The Buffalo Bills (3-0) approached the 2026 NFL preseason with the goal of making sure that the starters were ready to go and that some of the depth options had the chance to show their best stuff. Buffalo's last preseason matchup came on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) and while none of the starters played, the Bills were able to come out on top in dramatic fashion.
The Bills beat the Steelers 28-27 on Thursday in their preseason finale thanks to the efforts of players like quarterback Shane Buechele and wide receiver Skyler Bell. Buechele finished the contest having completed 26 of his 38 passes for 196 yards while Bell caught seven of his 10 targets for 49 yards while also taking his lone carry for a 28-yard touchdown.
On the
other side, the Steelers are still evaluating quarterbacks Drew Allar and Will Howard to see who will be the backup behind starter Aaron Rodgers and neither one seemed to separate from the other through their play in this game.
With that being said, here is Bills Wire's stock report for the Bills following Thursday's win over Pittsburgh in the preseason finale:
Stock Up: WR Skyler Bell
Bell comes into this season as Buffalo's fourth-round pick as the team seeks to bolster the receiving corps as much as possible in an effort to help out quarterback Josh Allen as much as possible. Bell was the featured receiver on Thursday and not only did he step up to the plate, so to speak, but he also showed his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands, whether he caught a pass or ran the football.
Stock Down: WR Mecole Hardman Jr.
As mentioned with Bell, Hardman is one of the receivers that Buffalo brought in as the team seeks to make it further in the playoffs by making sure that there are as many weapons on the field as possible. Hardman's style of play is well known at this point, but one would have hoped that he would have had more of an impact in this game than just one catch for two yards.
Stock Up: LB Keonta Jenkins
As is customary in the preseason finale, the Bills gave players that are fighting for a roster spot some extended run and Jenkins was one of those players that took advantage of the extra time. Jenkins tied for the team lead in total tackles, but all of his six tackles were solo while also picking up a sack and a tackle for loss over the course of his time on the field.
Stock Down: DT DeWayne Carter
Carter was a third-round pick of the Bills two years ago and with the defensive line undergoing some changes this offseason, he is one of the players that has the chance to earn some playing time in the rotation. However, Carter finished this game with just one tackle so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him having to do what he can in practice to earn more reps on gamedays.
Stock Up: RB Frank Gore Jr.
Gore has been trying to make a name for himself in the NFL which is understandably harder for him to do without being compared to his father, but he ended a preseason with one of his best performances. Gore gained just 27 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, but he did the bulk of his work in the passing game as he caught all five of his targets for 45 yards.
Stock Down: QB Shane Buechele
Buechele had a solid outing against a tough Steelers defense, but given that he was the only quarterback that appeared in this game for Buffalo, it was his chance to have a standout performance to potentially shake things up prior to the season opener. However, averaging 5.2 yards per completion along with a 80.6 passer rating will probably keep Buechele as the third quarterback on the roster for now.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Stock up, stock down following the Bills' 28-27 preseason win over the Steelers
