ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As the Bills opened up their 2025 preseason schedule on Saturday afternoon, Bills head coach Sean McDermott did so with a specific plan for most of his starting players.

While the team rested quarterback Josh Allen, the majority of their healthy starters took at least the first two series. Over the years, McDermott has shifted some of his preseason philosophy, though he generally likes to give the most important players work in live action against another team.

The Bills lost their preseason opener to the Giants, a second-half see-saw that landed with a 34-25 score in favor of the visitors, but McDermott and his staff got some valuable information along the way.

Here are several takeaways and how they can inform the team moving forward.

A tale of two days for big-name veteran starters

For the Bills to make progress on defense, they’re depending on two longtime starting players in the NFL to push them forward: defensive end Joey Bosa and cornerback Tre’Davious White. They brought Bosa to Buffalo to start opposite Greg Rousseau and boost their pass rush in the playoffs. They brought in White, not knowing if he’d be their starter, but due to rookie Maxwell Hairston’s multi-week knee injury, it certainly seems like he will begin the regular season as a starter. Both players received two defensive series in their 2025 Bills debut, but Bosa had the far more successful day.

Bosa put together some good rushes off the edge and provided stability as a run defender, whether it was in edge contain or crashing down to the middle and attempting to tackle the runner from behind. Although Bosa isn’t the prototypical speed rusher off the edge, his power will provide a high-quality baseline to help the overall attack. The bigger question is about his durability, and it seemed to be a positive sign that Bosa took 13 of the team’s first 17 snaps — penalties included.

White played every snap of the first two series, but it was a bit of a miss. The Giants targeted him on underneath throws, with receivers getting separation. After a catch was made in front of White, the cornerback had some difficulty bringing down the ball carrier to minimize the gain. Tackling has never been White’s strong suit, but it was less of an issue earlier in his career when his coverage skills were at their best. It’s only one game, and White has had a strong training camp. It’s something to monitor over the next few weeks ahead of the regular season to see if it becomes a trend.

Deone Walker had some flashes, T.J. Sanders was subtle but more impressive

Once the team’s young duo of defensive tackles finally got into the game, second-round pick T.J. Sanders and fourth-round pick Deone Walker each had their moments. Both of Walker’s great reps came as a pass-rusher when he faced a one-on-one opportunity. Those are the reps the Bills love to see out of a young player, and it is promising that they have someone his size, 6-foot-7 and 331 pounds, that can be a plus pass rusher. The big question is whether he could become their long-term one-technique defensive tackle, taking on double teams, occupying space and freeing up his teammates on early downs. That’s where Walker has practiced for most of the summer. It is worth noting that his two great reps came from the three-technique spot. One of them came when he and Sanders made a role switch right before the snap due to the offensive formation.

The great reps from Sanders were more common, albeit more on the subtle side, but you can see the makings of what can be a potentially impactful player as early as his first season. Sanders was winning one-on-one pass-rushing reps during his time in the game. However, his work against the run was more impressive. Despite being undersized (6-foot-4, 297 pounds) by NFL standards, Sanders showed well in taking on a double team, holding his ground and freeing up the run-defending lane for his second-level defenders to make a play. Showing well on the dirty work, in addition to the flashy plays, will help him earn a solid role as a rookie. Sanders has been on a slow ascent since the pads went on in the first week of training camp. The Bills might have a good one in their second-round pick.

Jordan Hancock’s natural skills showed why free safety might be the best position for him. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

Jordan Hancock thrives in his first game at safety

At the beginning of training camp, the Bills followed through with cross-training fifth-round rookie Jordan Hancock at nickel and safety, likely hoping to make him another versatile defensive back they can dress for game day with confidence. However, since the Bills have been dealing with injuries to Cole Bishop and Taylor Rapp, Hancock has majored at safety for most of the practice week. That included their first preseason game, in which Hancock played exclusively at safety. In the game, he showed exactly why some of his natural skills and instincts lend themselves to thinking his ultimate best position might wind up being in the deep middle as the free safety.

Hancock’s read-and-anticipate skills routinely put him in a good position against the Giants. Whether it was taking away a throwing window or charging down with confidence to make a tackle, Hancock’s debut was impressive. Later in the game, Giants quarterback Jameis Winston airmailed a throw, and although it was a gimme of a catch for Hancock, he put himself in the right position to make a play. The turnover was ultimately nullified due to an offsides penalty on rookie defensive end Landon Jackson, but Hancock’s ability to make the play when given the chance was noted. Hancock still has a lot of room to grow, but there are signs of a good player here. Of the team’s Day 3 (Rounds 4 to 7) selections in 2025, he has been the most impressive of the bunch. If he develops correctly, there may even be some down-the-line starting ability at free safety, but he’s got a long road before that enters the conversation.

