Despite a limited time to get acclimated to the scheme, quarterback Matt Barkley led the Bills to their best most productive offensive outing of the season, trouncing the New York Jets 41-10 on the road Sunday.

The Bills had by far their best offensive performance of the season with 451 yards and 41 points, and it came with Matt Barkley effectively commanding the offense at quarterback.

Despite Barkley's steady play, the job will return to rookie Josh Allen after the bye week if he continues his recovery from a sprained elbow that's cost him the last four games.

“Josh is our starter when healthy and his development is important for him and for us as we move forward, getting experience,” head coach Sean McDermott said Monday. “You’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks this season play and it’s important that he gets as many reps as he can get in live game action.”

McDermott's decision to turn back to Allen is another indication that much of this season is about seeing Allen evolve into the player they hope was worthy of a Top Ten draft pick. He's spent the last month seeing the game from a different vantage point on the sidelines.

Allen has been sidelined with an elbow injury since leaving the Texans game in mid-October. He returned to practice full-time last week, but was ultimately ruled out for Sunday's matchup against their divisional foe. In his absence, Barkley and the whole offensive unit shined.

“That’s the good part about it is [that] Josh had a front row seat the last couple of weeks to watch Derek Anderson and a little bit of Nate [Peterman] and then also Matt yesterday,” McDermott added. “There’s a lot of things you take and, just like all of us, when you grow and take that growth mindset of being a sponge and taking the best [you] can from the people in front of [you] and people [you] can learn from.

The Bills currently had four quarterbacks on the roster before releasing Nathan Peterman late Monday. Behind Allen and Barkley, Veteran Derek Anderson is still dealing with the after effects of his concussion. McDermott says they'll evaluate how many QBs they plan to keep as they head off on the bye.   

 

 

 

 

“Josh is our starter when healthy and his development is important for him and for us as we move forward, getting experience,” head coach Sean McDermott said Monday. “You’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks this season play and it’s important that he gets as many reps as he can get in live game action.”

 

McDermott's decision to turn back to Allen is another indication that much of this season is about seeing Allen evolve into the player they hope was worthy of a Top Ten draft pick. He's spent the last month seeing the game from a different vantage point on the sidelines.

 

“That’s the good part about it is [that] Josh had a front row seat the last couple of weeks to watch Derek Anderson and a little bit of Nate [Peterman] and then also Matt yesterday,” McDermott added. “There’s a lot of things you take and, just like all of us, when you grow and take that growth mindset of being a sponge and taking the best [you] can from the people in front of [you] and people [you] can learn from.

 

 

The Bills currently had four quarterbacks on the roster before releasing Nathan Peterman late Monday. Behind Allen and Barkley, Veteran Derek Anderson is still dealing with the after effects of his concussion. McDermott says they'll evaluate how many QBs they plan to keep as they head off on the bye.