Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills picked up with a great episode last night—both in terms of increased drama and funny moments.
Best moment: Sean McDermott highlights Jimmy Ciarlo
Starting with the opening scene, we were given a deeper look into McDermott’s style as a head coach, and the best moment was when he shouted out Ciarlo for making a big tackle on special teams. McDermott gave Ciarlo—who had only signed a few days prior and thought he might never play football again—credit in front of the entire team, telling him his reps will go up and the same is true for anyone who makes a play like he did; even if Ciarlo doesn’t end up earning a roster spot, the play could help shape Buffalo’s mindset as a team for 2025.
Worst moment: Improvisational contest
Having improvisational specialist Steve Shenbaum for what was essentially a team-building exercise wasn’t necessarily a bad moment, but it probably replaced the usual rookie show (something Sean McDermott might not have being a branch of the Andy Reid coaching tree)—and I feel like this unaired SpongeBob sequence might have been funnier:
.@BuffaloBills pulled out the deep cut Spongebob quotes 🤣 #HardKnockspic.twitter.com/oVtQS2DqWH
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) August 18, 2025
Funniest moment: Josh Allen chases down Joe Andreessen
Of course, Episode 3 didn’t have a lack of laughs, and the biggest one for me was Allen chasing down Andreesen after an interception towards the end of practice. The linebacker was coasting from one end zone to the other for a would-be pick-six, but Allen—with some offensive players looking on from the sideline—jokingly chased Andreessen down and used an uppercut from behind to get a strip sack that ended up in the quarterback’s hands, which led to a celebration and cheers from the offense.
Underrated moment: Connor McGovern pizza party
This could have been the best moment, too, as the McGovern pizza party showed how close the Bills are as a team, including his wife explaining that Josh Allen was texting players the day after they returned from St. John Fisher University for camp about hanging out despite just spending two-and-a-half weeks together. It was also funny to have Travis Clayton—who is from the United Kingdom—explain to everyone the difference between crumpets, biscuits, etc., including what they do and don’t dip in tea.
Best quote: Joe Brady
“Did [James Cook] smile—did he even smile when he signed his contract?”
MVP: Josh Allen
Allen was never even really focused on individually in last night’s episode, but he had the top laugh-out-loud moment so far this season with the chase down of Joe Andreessen, and the 38-0 blowout against the Bears showed a combination of frustration in his eyes (based on how the backups played) but also keeping things light as a spectator. And in the meeting where Jimmy Ciarlo was praised by Sean McDermott, the voice that immediately answered “energy” when McDermott asked what everyone sees on the clip seemed to be Allen’s—showing how ingrained the NFL MVP is in the culture for the Bills.