Cleveland Browns vs. Buffalo Bills: 5 things to watch
By Thomas Moore
Aug 13, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Dawg Pound flag after a touchdown during the first quarter of preseason NFL football game against the Washington Redskins at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns host the Buffalo Bills tonight in the second preseason friendly of the season.
The Browns had 20 players miss practice on Tuesday against Buffalo and 17 of those 20 were out because of injuries. The injuries, combined with the Browns having a nine-day break until their next preseason friendly, on Aug. 29 against Tampa Bay, has head coach Mike Pettine scrambling a bit to come up with an appropriate plan for tonight’s game.
Related: Browns vs. Bills – Game time, channel info
“We feel like we are close to getting some of our guys back, and also with the long break to Tampa, that is kind of a nice luxury to have,” Pettine said. “We will get some of our guys back. We feel we will be much better off headed into that [game], assuming we can get through Thursday night pretty clean.
“I think what we would like to do is time it up for Tampa that we can have as many of our ones and key backups out there and get some quality work then. We are looking to get some solid work done Thursday night.”
While tonight’s game may not be as important as next week’s traditional “dress rehearsal,” there are several storylines to follow as the Browns continue preparing for the opening of the 2015 NFL season.
Next: Stepping up in the seconardy