Bills beat Colts in preseason opener: Here's what we learned

ORCHARD PARK - With Josh Allen enjoying a leisurely afternoon on the sidelines, all eyes at Highmark Stadium on a warm, breezy and occasionally wet Saturday afternoon were on the Buffalo Bills new prospective backup quarterback, Kyle Allen.

Fans have seen him practice at St. John Fisher University, and the one session in Orchard Park last week, but the preseason opener against the Indianapolis provided the first real look at the man who, in all likelihood, will spend this season just one horrific play away from being the Bills quarterback.

Josh Allen missing any time is obviously a scary thought, and Kyle Allen’s performance didn’t exactly soothe any concerns regarding the possibility of him having to play at some point in the regular season.

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However, let me just remind you that these preseason performances are extremely difficult to gauge because there is no game plan, no real prep for the opponent, and Allen was playing mostly with backups during the two quarters and one series he played during the Bills’ 23-19 victory.

“I thought it was smooth,” Kyle said. “We just wanted to execute, we wanted to put some plays together. I thought we had some good third-down conversions. We’d like to get the ball in the end zone more but I mean, just overall I was pretty happy with it.”

After the first two series, playing with the bulk of the starters behind a mish mash of offensive line combinations, Allen completed 8 of 15 passes for 122 yards and one very unfortunate interception that was returned for a touchdown, a result that was not his fault. He was sacked twice for 20 yards in losses and was pressured on a few other dropbacks which disrupted whatever play was called.

“That’s what we do in practice, they rotate linemen all the time getting reps with everyone,” he said. “I think we do a good job of that here, but it’s preseason. It’s my sixth year in the league, I’ve been doing it for six years so it’s just part of it. It’s fun, honestly. You get to get a lot of reps with these guys and get new guys in there and guys who don’t get a lot of time and get to see them take advantage of opportunities.”

When he had the chance to scan the field and deliver, he made a few nice throws, the best coming early in the third quarter when, on a third-and-20 from his own 8 he threw a laser to Marcell Atemon for 21 yards and the first down.

He then followed that with a short pass to running back Jordan Mims who turned it into a 25-yard gain. But then two snaps later, his quick pass to the left slipped through Tyrell Shavers’ hands and caromed right to Darius Rush who ran 52 yards untouched for a pick-six.

“I think we were just trying to run a screen over there and it looked like he got a little hung up,” Allen explained. “We just got to connect on that or I just throw it in the dirt.”

Matt Barkley took the reins from there and finished the game, and as Barkley often does, he excelled. He completed 14 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns to Shavers and Dezmon Patman.

On the play of the quarterbacks, coach Sean McDermott said, “I thought it was kind of hot and cold at times. I thought we moved the ball at times, and then we stalled out or we weren't (sharp). In the second half, I felt it was a little bit better moving the ball on a more consistent basis. Matt getting the ball out, I thought we got into a good rhythm.”

On the performance of the team he added, “I thought there was some good things. I thought we showed moments of our standard that we hold ourselves to. Not enough though. We've got to be more consistent, starting with the penalties (8 for 59 yards).”

Buffalo Bills defense did a lot of bending early

The Bills had a 10-7 lead at the half, but the Colts offense moved the ball pretty well with rookie No. 4 overall draft pick Anthony Richardson and veteran Gardner Minschew sharing the Colts’ first half quarterback duties.

Indy rang up 16 first downs and 195 yards of offense, 88 of that coming on a 12-play drive that ended with Jake Funk scoring on a one-yard run with three second left in the second quarter. Indy possessed the ball for nearly 19 minutes, and three of their first downs came courtesy of Bills penalties.

Richardson was 7 of 12 for 67 yards and a bad interception in his NFL debut, and he played two series against the bulk of the Bills’ first-string.

Damar Hamlin had an active day

Pretty much everything the Bills safety does is news as his comeback from cardiac arrest continues, and Saturday he took the next step - playing in an actual game. He did not start, but he was on the field during Buffalo’s second defensive series and he made tackles on three consecutive plays where a tackle was needed.

