Buffalo, meanwhile, leaned on Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele, and both were sharp. Several Bills skill guys who've been trending healthy, DJ Moore and Dalton Kincaid among them, weren't needed to make it happen. Cleveland's own group was thinner than usual, with Quinshon Judkins, Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy all held out, which left a young receiving corps to fend for itself against a Bills defense that had plenty to prove after last year's rush-defense numbers.
It showed early and it showed late. Buffalo's backfield of James Cook, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson combined for 138 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 34 carries, the kind of ground control that turns a preseason game into a laugher. Cleveland's offense, thin up front in the pass game and searching for answers at quarterback, never found a rhythm to counter it.
Sanders actually did his job in the half he got, going 9-of-11 for 74 yards and a touchdown, connecting with Luke Floriea for the score before handing off to Watson. That's where it fell apart. Watson finished 5-of-12 for just 36 yards with an interception, and Gabriel barely got a look, going 0-for-1 in his fourth-quarter cameo. Buffalo's defense made sure none of the three ever got comfortable, picking off two passes, one from Damar Hamlin and another from Te'Cory Couch.
None of this changes anybody's regular-season outlook. Allen will be back under center soon enough, and Cleveland's real quarterback competition is still going to be decided on practice fields, not in a August blowout. But for a Saturday matinee with backups on both sidelines, Buffalo left no doubt about which roster is deeper right now.