Dual-Threat: Bills QB Josh Allen Calling Plays?

While Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen did not take the field Saturday's preseason game, he did contribute in another way

Buffalo Bills fans finally got their first good look at the 2023 squad in Saturday's 23-19 preseason win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Well, at least as good of a look as the preseason can provide. As it is just a preseason game, most of the Bills' key players did not play Saturday as to avoid injury before the more important games. Chief among the players who sat out was quarterback Josh Allen, but even though he didn't take the field, the star signal-caller still had an impact on Saturday's game.

After the game, backup quarterback Matt Barkley revealed that Allen had tried his hand at calling plays for the offense, at least for part of the game.

“Dorse [offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey] and Josh were dialing up some plays today,” Barkley told reporters. “It was a lot of fun.”

Allen obviously has experience calling plays through audibles and the like, but calling the shots like a true offensive coordinator is a new twist.

Fellow backup quarterback Kyle Allen shed more light on Josh Allen's play-calling endeavor, noting how the starting quarterback only began calling the shots after halftime.

“Nah, he’s a second-half play-caller, no first half for him ... Only when it matters,” Kyle Allen said.

As Josh Allen took up play-calling for the afternoon, his backups had a mixed performance on the field. Kyle Allen had a shaky performance with eight completions on 15 attempts for 122 yards and an interception, which the Colts ran back for a pick-six that marked the end of the quarterback's day. Barkley had a better showing, completing 14 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, but he was primarily playing against Indianapolis' third-stringers.

With the Bills pulling out the win and the offense looking solidly effective in the second half, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him continue calling plays in future preseason games.

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You can follow Jonathan Alfano on Twitter at @JonAlfano_News

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