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American Football

Buffalo Bills quarterback makes big statement for back-up job in preseason win over Indianapolis Colts

Philip Marsh
Buffalo Bills quarterback makes big statement for back-up job in preseason win over Indianapolis ColtsGetty
Buffalo are still deciding who the back-up to Josh Allen will be in 2023.

Buffalo Bills got the better of the Indianapolis Colts in the opening game of their 2023 preseason.

It was a close contest at Bills Stadium, which Buffalo edged 23-19, but one thing that was not close was the performance of the two Bills quarterbacks.

Buffalo have Matt Barkley and Kyle Allen competing for the back-up job behind starter Josh Allen, and it was veteran Barkley who had an extremely impressive game.

The 32-year-old completed 14 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

And while Kyle Allen had a much higher yards per completion, he completed just eight of his 15 pass attempts for no scores and an interception.

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To make matters worse for Allen, that interception led to a pick six which at the time put the Colts ahead in New York.

Barkley is in his second stint with the Bills having thrown 97 passes for the franchise between 2018 and 2020 before spending time on the rosters at Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in 2021.

Allen joined the Bills this offseason, his fourth team in the last five seasons after spells with Washington Commanders, Panthers and most recently Houston Texans.

The 27-year-old will be hoping for an improved performance on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers next week to get back in contention for the back-up job.

DAZN will deliver the NFL Game Pass International service from the 2023 season across the world (except the U.S. and China), find out more here.

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