08/15/26 05:29:00
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08/15 17:27 CDT Josh Allen gets comfortable in Bills' new stadium with TD pass
in 29-14 preseason win over Panthers
Josh Allen gets comfortable in Bills' new stadium with TD pass in 29-14
preseason win over Panthers
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Sports Writer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) --- New head coach. New Buffalo Bills stadium.
New primary receiver.
Same Josh Allen.
It didn't take Allen long to grow accustomed to his new surroundings by
overseeing a pair of scoring drives to kick off the franchise's new era with a
preseason-opening 29-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.
In Buffalo's first game in its new $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium and first
under new head coach Joe Brady, Allen showed his familiar elusiveness in
completing a 9-yard touchdown to Keon Coleman to cap his second and final
offensive series of the day.
Allen went 6 for 8 for 111 yards, starting with a 21-yard throw to Khalil
Shakir on a play action pass on the first snap from scrimmage.
Most notable, perhaps, was Allen continuing to build chemistry with DJ Moore,
the veteran who was acquired in the offseason and is being asked to bring a
big-play dimension to an offense that's lacked it for much of the past two
years.
"I'm going to go out and make an assumption that it's going to be awesome to do
that every single game, is getting him the ball early and often," Allen said of
Moore's three catches for 61 yards. "He's a heck of a football player and we're
lucky to have him."
Shakir continues to be wowed by the rapport the two have developed since
Buffalo acquired Moore in a trade with Chicago in March.
"Absolute insane ball by Josh, and then DJ to catch and get the first down. The
awareness to do that is amazing," Shakir said of Moore converting a
third-and-15 with an 18-yard catch along the sideline. "It's like football art,
right? It's beautiful."
Moore's catch set up Coleman's touchdown, in which Allen scrambled out of the
pocket before throwing across his body to find the receiver open in the middle
of the end zone. Buffalo's first drive ended with Tyler Bass hitting a 33-yard
field goal.
Bryce Young and the Panthers starters, meantime, sputtered in making their
preseason debut --- and after sitting out Carolina's 33-30 win over Arizona in
the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 6.
The Panthers went three-and-out and combined for 11 yards on three series with
Young under center. Young finished 3 of 5 for 18 yards. He played in front of a
revamped line with both projected starting tackles Ickey Ekwonu (knee) and
Taylor Moton (blood clot/lung) sidelined. Carolina also held out both starting
guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis.
"Obviously not the start we wanted, not the drives we wanted. You know, it's
part of the process. A lot of moving parts," Young said. "Everyone is going to
feel that on the plane back. And then you come back and you watch it, you learn
from it, grow, turn the page."
Young's primary backup Kenny Pickett closed the first half with a 6-yard
touchdown pass to Ja'Seem Reed. Pickett finished 16 of 19 for 92 yards on three
drives spanning halftime. Kyle Trask mopped up and competed a 9-yard TD pass to
John Metchie in the final minute.
Ian Wheeler and Frank Gore Jr. accounted for Buffalo's other touchdowns with
scoring runs four minutes apart in the fourth quarter.
The only scare for Buffalo was Moore coming up limping after his catch, with
trainers and a team doctor examining his right foot and lower right leg. Moore
eventually put his shoe back on, but didn't return with the starters done for
the day.
Brady didn't have a definitive update on Moore, though said the player told him
"he was good to go," during a chat on the sideline.
Moore spent the second half on the sideline in shorts and running shoes, and
did not make himself available to reporters afterward.
Bass line
In missing a 45-yard field-goal attempt wide right, Bass was 3 of 4 in his
first game setting since Buffalo's preseason finale a year ago. The sixth-year
player missed all of last season with pelvis and hip issues.
Up next
Panthers: At Jacksonville on Friday night.
Bills: Travel to Cleveland for joint scrimmage on Thursday, and preseason game
on Aug. 22.
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