Well, Week 1 of the preseason is behind us. Here’s a look at our Buffalo Bills vs Indianapolis Colts preseason recap.
The score didn’t end in the Buffalo Bills‘ favor, but that doesn’t mean this game wasn’t a success. With preseason, teams are more worried about seeing their roster in game scenarios and that’s exactly what we got Saturday night.
In the end, the Bills lost to the Indianapolis Colts 19-18 in their preseason opener.
Here’s a few things to note from the Bills’ offense on Saturday:
- For the team’s quarterbacks, it was a decent night that didn’t see too many mistakes. Tyrod Taylor played the first possession and went 2-of-3 with just 7 yards. E.J. Manuel played the second possession and stayed in until early in the third quarter. He finished 10-of-18 with 91 yards, including a touchdown to Chris Gragg. For the last two quarters, we got to see rookie Cardale Jones, who finished 11-of-21 with 162 yards and a touchdown to Jarrett Boykin. He did record one fumble, though, which got recovered.
- We passed the ball 42 times and ran just 28 times. With that being said, what we saw from our running backs was pretty good — with the exception of James Wilder Jr. and Daniel Herron. Everyone else made good use of the few attempts given. Jonathan Williams had 44 yards on 8 carries, Mike Gillislee had 25 yards on 3 rushes and LeSean McCoy had 9 yards on one rush. We didn’t get to see Reggie Bush or Karlos Williams, but we know what they’re capable of. Manuel added 13 yards and Cardale added 34 yards rushing.
- We saw a lot of players get a reception against the Colts, but most of them were for small gains. Four players stood out on the receiving end: Chris Gragg, Jarrett Boykin, Nick O’Leary and Walter Powell. Powell led the way with 4 receptions and 88 yards, while O’Leary had 2 catches for 39 yards. Boykin and Gragg each had two receptions and 26 yards, with a touchdown each as well. Leonard Hankerson was targeted 7 times, but only came down with one reception for 7 yards.
- Our offensive line stacked up well, considering we were without Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito. We only allowed two sacks.
Related Story: Buffalo Bills Training Camp: Day 11
Now, a few notes on the defense:
- On defense, the main story was the injury to yet another linebacker, IK Enemkpali. He had been battling for the spot to replace Shaq Lawson and Manny Lawson, but might have had that race come to an end. Rex Ryan described it as a “major knee injury.” We will likely see more of Lorenzo Alexander, Bryson Albright and Eric Striker until we hear more about his status.
- Preston Brown recorded the most amount of tackles on Saturday with 4. We also saw plenty more finish with 3 tackles, including David Hawthorne, Lorenzo Alexander, Jerel Worthy and Brandon Spikes.
- Rookie Kevon Seymour continued to impress on Saturday giving a tough time to the Colts’ receivers when out on the field.
- No sacks, forced fumbles or interceptions on Saturday.
- The team committed 4 penalties on special teams, two of them coming from James Wilder Jr. This will surely be a hot topic in practice.
- Dan Carpenter finished 1/2 and made his lone field goal from 37 yards out. He did not miss any extra points.
Ultimately, the Bills had a chance to gain the lead with under a minute left in the final quarter when Cardale Jones threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Boykin. Down by 1 with no time remaining, they decided to go for the two-point conversion for the win, but failed.
The Bills will enjoy their day off tomorrow before continuing training camp on Monday at 10 AM. I’m sure we will have more news on the injuries.
What were you most excited about in their preseason opener? Leave your comments below!