With Josh Allen sitting out, Shane Buechele leads Bills to a 23-19 preseason victory over the Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Shane Buechele made the most of his first opportunity to play a full game in the NFL, showing 31 other teams what he can do.

Buechele threw for 278 yards and one touchdown and the Buffalo Bills beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-19 on Saturday night.

Buechele won't get a chance in Buffalo behind reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky and Mike White. But a 25-for-30 performance — albeit against backups — could land him on the practice squad or with another organization.

Considering he sat out last year with a neck injury, Buechele is grateful to be back on the field.

“Last season was tough from the aspect of not being able to put on pads and working my way to get back, God is good," he said. “Even tonight, God is good. I kept telling myself that every time I went out on the field. It’s my first time ever playing a full game in the NFL and it was a lot of fun.”

Allen didn’t play for the Bills (1-2), finishing his first preseason without seeing any game action.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield also didn’t take any snaps in exhibition games for the first time in his career.

With both teams resting starters, players competing for snaps, backup positions and roster spots battled for 60 minutes — except for Buccaneers rookie safety Shilo Sanders.

He was ejected for throwing a punch at Zach Davidson in the second quarter. Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, is battling for a roster spot after going undrafted out of Colorado, where he played for his father. He was also penalized for pass interference earlier in the game.

“It's inexcusable,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said.

Kyle Trask made his case to be Tampa Bay’s backup quarterback, completing 13 of 17 passes for 93 yards and one touchdown. Trask, a second-round pick in 2021, has thrown 11 passes in the regular season in his career.

“I thought it was solid,” Trask said. “Control what I can control.”

General manager Jason Licht said on the team’s TV broadcast a decision on whether Trask or veteran Teddy Bridgewater will back up Mayfield hasn’t been made yet. Bowles reiterated that after the game.

Rookie Connor Bazelak played the second half, going 12 of 19 for 107 yards with a 1-yard TD pass to Garrett Greene in the final two minutes for the Bucs (2-1).

Frank Gore Jr. ran 1 yard up the middle for a score to give the Bills a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Gore had 32 yards rushing and two catches for 29 yards.

Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers may have boosted his chances of making the team with an excellent, one-handed, diving catch for an 11-yard touchdown over cornerback Bryce Hall, who had tight coverage on the play.

Bills coach Sean McDermott also was impressed with Shavers' hustle on special teams.

“Those are character plays,” McDermott said.

Buccaneers wideout Tez Johnson made the highlight reel for a sensational flip celebrating his 1-yard TD catch that cut Buffalo’s lead to 14-10. Bowles said the seventh-round pick helped his chances of making the team.

“Ever since I was drafted, I said I was gonna hit a back flip,” Johnson said. “It felt really good.”

The Buccaneers averaged 38 yards on five kickoff returns. Josh Williams had three returns for an average of 36 yards with a long of 42. Kameron Johnson returned one 57 yards.

The Bills had a 31.6-yard average on five kick returns, including a 38-yarder by Laviska Shenault.

Bills tight end Zach Davidson handled the punting duties because punter Brad Robbins was sick. Davidson, a punter at Central Missouri, drilled a 62-yarder on his first try. It was returned 22 yards. His second and last punt went 42 yards and was returned for 5.

Bills: CB Tre’Davious White sustained a lower leg injury in practice this week, according to general manager Brandon Beane. There’s no timeline yet for White’s return. ... Wide receiver Curtis Samuel didn’t make the trip due to an illness.

Buccaneers: General manager Jason Licht said on the team’s broadcast that All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs could return to the starting lineup before wide receiver Chris Godwin. Wirfs had knee surgery in the offseason and is expected to miss a few games. Godwin is still recovering from a severe ankle injury suffered in Week 7 last season.

Bills: Open the regular season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on “Sunday Night Football” on Sept. 7.

Buccaneers: Visit the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 7.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Buffalo Bills tight end Keleki Latu goes over Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Roman Parodie during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Connor Bazelak passes against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson scores against the Buffalo Bills during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Shane Buechele plays against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers scores past Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Bryce Hall during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights added an offensive element to their blue line by acquiring defenseman Rasmus Andersson in a trade Sunday with the Calgary Flames.

In parting ways with a player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Flames acquired veteran defenseman Zach Whitecloud, defensive prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft and a conditional second-rounder in 2028. The Flames also agreed to retain 50% of the remainder of Andersson’s salary in the final season of a six-year, $27.3 million contract.

“To be able to get it done with Vegas, they were willing to do it and do it without a contract because that was one thing that was made clear to us just in the last, maybe 12 hours, was there wasn’t going to be an extension signed with any of the teams,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “That definitely changed the way we had to negotiate and what we got back in return.”

It’s the latest aggressive move made by the Golden Knights after acquiring high-scoring forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto this offseason.

The 29-year-old Andersson, selected to represent Sweden at the Milan Cortina Games next month, was regarded as one of the highly prized candidates on the trade market. He’s spent all 10 NHL seasons with Calgary since being selected by the Flames in the second round of the 2015 draft.

Andersson has reached at least 30 points in each of his past four seasons, and already reached the plateau this year 10 goals and 20 assists. Overall, Andersson has 57 goals and 261 points in 584 NHL games.

The puck-moving player joins a Vegas defensive group missing Alex Pietrangelo, who stepped away from hockey due to health issues last summer, and with Brayden McNabb missing nine games with an upper-body injury.

Andersson is reunited with defenseman Noah Hanifin, who spent five-plus seasons in Calgary, before being traded to Vegas in March 2024.

Vegas has won seven straight, and coming off a 7-2 win over Nashville on Saturday night.

Whitecloud has two years left on a six-year, $16.5 million contract, and was one of the few remaining holdovers from the Golden Knights expansion season-roster in 2017-18. The 28-year-old was an undrafted free agent, has 23 goals and 78 points in 368 career games and won a Stanley Cup in 2023.

The Flames have won just three of eight, and sit 13th in the Western Conference standings, five points out of wild-card contention.

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to the report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) tangles with Boston Bruins center Alex Steeves (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi (13) looks to make a pass as Vegas Golden Knights' Zach Whitecloud (2) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) handles the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)