The Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills enter the 2021 NFL preseason in very different places, with the Bills aiming for the Super Bowl this year while the Lions look to get back to respectability. Here, both teams look to evaluate their rosters in the preseason. While we’re unlikely to see much of either team’s best talent, there is still plenty of value in this preseason contest.
Buffalo Bills
For the Buffalo Bills, the preseason isn’t going to impact their starters at all, as the key portions of their roster have already been fleshed out given all of their success last season. But there are some interesting battles going on beneath the starters. The most interesting of those battles will take place at the quarterback position, where all three players below Josh Allen on the depth chart will look to impress and stake their claim to a roster spot.
Mitchell Trubisky is the primary backup for the Bills thus far, with Davis Webb and Jake Fromm being in the third and fourth spots. While Trubisky’s spot on the roster seems to be the safest to this point, strong play from Webb and Fromm during the preseason could change that. Expect all three quarterbacks to play with a sense of urgency, though their talent level might not be enough to produce in this preseason opener.
Elsewhere, fans and bettors shouldn’t expect too much from the Bills. They have proven themselves as one of the top contenders in the league currently. Therefore, they will not feel the same sense of urgency as teams looking to join them at the top of the NFL.
Detroit Lions
As for the Detroit Lions, roster evaluations will be important in this matchup. But just as important will be setting the cultural tone of the Dan Campbell era in Detroit, as the team looks to erase the last two decades of ineptitude under their new coach. Campbell, above all else, will be looking for those players he does call upon in this game to play hard and to have the attitude that has been lacking in Detroit.
On the field, the Lions have plenty of interesting position battles worth keeping an eye on. Skill position players at wide receiver and running back all have a chance to break into the top-two or three at their positions, as the team lacks depth in both of those key areas. And with the Lions’ defense lacking year after year, backups on that side of the ball will be looking to make enough of an impact to start in the future.
Pick: Lions -1
In this game, the Lions are going to be a vastly more motivated team, as they are looking to set a culture that simply did not exist previously. Buffalo, meanwhile, is going to just be aiming to get through the preseason without any injuries, as they already know that they have the pieces intact to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Expect the Lions to pull away in this game in the second half, as they have more to gain from top to bottom by giving it their all.
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