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Manuel shines, Bills hold off Vikings

Aug 17, 2013 - 3:41 AM Orchard Park, NY (Sports Network) - Rookie first-round signal caller EJ Manuel continued his push for the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback job.

Kevin Kolb's chances, meanwhile, seem to be slipping away.

Manuel outplayed Kolb and the Bills topped the Minnesota Vikings, 20-16, in the second preseason game for both teams.

The Florida State product and first quarterback taken in the draft, Manuel, was 10-of-12 for 92 yards with a score over three series for the Bills, who selected the dual-threat with the 16th overall selection.

Manuel was a perfect 6-of-6 on his initial drive to start the third quarter, which resulted in a score when he flipped a 4-yard TD pass to Brad Smith and gave the Bills a comfortable 20-3 advantage.

In his first NFL test against the Colts last week, Manuel was 16-of-21 for 107 yards in Buffalo's 44-20 triumph.

Kolb, meanwhile, started the tilt and completed 13-of-21 passes for 111 yards with an interception. It was an inauspicious outing for Kolb, who made his preseason debut. He missed the previous eight days of practice after twisting his knee while slipping on a wet rubber mat in practice on Aug. 3.

Jerry Hughes, filling in for defensive end Mario Williams who was held out due to soreness, registered two sacks and forced a fumble. C.J. Spiller carried the ball seven times for 27 yards in the triumph.

Christian Ponder was 5-of-12 for a mere 53 yards in limited action for Minnesota, which finished 10-6 last season and fell to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round.

Adrian Peterson again didn't play for the Vikes. He's been rested so far during the preseason.

A Blair Walsh 36-yard field goal got Minnesota on the board with five seconds left in the opening frame, but the Bills tallied 13 points in the second.

Jamie Blatnick recovered a Matt Cassel fumble in the end zone for a score midway through the stanza and two more field goals in the period gave Buffalo a 13-3 edge.

After Manuel led Buffalo down the field to start the third, Minnesota third- string quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson tossed a TD pass in the fourth quarter. The other score came on a 1-yard run by Joe Banyard.