The Buffalo Bills opened their 2024 preseason schedule with a 33-6 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The offense struggled to put much together on the field as the scoreboard reflects. After a strong start, the Buffalo defense ended up folding late in a big way.

Following the loss, we were taught a few things about this football team.

With that, here are six things we learned from the Bills' loss to the Bears:

Moving it quick

The Bills starting offense only saw a limited amount of time on the field. Quarterback Josh Allen had three passes and left the game after the first quarter.

But on his two completions, it felt pretty clear there was an emphasis to get played into open space quickly so they can go and do their thing. This was best displayed by Curtis Samuel, who turned a short pass into 15 yards on a screen.

Running woes

It didn't matter if it was James Cook or fourth-round rookie Ray Davis. The Bills couldn't run the ball with their starting running backs. That issue was down to their offensive line play. They'll have to improve here.

Maybe McDermott can challenge?

Sean McDermott is not a good challenger of plays. Because of that, the Bills hired hired former NFL referee John Parry this offseason to help with that.

But McDermott was two-for-two on challenges against the Bears. In 2018, McDermott won three challenges in that entire regular season. That is the only time he has ever won more than two challenges in an entire year.

That's a huge improvement...

But not stop penalties

It's just a preseason game and some of these infractions were taken by players who won't make Buffalo's final 53-man roster. But McDermott would not have liked seeing his team take 11 total penalties. He acknowledged the pre-snap flags following the loss as an area he was not a fan of.

Returner is wide open

The battle to be the Bills’ kick returner did not go very well. KJ Hamler got the first look at it and fumbled once. On top of that, while playing with the second-team offense, he had a drop.

But Hamler was dealt a favor by defensive back Daequan Hardy. In the second half, the sixth-round rookie got his look at returning and he had a questionable moment. He fair caught a punt inside his own five-yard line. You don’t see that very often because it’s not a good decision.

This position battle remains open.

A safe start

While not an on-field lesson, we did learn how the Bills plan to handle Von Miller and Matt Milano. It was a slow-and-steady approach. Both of the defenders did not play against the Bears. But they were on the sideline, at least.

Miller and Milano are hoping for bounce-back seasons in 2024 after dealing with various injuries over the past year.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: What we learned from the Bills' preseason loss to the Bears