The Buffalo Bills began their 2025 preseason with a 34-25 defeat against the New York Giants at Highmark Stadium. Despite the loss, the team accumulated nearly 400 yards of offense.
The Bills chose to rest starting quarterback Josh Allen for the opener. Mitchell Trubisky started the first half, followed by Mike White and Shane Buechele in the second half. The trio combined for 341 passing yards on 27 completions out of 38 attempts. Trubisky threw one touchdown pass, while White added two more in the second half.
“Both of those guys did some good things,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “They moved the team down the field at times.”
Trubisky led a six-play, 68-yard drive in the second quarter that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox. He also connected with wide receiver Tyrell Shavers late in the first half to set up a field goal by Caden Davis.
“It was great to get some reps with the ones, build some chemistry with them. I just thought our communication in the huddle was solid. Just wanted to start a little faster and be better on third down,” Trubisky said.
White entered after halftime and, following an initial three-and-out, led back-to-back scoring drives. On one play, he adjusted protection against a blitz and completed a deep touchdown pass to KJ Hamler.
“Sent to protection left, and knew my issue was coming from left, so roll right, eyes downfield. KJ did a great job of getting free and scoring. Honestly, he did all the hard work,” White said.
White later found Darrynton Evans for another touchdown and connected with Laviska Shenault on a two-point conversion.
“I think everybody settled down, had some fun, and we caught fire,” White said. “We ended up moving the ball down the field, scoring two touchdowns, and getting a two-point. It was fun.”
Buechele finished out the game at quarterback with 91 passing yards on 10 completions from 12 attempts but lost yardage after a bad snap.
In an unusual moment during special teams play, running back Ray Davis kicked an extra point after Knox’s touchdown as part of an emergency preparedness drill prompted by previous experiences where teams lost their kicker before or during games.
“I just feel like, what if it happens in a game? We’ve been on the other side of it where a team has lost their kicker, I think it was in pregame warmups a few years back. So, you make a mental note of that and saying, hey, what if it happened to us?” McDermott explained.
He compared it to “a pit stop in racing,” describing how coaches quickly changed Davis’ shoe before his successful kick.
“I wanted to see what it would look like. It’s different than doing it in practice,” McDermott said. “We’ve always practiced it, but the transition, right?… but it was really good pit stop. And then the execution, so really cool to watch.”
Davis recounted: “Once Dawson scored, we were on the sideline trying to get my shoe on. I think it was halfway on when I kicked that in,” he laughed.
McDermott clarified this would likely remain a one-time occurrence: “Now we’re a little bit tested at least. I don’t plan on doing it again this preseason. I think once is enough.”
On defense, Buffalo limited New York’s rushing attack to just over three yards per carry (79 yards on 25 carries). However, third-down efficiency remained an issue as they allowed conversions on nearly half of New York’s attempts while converting only one out of nine themselves offensively.
Afterward, McDermott provided an update regarding running back James Cook’s contract situation and participation status:
“James and I had a good conversation yesterday. We talked about warming up, he agreed to warm up, but not play, due to his situation right now. That’s where we’re at. So, no change, really, overall,” McDermott said.
