Bills vs Steelers: Former XFL quarterback, second-year linebacker to step into spotlight

You may not think it’s all that big of a deal who the Buffalo Bills third quarterback is, but it’s a little more important than you might think in 2024, which is why switching from Shane Buechele to Ben DiNucci isn’t a throwaway transaction.

First of all, you want someone competent to run the scout team each week in practice, a guy who can give the defense a sturdy test while impersonating the upcoming opposing quarterback.

Further, with the change to the game day emergency third quarterback rules this season, teams will want a player who can come in, should the top two quarterbacks get injured, and possibly help them survive a game, maybe even win.

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Watching Buechele last week against the Bears, it did not appear he would have been capable of that, but now that he has suffered what Sean McDermott termed a significant neck injury that will likely put him out of action for an extended period, the Bills signed DiNucci in the hope that he can fulfill the responsibilities.

Last year, the emergency game-day quarterback had to be on the 53-man roster. This year, teams will be able to elevate the third quarterback from their practice squad as one of their standard two elevations per week, and there is no limit on the number of times they can do it. It’s possible DiNucci, or whoever the third QB ends up being, can be on the roster for every game if the Bills choose.

Because Josh Allen has been so durable, it seems unlikely the Bills would bring up the third QB unless either Allen or Mitch Trubisky were dealing with an injury and McDermott needed the insurance. Still, it would be nice to have someone who can perform if the need arises.

As it pertains to Saturday’s second preseason game against the Steelers, the Bills need DiNucci to get up to speed quickly because they certainly don’t want to risk playing Allen and Trubisky too long in the game. The QB situation is the first of four things I’ll be watching.

1. Can Ben DiNucci play the bulk of the snaps?

DiNucci began his college career in Pittsburgh as the backup in 2016 to Bills legend Nathan Peterman (I jest). He won the starting job in his second year, but later lost it to Kenny Pickett who wound up being the Steelers’ first-round draft pick in 2022.

DiNucci transferred to James Madison and enjoyed two nice years and finished his career ranked third in school history in completions (479), fourth in passing touchdowns (45) and passing yards (5,716) and seventh in total offense (6,718).

The Cowboys picked him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft and he actually started a game later that season, but that was the last action he’s seen in the NFL. He has 43 career attempts for 219 yards. He lasted two years in Dallas, moved on to the XFL in 2023 and a fine season led to his signing with the Broncos’ practice squad where he spent the rest of the year.

“He’s been around the league long enough to know what’s going on, and I’ve only heard great things about him,” Allen said. “I got a few texts from a few different people, and just saying, ‘you’re gonna love Ben.’ And he’s fit in well, in the quarterback room already. Happy to have him in there and get to learn from him as well. He can spin the ball, he can throw it well.”

2. Is Dorian Williams the best option to replace Matt Milano?

The second-year player and 2023 third-round pick just got thrust into the glare of the spotlight after Thursday’s news that Milano suffered a torn bicep and will miss a large chunk of the season. Is he ready for the moment?

Last year as a rookie he received valuable playing time after Milano broke his leg in London, but he was in a bit over his head, especially in pass defense.

He’s such an athletic marvel and that helped him get into position to stop running plays, but he was inconsistent as a tackler. And in pass coverage, there were too many times when he bit on play action and then was out of position, or he just flat out lost coverage. After starting the games against the Giants and Patriots in October, Williams went back to a reserve role and saw his defensive snaps dwindle.

Milano was supposed to be back, but his incredible bad luck with injuries has derailed him yet again so Williams is going to get the first chance to fill the void and in order to do so, he has to be more consistent play to play and less prone to mental errors.

For instance, last week he got lost in coverage on the play where Bears’ QB Caleb Ferguson threw a short pass to RB De’Andre Swift that resulted in a 42-yard gain. On the flip side, on Williams’ 31 snaps he recorded a team-high six tackles and had two QB pressures, one of which resulted in a sack.

“I thought some growth,” McDermott said Monday when asked to assess Williams’ play. “I saw some growth early in the game. Still a lot of work to do, but still remain very confident in Dorian. I think this week will be a big step for him.”

On Thursday, when he was asked about Williams taking over for Milano, McDermott said, “Dorian is going to do a good job. He's been making progress, and it's now not only his time to step up, but all his teammates around to step up. It's not just one person's job to fill the void, or try and fill the void left by Matt. You never can replace a player like Matt or Matt's influence. But now it's time for our team to move forward in a resilient manner and pick each other up, and guys like Dorian have to step up.”

3. The Bills need to be much more physical

We heard all the explanations (or were they excuses?) last week after the Bears manhandled the Bills on both lines of scrimmage. They hadn’t game-planned for Chicago, they were running the most basic of plays, blah, blah, blah, but McDermott knew his team did not compete the way it needed to.

Losing at the line is the one thing that irritates football coaches, no matter what level, more than anything else because at it’s very core, football is a game where you need to beat the man in front of you, plain and simple, and that did not happen very often against the Bears.

“I would say that there were moments of the physicality that needs to be there,” McDermott said after reviewing the film. “There were moments of the energy that needs to be there. I do believe that you have to celebrate those, so the players understand that, ‘Hey, this is what we want’ and they build on those areas. But then also make sure we correct the things that weren’t so that they understand moving forward what the expectation is, and we don’t beat around the bush with what it needs to look like.”

4. What’s up with Tyler Bass?

The Bills’ kicker made both of his field goal attempts against the Bears, but he has been a little scattershot in practice which is only fueling angst in the fan base after everyone watched Bass miss three kicks last postseason.

McDermott does not seem to be worried. Yet. But in these next two preseason games, Bass needs to be perfect , if for no other reason that make sure his confidence is where it needs to be in Week 1 against the Cardinals.

There has been some speculation that perhaps he’s not satisfied with the holding of punter Sam Martin. That sounds like an excuse because Martin has been in the NFL a long time and you don’t play 11 years in the NFL as a punter if you’re a poor holder. Bass’ issues are his and his alone, and he needs to get it straightened out.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Steelers preseason game: Eyes on Ben DiNucci, Dorian Williams