The Buffalo Bills get their preseason started Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium, and while Joe Brady would like the first game in the new building to end with a win, he’s treating it as something more practical: a chance to evaluate.
“We're competitive in everything we do, right?” Brady said Thursday.
That competitive edge is there, sure. But Brady also made clear that this opener against the Carolina Panthers is about much more than the final score.
The Bills aren’t game-planning for this one, and the coaching staff wants to spend the afternoon watching technique, execution and how each player handles his job in live action. The bigger goal is sorting through the roster and moving closer to the right 53 for Week 1 at Houston.
“I don't want the guys to think this game matters,” Brady said. “Like it matters to me, it matters to our guys; a lot of the guys, this is their life.
But there's also a component of, I just want to be able to see. We're not game planning.
I just want to be able to see guys play technique and be able go out there and execute and do their job.”
If you’re looking to watch, the Bills and Panthers kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
The game will air on CBS, with local coverage on WROC channel 8 in the Rochester area and WIVB channel 4 in the Buffalo area. Outside those markets, viewers should check local listings.
For streaming, the game can be watched on NFL.com and through the NFL mobile app. NFL+ is also available, but games on that service can’t be cast to a TV and must be watched on a phone or tablet.
The betting line has Buffalo as a 2.5-point favorite, with the over-under set at 38.5. On the money line, the Bills are minus-155 and the Panthers are plus-130.
Andrew Catalon will handle play-by-play, with Steve Tasker as analyst and Maddy Glab reporting from the sideline.
Radio listeners can find the game on SiriusXM channel 225 for the Bills feed and channel 380 for the Panthers feed, or on the Bills Radio Network. That broadcast features Chris Brown on play-by-play, Eric Wood as analyst and Steve Tasker on the sideline.
The Bills Radio Network includes stations in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Utica, Dunkirk, Hornell, Elmira, Jamestown, Olean, Ogdensburg, Watertown, Bradford, Pa., Cortland/Ithaca, Auburn, Geneva, Binghamton, Newark, Cobleskill/Schoharie, Williamsport, Pa., Erie, Pa., New York City, West Palm Beach, Fla., Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
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