The Sports Xchange

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan may have a tough decision at quarterback after all. Both Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel did some pretty good things in the teams’ 11-10 preseason victory over Cleveland Thursday, and the three-man competition that also includes leader in the clubhouse Matt Cassel is really heating up.

When a reporter asked, tongue in cheek, who the starter is going to be on opening day against the Colts, Ryan didn’t skip a beat when he said “Dennis Shaw. Next question.” Shaw played for the Bills on and off for four years in the early 1970s and was actually the NFL offensive rookie of the year in 1970, and Ryan was simply trying to further ingrain himself into Buffalo lore with that comment because only long-time, hard-core Bills fans would have even known who he was talking about.

When pressed about assessing the play of Taylor and Manuel – Cassel sat out the entire game so Ryan could get a closer look at those two – Ryan said, “Well, all three of them are playing really well.”

There has been speculation that the Bills would only keep two quarterbacks to start the season, but Ryan said it’s certainly an option to keep all three: “We said from day one that we’d keep the best 53 in our opinion, and regardless of the position, but clearly you have three good quarterbacks, that’s a high, high possibility.”

Taylor got the start against the Browns and on his first possession he completed three straight passes to convert third-down situations before taking a sack on a final third-down play that pushed the Bills into long-distance field-goal range, and Dan Carpenter doinked the kick off the right upright. Taylor was average thereafter and he finished his half of work with the “first string” with seven completions in 10 attempts for 65 yards, and four rushes for 41 yards, one a 21-yard scamper on a read-option.

Of course, “first string” would be a stretch. He had the No. 1 line, but all of the top skill position players were out injured. In fact, the top four receivers and top five running backs were all out, so it was rather unfortunate that Taylor didn’t get the full benefit of the Bills’ personnel in his big chance to start.

“They did a good job of coming in and playing well,” Taylor said of the way, way backups. “They went out there and made plays and that’s all you can ask from the guys. We did some good things. Of course we would have preferred to come out with seven points on a couple of those drives, but we were able to move the ball up and down the field. There’s a couple of things we did out there that we can learn from.”

Manuel started the third quarter and he was running for his life behind a disturbingly weak second-string line that couldn’t keep the Browns out of the backfield. But Manuel found his groove late in the game and directed a game-winning 12-play, 86-yard drive in the final six minutes. He overcame a constant pass rush, having to play with mostly inadequate players, and silly penalties, to produce the score. He hit wide receiver Andre Davis in the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the 14, then found running back Bronson Hill for the winning two-point conversion. It was a big moment for Manuel, who certainly needs a few because he seems to be running third in the competition.

“It was extremely important,” Manuel said. “At the end of the day, I wanted to win. I had a feeling I was going to play the second half. It was 3-3, so I figure it’s a 0-0 game. We came out and we competed. We had some three-and-outs, but we battled back and had a great drive.”

Ryan has not shared his thoughts on the quarterback usage for the third preseason game. Generally, the starters play into the third quarter in that game, so whoever starts may be the indication of who he’s leaning toward. Or, it might not.

“Remember, I’m not going to make that decision until we play Indy,” Ryan said after Thursday’s game. “Competitive reasons, whatever. Go for it. We don’t need to tell them. Until the league makes us tell them, we can just go right up in there and say, ‘We’re not gonna say anything.’ We may know. But why would we say any difference? The quarterbacks that we’re talking about, they’re all three different. So plan for all three of them. And I think that’s smart on our part.”

–The Bills are in the midst of an unprecedented string of bad luck on the injury front. The latest player to go down was wide receiver Chris Hogan, who suffered a knee sprain and minor ankle twist that will sideline him between 2-4 weeks. That means the top four Bills wide receivers were unavailable for almost all of the 11-10 preseason victory over Cleveland Thursday. If that wasn’t bad enough, the top five running backs were all sidelined, leaving the running game in the hands of Bronson Hill, Ricky Seale, and Cierre Wood, players with less than three weeks of combined time with the Bills.

There was some good news, however, when the team returned to practice Saturday. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who had been slowed by a sore glute, was back, and he happened to make a highlight reel one-handed catch during individual drills.

Robert Woods was also able to practice in individual drills after sitting out the game with a sore hamstring. Also, Marcus Easley, who plays primarily on special teams but takes reps at receiver in practice and preseason games, returned from a knee injury he suffered in the first preseason game on Aug. 14. At running back, Fred Jackson practiced for the first time since the third day of training camp, his sore hamstring finally allowing him to get back on the field.

The Bills are still depleted, though. Wide receiver Percy Harvin is out with a recurring hip ailment that may be more serious than originally thought. Ryan said he’s “cautiously optimistic” Harvin will be ready for the opener against the Colts. He used the same phrasing when describing running back LeSean McCoy’s status. He injured a hamstring last Tuesday and is likely out the rest of the preseason. Running backs Boobie Dixon (calf), Bryce Brown (hamstring) and Karlos Williams (undisclosed surgery) all remain out.