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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John Wawrow, The Associated Press
