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As the Buffalo Bills preseason Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers approaches, let’s take a look at some bold Bills Week 3 preseason predictions for this Bills, Panthers matchup.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott has already admitted that most of the starters, including quarterback Josh Allen, will not play in the Bills, Panthers game on Friday, August 26. Just because it will be the Baby Bills on the field, though, doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of intrigue in this final Bills preseason game of 2022.
These four bold Bills preseason Week 3 predictions include a rookie running back making some noise, a veteran who will likely never suit up for the Bills again, a rookie-on-rookie starting position battle, and a bold final score prediction.
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Buffalo Bills preseason Week 3 Predictions
4. The Raheem Blackshear train will keep rolling
The rookie running back name on everyone’s lips during this Bills preseason is Raheem Blackshear. Sure, James Cook has looked excellent as well and will split time (relatively) equally with Devin Singletary and Zach Moss when the season starts. But we all expected that.
What no one saw coming is that an undrafted, former sixth-year super Senior from Virginia Tech would come in and set Buffalo's training camp on fire.
Blackshear had six carries for 11 yards, four catches for 60 yards, and two touchdowns in the Bills preseason opener vs. the Indianapolis Colts. The next week against the Denver Broncos, he put up five carries for 58 yards (including a sweet 25-yard run) and had two catches for 21 yards.
The bold Bills preseason Week 3 predictions here is that Blackshear sees the majority of the workload at RB and is again the team’s leading rusher ad top RB pass-catcher. He won’t get a lot of work early in the regular season probably, but another big game could put him in the mix later on.
3. It’s Jake Kumerow’s last game in a Bills uniform
Now we jump from a player having a great training camp to one who is not. Fifth-year wideout Jake Kumerow has not performed well overall in camp and preseason games and seems to have lost his shot to make the Buffalo roster this season.
The 30-year-old pass-catcher started training camp solidly behind Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and Jamison Crowder. After drops that have turned into interceptions in a game and an injury keeping him out of practice, Kumerow is now solidly behind rookie Khalil Shakir and Isaiah Hodgins.
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Marquez Stevenson having foot surgery does help Kumerow’s chances a little, but the Bills preseason Week 3 predictions here are that either Josh Allen’s college teammate Tanner Gentry or rookie WR from BYU Neil Pau’u take the final wideout roster spot over Kumerow.
2. Christian Benford beats out Kaiir Elam in the head-to-head rookie CB battle
The hottest position battle on the Buffalo side during the Panthers, Bills preseason game is for the starting cornerback spot across from Dane Jackson. With Tre’Davious White likely out for Week 1, a rookie will start at CB for Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier’s defense.
Will it be first-round pick Kaiir Elam or sixth-round pick Christian Benford?
While most starters won’t play against the Panthers, chances are that these two rookies will. The competition is super close between the two first-year players, so the coaches will want to give them one more game to make their cases.
It could go either way, but the bold prediction for this one is that the late-round pick out of Villanova beats out the first-rounder from Florida for the Week 1 starting spot.
1. Bills 24, Panthers 13
No starters? No problem for the Panthers, Bills Week 3 preseason game.
After beating the Colts and the Broncos, the Bills have upped their (completely meaningless) preseason winning streak to 10 games. Buffalo still has a way to go to get to the Baltimore Ravens' 22-game preseason win streak, but look for the franchise to make it 11 straight on Friday.
Sure, Buffalo isn’t playing many starters, and the Panthers will likely play more. But the Bills are so deep this year that their backups will still win the day, 24-13.
