Tag: damien harris

Damien Harris caps Bills’ opening drive vs. Bears with touchdown in debut (video)

Josh Allen with a nice throw and the rush caps the #Bills opening drive:

The Buffalo Bills starters showed what most will believe are their true colors against the Chicago Bears.

After struggling in the second week of the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo put their starters back on the field during the exhibition finale against the Bears.

If the goal was to build some confidence and bounce back? Checkmate.

The Bills put together a 12 play, 72-yard drive on their first drive on offense.

That came after the defense had a three-and-out, too.

Quarterback Josh Allen was 5-for-7 for 49 yards on the drive. He extended it on third-and-long by rolling out of the pocket and completing a pass to Gabe Davis. In the end, it was Damien Harris, who was making his Bills debut, who capped the drive with a score.

Allen’s completion to Davis is in the first video:

The Harris touchdown can be found in the clip below:

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Bills at Bears: 6 storylines to watch for in preseason finale

#Bills at #Bears will conclude the preseason, but there are still plenty of storylines for this week:

Here are six Buffalo Bills storylines to watch for during the lead up to the teamā€™s final preseason matchup against the Chicago Bears on Saturday:

Bills vs. Steelers: 7 storylines to watch for in second preseason game

#Bills vs. #Steelers: 7 storylines to watch for in second preseason game:

Here are seven Buffalo Bills storylines to watch for during the lead up to the teamā€™s second preseason matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Bills’ Damien Harris returns to practice, positive step for Terrel Bernard

#Bills’ Damien Harris returns to practice, positive step for Terrel Bernard:

There were positives to be found on the Buffalo Bills injury report during their Wednesday training camp practice regarding two players hoping to prove they deserve more playing time.

Returning to workouts for the first time since last week was running back Damien Harris. He had been dealing with a knee injury which kept him off the field for Buffalo’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

Harris missing time allowed Latavius Murray to get an extended run against the Colts and he played well. Pending his health staying positive, Harris will see his first snaps as a Bill in the team’s next exhibition contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

Linebacker Terrel Bernard is factoring into the discussion to replace Tremaine Edmunds at middle linebacker. He missed the Indy matchup due to a hamstring injury, allowing Tyrel Dodson to see extended playing time.

While Bernard is not fully back on the field, he was working out on the sideline, along with cornerback Cam Lewis (groin) for the first time since being injured.

A final note: Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was a full participant for the first time since being activated from the PUP list (shoulder).

A clip of Harris back at Bills practice can be found via the WHEC-TV below:

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Bills’ Sean McDermott ‘working through’ return to coordinator duties

#Bills’ Sean McDermott ‘working through’ return to coordinator duties:

The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts at home 23-19 in their preseason opener.

The game was the first of the preseason for the team and head coach McDermott, who made his return to defensive play calling in the contest. The last time that McDermott was a defensive coordinator was with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2016 prior to becoming the Bills head coach.

He is known for being an aggressive play caller as a DC, which was noticeably on display during Saturday’s game.

The Bills defense mirrored that aggressiveness on the field, attacking the pocket and logging six quarterback hits and three sacks on the day in a strong showing despite a high number of penalties.

McDermott spoke after the game about those strengths, the need for consistency, and clean play.

“I thought there were some good things, we showed moments of our standard that we hold ourselves to, but not enough though,” The head coach said to the press. “We have to be more consistent starting with penalties, more discipline on pre-snap penalties because it hurts you.”

McDermott’s playcalling on defense helped make a difference early, opting to blitz on a second down play during the gameā€™s first series in which defensive back Saran Neal forced rookie Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to throw an interception that set up the Billsā€™ first touchdown.

“Iā€™m still working through the communication piece,” McDermott added. “A preseason game is a little bit different than a regular-season game. Weā€™ll go back, just like we do with the players, and evaluate that and talk about some areas that weā€™ve got to improve on. It was just kind of getting on the same cadence, when Iā€™m going to be in certain spots and when I need information at times, and make sure that information is readily available when I need it.

Still, the coach noted, “It was a pretty good first game.”

The Bills defense is aiming to bounce back from last season’s injuries and return to the upper ranks of the NFL once again under McDermott and the teams’ coaching staff.

“It was fun to be back out there, rolling up my sleeves a little bit but still working through the communication piece.”

 

Bills injury update: Ed Oliver returns, Damien Harris remains out

#Bills injury update: Ed Oliver returns, Damien Harris remains out:

The final day of Buffalo Bills training camp on Thursday featured the likes of players going different directions on the injury report.

A day prior, defensive tackle Ed Oliver (back), running back Damien Harris (knee) and cornerback Cam Lewis (groin) missed the workout.

At the top, Oliver returned. He missed two practices, but his back issue was described as “soreness,” so it never appeared to be a serious problem.

Similarly, Harris had his back injury described as “soreness.” However, Harris did not partake in the final day of Bills camp. Per The Athletic, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott did note that Harris was heading in the “right direction” regarding the issue.

In addition, Lewis, who avoided a head injury only to go on and tweak his groin earlier this week, was out as well.

It’s unclear if Harris or Lewis will be back in the lineup in time to face the Indianapolis Colts in the Bills’ preseason opener. Buffalo and Indy kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

In the case of Oliver, McDermott said starters will play approximately a quarter of the game on Saturday.

Bills Wire will continue to provide updates as information is made available.

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Damien Harris joins growing injury list at Bills practice

Thankfully most don’t sound too serious:

The Buffalo Bills were healthy through the early stages of 2023 training camp. But a familiar foe from last season is creeping into the picture.

Running back Damien Harris missed the team’s practice on Wednesday due to a knee injury. It was described as “soreness.” According to The Athletic, Harris was injured on Tuesday and left practice and put in some time on a bike on the sideline but he did not return to the field.

The description and Harris putting in the cycling thankfully makes it sound less serious. But Harris, who signed a one-year deal in Buffalo this offseason, does have a history with injury so the coaching staff might be giving him the day off in order to keep him healthy for the Bills’ first preseason game on Saturday.

Harris joins the likes of cornerback Cam Lewis and defensive tackle Ed Oliver who have also been recently dinged up in practice.

Starting with the latter, Oliver’s situation is similar to Harris as he missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday due to back “soreness.”

Lewis is a bit more up in the air. After avoiding a head injury, Lewis has missed the same amount of time due to a groin injury.

It’s unclear when any of the trio will return to the lineup.

On the positive side, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins and quarterback Josh Allen returned to practice on Wednesday after briefly leaving Tuesday’s session.

Bills Wire will provide updates when information is made available.

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WATCH: RB Damien Harris mic’d up during Bills training camp

WATCH: RB Damien Harris mic’d up during #Bills training camp:

Running back Damien Harris inked a one-year deal with the Bills this offseason. He’s set to feature in a revamped backfield which we now know will include a talkative guy who likes to make sure everyone around him knows he’s mic’d up.

Get to know Harris a little bit better in the YouTube clip above which features Harris mic’d up during a recent training camp practice.

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