Nathan Peterman won the Buffalo Bills quarterback competition this preseason. But his job is in jeopardy after only one game.
The Buffalo Bills named Nathan Peterman their starting quarterback for the 2018 season after the second-year quarterback won the preseason competition with AJ McCarron and Josh Allen.
The Bills were so confident by Peterman’s strong preseason performance that they traded McCarron to the Raiders a week before the regular season started. After one game into the 2018 season the Bills need to declare the Nathan Peterman experiment over.
A little over a week ago I wrote that the Bills made the right decision to start Peterman to open the 2018 campaign. I was wrong and so were they. Peterman had a great preseason and looked to be ready and up to the challenge of providing competent quarterback play until the Bills decided Josh Allen was ready to take the reins as the franchise quarterback.
However, for the second time in three NFL starts Nathan Peterman threw up all over himself and literally gave the Bills no chance to compete or win the game on Sunday.
I am not saying that Peterman is 100 percent at fault for the debacle that we all witnessed on Sunday. When you lose by a score of 47-3 there is all sorts of blame to go around. But right from the start on Sunday it was clear and obvious that Peterman was in over his head. He might not have thrown five interceptions this time, but this was the same Peterman that Bills fans saw play in Los Angeles last year.
Peterman looked like a deer in the headlights, reluctant to throw the ball and afraid to make a mistake. He finished the game with just five completions on 18 attempts for 24 yards. In case you can’t do math that equates to an abysmal 1.33 yards per attempt. Woof.
In Nathan Peterman’s three career starts he has led the Bills to a total of 14 points. In those three games the Bills were outscored 108 to 40. Of the 40 points that the Bills scored Peterman is responsible for 14. So, in three career games Peterman has been outscored 108 to 14. Unfathomably bad.
I am not trying to pile on the guy because I am upset that my favorite football team lost. I am simply pointing out the obvious fact that the Bills cannot and must not consider Nathan Peterman a viable option a quarterback anymore because it is clear as day that he isn’t.
Yes, Peterman had a good preseason. He looked decisive with the football and made quick passes to compensate for the Bills poor offensive line. But by all accounts he had great practice sessions in 2017 that helped lead Sean McDermott to believe he was ready to be the Bills starter for that fateful game in LA. It backfired then and it backfired now.
Whether it’s a case of Peterman not being able to step up on the stage that counts and perform or it being a case of overvaluing his performance in situations that do not really matter or count, it is painfully obvious that he is incapable of performing at even an adequate level in an actual NFL game.
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McDermott has preached playing the players who give his team the best chance to win. There is no chance at all that he can come away from Sunday and honestly still believe that Nathan Peterman is that man.
Josh Allen may not “be ready” to start for the Bills, but he is certainly a more viable option at the quarterback position. He moved the ball more in his 1+ quarters of play than Peterman did all game.
If the Buffalo Bills are still reluctant to make Allen the starter for the 2018 season then they need to sign another quarterback to the active roster and play him.
Perhaps veterans like Matt Moore or Derek Anderson would be available to come and play until the team deems Josh Allen “ready”.
But you cannot continue to throw Peterman out on Sundays and expect it to appease fans and the players in the Bills locker room. At least with Allen you are allowing him to grow and learn and you know that he is going to be your long-term answer so you are willing to take some lumps for the long-term gain. But with Peterman, what’s the point?
I willingly admit that I was one who did not want to rush Allen. As excited as I am to have him be the Bills starting quarterback I am willing to wait if he needs time to get “ready”. But I also am begging the Bills and McDermott to stop insulting us with the Peterman charade.
The Nathan Peterman experiment must end now.