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EJ Manuel, Tyrod Taylor shred Steelers, adding intrigue to Bills QB battle

EJ Manuel, Tyrod Taylor shred Steelers, adding intrigue to Bills QB battle

Well now, this Buffalo Bills quarterback battle just got a little more interesting.

Matt Cassel started the preseason opener. Tyrod Taylor got his crack in the second game. And it was EJ Manuel's chance to start Saturday's third preseason game.

All have performed almost stunningly well. But it has been fascinating to see how the playing time has been divvied up recently, with that division of labo

r a better indication of who might actually win this job.

(Graphic by Amber Matsumoto)
(Graphic by Amber Matsumoto)

Manuel, Cassel and Taylor ping-ponged in this game, and Manuel and Taylor combined to complete 19-of-21 passes for 292 yards and two TDs. On the Bills' second drive, Manuel found a wide-open Charles Clay to the post for a 67-yard touchdown.

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Cassel came in next and led the Bills on a decent but methodical drive, one that ended in a 53-yard field-goal miss. But there was a clear difference when Taylor came in the series after that, as he led an 11-play, 80-yard TD drive that included several nice moments. Then given a mere 9 seconds to work with, Taylor hit one final pass before the half to lead to a field goal.

To start the second half, Taylor again marched down the field — 10 plays, 78 yards — and capped the drive off with a 20-yard touchdown run. His scrambling ability gives Taylor an edge the other two quarterbacks (and Matt Simms) simply don't have.

Not to be outdone, Manuel took over the second drive of the second half and needed only three plays to go 64 yards for another touchdown. (Yes, the Steelers fielded 11 defenders on every play.) Two of those plays were completions, including a 37-yard touchdown to Tobias Palmer. Although Manuel's successive drive featured a sack and a missed fourth-down attempt — his only incompletion of the game — the overall body of work was strong.

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Simms — yes, he played too — came in and completed an impressive 5-of-5 passes for 65 yards and a score.

Muddled situation? Perhaps not. Here's a working theory on what Rex Ryan will do pretty soon here.

Taylor will be the Bills' Week 1 starter against the Indianapolis Colts. His leash won't be short, but he's obviously not going to be give 16 games no matter what. Taylor's accuracy, confience and running ability set him apart from the other options.

Manuel will be the No. 2. He's rebounded nicely, at least shown he's not afraid to pull the trigger on tougher and deeper throws and clearly is not a talentless waste. There's something to invest in here, although it might take some more time.

Cassel will be cut. Yes, it's a guess, but why keep him and a $4.15 million base salary that becomes fully guaranteed if he's on the Week 1 roster if he's not starting? He is the safe play, yes, and keeping him makes some sense, but not at that money.

Simms, or some other cheap QB, will be the third option.

That's how it could go down based on what we've seen so far. It's going to be fascinating to see how Ryan handles this, but he has to feel better about his QB situation now than he did a month ago.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!