McDermott puts Peterman behind the wheel
After reiterating that Tyrod Taylor would remain the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, Coach Sean McDermott shocked the football world during his Wednesday morning press conference as he pulled a 180 and announced that rookie Nathan Peterman would get his first NFL start against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The move follows the Bills’ worst two outings of the season and is another strong indication that management is ready to move on from Taylor following this season.
Taylor has a raw quarterback rating (QBR) of 53.6 on the year, although Sunday represented the worst game of his career as he had a putrid 29.7 QBR. Peterman replaced Taylor late in the 4th quarter and was a noticeable improvement as he was 7 for 10 for 79 yards and a touchdown, and had a 95.2 QBR, although he was under center for just two drives and was against a softened Saints defense during “garbage time.”
“I’ve prepared for this opportunity since the first time I stepped foot in Buffalo. Our mission has been playoff caliber since I got here and that isn’t changing.” pic.twitter.com/3hqQBUewp4
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 15, 2017
Giving Peterman the nod is yet another bold move by Coach McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane and is particularly risky as the Bills remain in the final playoff spot through this season’s 9 games. Because Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison appears to be unwilling to change his scheme, the move makes sense. However, I can’t help but to empathize with Taylor as he was never used properly under Dennison and was set up to fail.