Bills Central

Bills Cook Up Win Over Colts in Preseason Opener

The Buffalo Bills' backups earned a comeback victory against those of the Indianapolis Colts in their 2023 preseason opener on Saturday afternoon.

Geoff Maggliocchetti

In this story:

Picking up three tackles in his unofficial return to game action, Damar Hamlin's triumphant return was the headline of the Buffalo Bills' 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in their lone summer game at Highmark Stadium this season.

The game began with a rude welcome to the NFL for the most recent fourth overall pick, Anthony Richardson. Pressured by Gregory Rousseau and Siran Neal, Richardson was forced into an overthrow that landed in the arms of Dane Jackson, who set up Buffalo in the red zone on the runback. James Cook put up all 13 of the remaining yards, eight on the eventual score, en route to the first unofficial touchdown of the season. 

Richardson ended his unofficial debut having gone 7 of 12 passing for 67 yards and the turnover.

Veteran Gardner Minshew relieved Richardson in the second period. Despite becoming the victim of sacks by Boogie Basham and Tim Settle, Minshew ended the day with a perfect 6 of 6 mark and led the Colts on a 12-play, 88-yard drive capped off by Jake Funk's one-yard scoring punch.

That score narrowed the halftime gap to 10-7, as Tyler Bass had booted a 40-yard field goal for Buffalo.

The Colts swiped back momentum via scoring turnover, as Darius Rush opened the half with a 52-yard pick-six that victimized Buffalo starter Kyle Allen. That wound up being the final throw for Allen, as regular Josh Allen backup Matt Barkley was inserted for the next drive.

Barkley's arrival set the stage for an instantaneous comeback, capping off an 83-yard drive with a scoring strike to Tyrell Shavers from 22 away. That score gave Buffalo a permanent lead.

Though another scoring drive was thwarted by a Jace Sternberger fumble, the Bills got back on the board after the defense forced their second turnover on downs (the first caused Hamlin's stop for no gain on a one-yard fourth down). Barkley helped former Colt Dezmon Patmon get revenge on his former employers with a 13-yard scoring hook-up to establish a two-possession lead, even with Bass' misfire on the extra point.

Indianapolis (0-1) had one more go at it before the clock ran out and beautified the final score thanks to a three-yard tally for Jason Huntley.

The Bills' latter preseason portions will be staged on the road, beginning next Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6:30 p.m. ET, WIVB). 

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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