Week 2 of the NFL preseason gets started on Thursday night with a pair of games on tap: Pittsburgh takes on Buffalo in Canada, and Carolina journeys to Philadelphia to play the Eagles.
The Steelers and Bills play their Thursday night game in Toronto at the Rogers Centre. This is the first in a few Buffalo games over the next couple of seasons that will be played in Toronto, as the NFL takes its first step toward possible future expansion up north.
Pittsburgh began the preseason last week with a 16-10 win over Philadelphia as a 2-point underdog. Ben Roethlisberger played only one series due to a sore groin and completed his two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Willie Parker also played sparingly, with only three carries for 20 yards.
The Steelers did receive some bad news in the win, as backup QB Charlie Batch suffered a broken collarbone and will be out for up to six weeks. To cover for Batch, the Steelers signed Byron Leftwich earlier this week.
The Bills lost to Washington 16-10 in their preseason opener last week as a 6-point underdog. Trent Edwards did nothing in limited action, as he completed only 1-of-5 pass attempts for 18 yards. J.P. Losman recorded the Bills' only TD with a pass to James Hardy while completing 7-of-9 attempts for 73 yards.
At online sportsbook , the Bills are a 1.5-point favorite in this game, although the Steelers are 4-0 ATS in their last four preseason meetings with Buffalo.
The Panthers head to Philadelphia on Thursday with Steve Smith likely out. The speedy receiver suffered a concussion in the Panthers' 23-20 win over Indianapolis last week and has been held out of practice ever since.
Smith may not be missed much, though, as he barely played last week before the injury while catching one pass for 19 yards. Jake Delhomme also had a very light workload against the Colts, as he threw only one pass (which was incomplete).
DeAngelo Williams provided the bulk of the Panthers' scoring with a pair of TDs, while rushing for 55 yards on nine carries.
In Philadelphia's 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh last week Donovan McNabb played extremely well, completing 10-of-13 pass attempts for 97 yards and a touchdown. However, once McNabb exited the game the Eagles' offense fizzled and failed to score the rest of the way.
Eagles running back Brian Westbrook may suit up this week after missing last week's game while waiting for a new contract. Westbrook signed a new deal hours before last week's game, so he should be ready to go on Thursday if coach Andy Reid decides to use him.
The oddsmakers at have listed the Eagles as a 3-point home favorite in Thursday's game.