The first came when he shot through the line and stuffed Colts running back Evan Hull for no gain on a fourth-and-one, giving the Bills drive start at their own 40. After the Bills punted, Richardson threw an incomplete pass on first down, then Hamlin made tackles on the next two plays, a pair of runs that netted 13 yards.

After that he wasn’t involved, and he was done playing before the first half ended and Sean McDermott went to his deeper roster players for the rest of the game.

Asked if he had any trepidation going into his first game action, he said, “When you step in between them lines, you put yourself at risk by hesitating, and by reserving yourself. I made the choice that I wanted to play; it wasn't nobody else's choices but mine. So making that choice, I know what comes with it. So, you see my cleats laced up and my helmet and shoulder pads on and there ain’t gonna be no hesitation.”

Dane Jackson seems like the leader at CB2

The fourth-year pro started the game and on the fifth play of the day, Richardson made a terrible decision and threw an interception right to Jackson. Siran Neal pressured the QB and off his back foot the rookie tried to hit ex-Bill Isaiah McKenzie on the right side. Jackson made the easy pick and returned it 20 yards to the Colts 13, setting up the Bills’ first touchdown.

The two players Jackson is competing with, Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford, took over for Jackson and the other starter, Tre’Davious White, after the second Colts possession and played the rest of the half.

Elam’s continual problem with holding came up again as he was nailed late in the first quarter for holding Alec Pierce. If you look at the usage in this game, the easy conclusion is that Jackson is leading the competition, but nothing is decided yet. The usage will be different in all three games, but it does feel like it’s Jackson’s job to lose.

Andy Isabella got a long look on returns

The wide receiver who just joined the team a couple weeks ago is facing long odds to make the 53-man roster, that is unless he can show that he can produce in the return game, and he certainly got some work.

He had one punt return for five yards and three kickoffs for 48 yards. Those numbers don’t jump out, but in the regular season, returns are schemed out in more detail and regular special teams players would be on the field helping him.

Isabella was on the field briefly on offense, long enough to catch a short Allen pass on a crossing route and use his quickness to turn it into a 30-yard gain in the first half. Late in the game, Isabella got another chance on offense and he caught a couple passes, giving him three for 42 yards. It will be interesting to see where his summer goes.

“I like Andy a lot,” Kyle Allen said. “He’s come in and this is a hard offense to learn quickly, and he’s really put in the time and he’s where you need him to be when you need him to be there. Barkley hit him on a couple in the second half, too, and I know he’s becoming a favorite of the quarterback room. We love getting him the ball.”

Latavius Murray looks like a nice addition

I kind of scoffed when the Bills signed the 33-year-old Murray, who is the oldest running back in the league. At best I thought he’d be a practice squad player but now that Nyheim Hines is done for the year, Murray is going to be on the 53.

And with Damien Harris sidelined, he’s No. 2 behind starter James Cook and he has looked good at camp, and again on Saturday. I love his running style; he makes one cut and goes north-south, always falling forward.

He ran for 18 yards and caught three passes for 21 yards. As for Cook, he carried four times for 20 yards and scored an easy eight-yard touchdown around left end after the Jackson interception in the first quarter.

OT Tommy Doyle injured in third quarter

The 2021 fifth-round pick missed most of 2022 with a torn ACL and he’s battling to win a roster spot as the swing tackle. But in the third quarter he suffered a knee injury and could not finish the game. We don’t know the severity of it, but it’s another tough break for a guy the Bills like, but just can’t get on the field. Defensive tackle D.J. Dale injured his ribs while making a sack in the third quarter and was not able to return.

“Tommy Doyle as you probably all saw, with the same knee, I don't know, I don't have any verdict for you on that,” McDermott said. “And D.J. is going to get a CT scan there later this afternoon or this evening, so that's all I have for you.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Colts preseason: Barkley shines, Hamlin has active game