Defensive line pecking order shown?

The first preseason game is always an exercise in evaluating the team’s initial thoughts on its new pieces. It doesn’t get much different from 2024 to 2025 than what the Bills have on the defensive line. The Bills had specific pairings by position without any mixing and matching through the top six at each position — all of whom have a good case to be on the team in 2025. The defensive ends began with Rousseau (left DE) and Bosa (right DE), the next pairing had Michael Hoecht (left DE) with A.J. Epenesa (right DE), and they were followed up by the younger duo of Javon Solomon (mostly left DE) and Jackson (mostly right DE).

At defensive tackle, the Bills kept the obvious starting pair of Ed Oliver (three-technique) and DaQuan Jones (one-technique) together. The first substitute pair in the game was Larry Ogunjobi (mostly three-technique) with DeWayne Carter (mostly one-technique), followed by the rookie pairing of Sanders (mostly three-technique) and Walker (mostly one-technique). The defensive end rotation feels a bit more set in stone than the defensive tackle one at this point, but it’s an intriguing jumping off point to the year.

Quick hits

Cole Bishop, Curtis Samuel get warmup reps — Although the Bills have gone several practices without projected starting safety Cole Bishop (quad) and rotational wide receiver Curtis Samuel (hamstring), the duo took a potential step forward on Saturday. Bishop and Samuel went through warmups, which is the most on-field work they’ve done since their injuries occurred. While it doesn’t mean they’ll play against the Bears next week, it’s a promising sign.

Laviska Shenault, the ST chess piece? — McDermott said that the team was “intentional” in giving Laviska Shenault as many reps as they did. The Bills had Shenault return a kickoff, return a punt, on kickoff coverage, as a gunner on punt coverage, and they even put him out wide to block the Giants’ gunner on punt return. Having that many hats to wear on special teams is a potentially promising sign, especially if he shows some ability as a returner. Put his receiving ability in the mix for the occasional play, and that’s a potentially versatile piece to keep. There’s a long way to go, but that was quite the eye-opening role debut for Shenault.

Bills trying to see what Lundt can do — When the Bills took offensive tackle prospect Chase Lundt in the sixth round, they were getting a player who spent almost all of his college time at right tackle, and that seemed to be a bit of the early lean for him in Bills camp. But in the first preseason game, the Bills tried to see if there was some versatility in Lundt’s game. They began the rookie at left tackle, and then as the game wore on, they kicked him inside to right guard. Despite the two positions not being his natural spot, Lundt played pretty well. Where Lundt might have been on the outside looking in on the 53-man roster before the game, he put enough good reps on film that the Bills might be scared to put him on waivers.

A matter of perspective on Edefuan Ulofoshio — Without Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams or Shaq Thompson available to play, the Bills had an interesting linebacker rotation. Matt Milano and Joe Andreessen started the game, with Andreessen playing the entire first half. When Milano came out of the game after the first two series, the player entering the lineup was undrafted rookie Keonta Jenkins — not Edefuan Ulofoshio, their 2024 fifth-round pick. That could be an ominous sign. When Ulofoshio entered the game, he was calling the huddle as the middle linebacker, which is a shift from his usual outside linebacker role as a rookie. It may not be a promising sign, as Ulofoshio was the fourth one in with three linebackers already out, but perhaps they’re trying to see the entire picture before deciding whether or not to move on at final cuts.

Brad Robbins has so-so debut as punter — Saturday represented the Bills’ first chance to see Robbins punting in a game situation, and after a strong punt of 43 net yards to begin his day, his next three had a net average of only 35 yards. He had another really good net punt of 57 yards near the end of the game, but it was quite an uneven showing. He averaged 4.52 seconds of hang time, along with a net yardage of 40.9 yards. For context, that net average would have been tied for 25th in the NFL last year, and ironically, tied with the Bills’ 2024 punter, Sam Martin.

Did not play: QB Josh Allen (rest), RB James Cook (business), WR Khalil Shakir (ankle), WR Curtis Samuel (hamstring), WR Kaden Prather (hamstring), RT Spencer Brown (back), OL Alec Anderson (knee), OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf), OL Tylan Grable (concussion), LB Terrel Bernard (hamstring), LB Dorian Williams (calf), LB Shaq Thompson (hamstring), CB Maxwell Hairston (knee), S Cole Bishop (quad), S Taylor Rapp (knee), K Tyler Bass (pelvis).

(Top photo of Joey Bosa: Tina MacIntyre-Yee / USA Today)