. The Bills also made several moves to restock their injury-depleted roster. Buffalo signed quarterback Ben DiNucci and receivers Damiere Byrd and Deon Cain, all to one-year contracts. The Bills also released receiver Bryan Thompson. Claypool’s bid to revive his career with Buffalo appears over as a result of a toe injury that led to the fifth-year player missing a majority of training camp. The Bills signed Claypool in May after trading Stefon Diggs to Houston and losing Gabe Davis in free agency.
ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills placed receiver Chase Claypool and third-string quarterback Shane Buechele on injured reserve on Tuesday and made several other moves to restock their injury-depleted roster.
ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills are in the market for quarterback depth after coach Sean McDermott on Monday announced third-stringer Shane Buechele is out indefinitely with a neck injury.
ORCHARD PARK — Though the ever-confident quarterback never doubted himself, Caleb Williams still found his NFL preseason debut performance reassuring in helping lead the Chicago Bears to a 33-6 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
ORCHARD PARK — Sean McDermott indicated this week his starters, including Josh Allen, would play the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason opener. He was precise, in Allen’s case.
PITTSFORD — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott announced on Thursday that quarterback Josh Allen and the starters will play for about a quarter in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears at Highmark Stadium.
PITTSFORD — Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is supposed to be one of the top contributors to a passing game that aims to replace Stefon Diggs’s lost production.
PITTSFORD — Logan Bittner never dreamed the two friendship bracelets the 10-year-old made and included in a letter welcoming receiver Keon Coleman to Buffalo in May would ever catch the Bills rookie’s attention.
Khalil Shakir laughed off the suggestion he’s “the vet” now.
PITTSFORD (AP) — The Buffalo Bills shored up an injury-depleted position by signing safety Terrell Burgess to a one-year contract on Wednesday.
PITTSFORD — Buffalo Bills backup offensive lineman Alec Anderson is expected to be released from the hospital following a brief stay in which he was treated for heat-related illness symptoms, the team announced on Tuesday.
PITTSFORD — The Buffalo Bills added depth to their retooled safety position by signing Kareem Jackson to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
PITTSFORD — The Bills don’t have a No. 1 receiver, or at least a proven one, yet. But could they have one at tight end?
PITTSFORD — No charges have been filed, and Von Miller said Thursday that he considers the case of him allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend as being closed based on feedback the Buffalo Bills edge rusher got from his legal representatives.
After a summer of change, the Bills are back and in front of fans for their first training camp practice of 2024.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed veteran linebacker Tyler Matakevich to a one-year contract, the team announced on Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Buffalo Bills for joint practice sessions to close out training camp in advance of the teams’ first preseason game Aug, 17.
The Buffalo Bills released their 2024 training camp schedule on Monday. Buffalo will once again be returning to St. John Fisher University with fans having the opportunity to attend 10 practices. Training camp practices begin on Wednesday, July 24th and run through Thursday, August 8.
ORCHARD PARK — Wide-eyed, engaging and athletic, Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman has much to offer, be it tips on when to land the best deals for winter coats to using his lean 6-foot-4 frame and long muscular arms to snatch balls thrown over his head or behind him.
ORCHARD PARK — Gable Steveson thought he achieved the impossible with his stunning last-second takedown of three-time world wrestling champion Geno Petriashvili to win gold at the Tokyo Games.
ORCHARD PARK — Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano has been cleared to resume practicing, with coach Sean McDermott on Tuesday saying the seven-year starter is projected to be a full-go once training camp opens next month.
ORCHARD PARK — Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady has no intention of making big changes after having the interim tag removed from his title during an offseason that featured a departure of some of Buffalo’s top playmakers.
ORCHARD PARK — Gone are the days of the mighty smurfs in the wide receivers room of the Buffalo Bills.
ORCHARD PARK — Chase Claypool arrived in Buffalo without any illusions pertaining to the state of his NFL career.
The last few seasons, fans have grown accustomed to staying up late to watch their Bills. Get ready to do more of that, at least early in the 2024 season.
ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills have signed yet another receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, to reshape a position group that lost two starters, including Stefon Diggs.
John Murphy is looking for what’s next.
DENVER — Joe Collier, the former Buffalo Bills head coach and architect of the Denver Broncos’ famed “Orange Crush” defense, has died. He was 91.
The Buffalo Bills signed veteran wide receiver Chase Claypool and defensive end Dawuane Smoot to one-year contracts on Friday.
The Buffalo Bills are adding a former Pro Bowl linebacker to their roster as their build to 90 players continues.
