It may have been just an exhibition, but Emmanuel Sanders is already loving his experience in the Bills' offense.
Suiting up for his first game action of the preseason, Sanders hauled in four of his eight targets -- all of which came from a red-hot Josh Allen making his preseason debut -- for 27 yards in Saturday's win against the Packers.
Sanders' limited playing time was spent with Allen and the majority of the first-team offense, giving spectators and the 34-year-old receiver himself an exhilarating first taste of what's to come in 2021.
"It was fun. Practices don’t do it justice," Sanders said, via Syracuse.com. "It was uptempo, no huddle, slinging the ball around. It was fun. ... When the bullets were flying, I was kind of like, 'What’s going on here?' because we huddle up in practice and we go. But now, I see how it's going to be. It’s going to be an exciting year for sure."
The hope in Buffalo is that the upcoming season will be as sensational as the 2020 campaign. Led by Allen and a No. 2 ranked offense helmed by Brian Daboll, the Bills finished the year 13-3 and were a win away from reaching Super Bowl LV.
Judging by how the Bills played in the preseason finale, their desire to build off arguably the best season in franchise history is strong. Now that he's been baptized by a flurry of Allen passes, Sanders -- a Super Bowl champion who's played on the big stage twice -- has a chance to play an important role in helping the team get over the hump.
Their road to acheiving the ultimate goal begins in Pittsburgh on Sept. 12.
"I (needed) to get out there and play because practicing and the game are two different energies," Sanders said. "Now I can take what I’ve learned from this preseason game in terms of the uptempo and how I need to control my breathing, just everything. ... I can’t wait until that first game versus the Steelers."