So Nathan Peterman might start again for the Bills next week
Nathan Peterman’s start on Sunday was an abject disaster.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback completed 5-of-18 pass attempts for 24 yards and two interceptions before being benched in a 47-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. By the complicated math of the NFL quarterback ratings system, that effort garnered Peterman an actual 0.0 rating on the day.
Nathan Peterman’s second disastrous start
It was the second start in as many seasons by Peterman that could be aptly described as a debacle. Last season in his first NFL start, Peterman threw five interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers — in the first half. Head coach Sean McDermott also gave him the hook in that game.
So it makes perfect sense that Peterman, who has proven at this point that he’s not an actual NFL-caliber quarterback, may get another start next week against the Chargers, the same team that made him a laughing stock in 2017.
Bills may give Peterman another chance
No kidding. McDermott told reporters on Monday that he has not ruled out Peterman getting the call next week.
His reasoning, per Bills beat reporter Joe Buscaglia of WKBW:
“When you look at the tape, we all have to do our job better. Whether it’s QB, my position. Our team in all three phases didn’t play well enough to win.”
So, yeah. The whole “win as a team, lose as a team” concept is a noble one. It’s also nonsense in this case. Sure, the Bills are generally not good outside of quarterback play, but anyone with a pair of working eyes can see that Peterman doesn’t belong under center.
Bills OC stumps for Peterman too
Well, anyone one but McDermott and Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who also had Peterman’s back on Monday.
“There’s a lot on his plate with his checks,” Daboll said, via Buscaglia. “His reads, where his eyes are looking at on the defense… those are some of the things.”
Daboll also noted the poor “collective effort” of the team when defending Peterman while noting that his internal clock was good “most of the time.”
Bills could throw Josh Allen in the fire
All of this of course is that kind of posturing that must be done in the face of a team that has colossally screwed up its quarterback situation.
The real problem here is that the only other option for Buffalo is to throw rookie quarterback Josh Allen to the wolves. That means putting Allen, possibly the rawest of the first-round quarterback prospects in the 2018 draft, behind a sieve of an offensive line on a team that looks like the worst in the league.
It’s a formula to get the No. 7 pick in the draft injured and wreck his confidence before his career has a chance to get off the ground. It’s less than ideal.
Bills made this mess trading AJ McCarron
But it’s the only other option the Bills have at quarterback after inexplicably trading AJ McCarron to the Oakland Raiders toward the end of training camp.
It was the decision made Monday when McDermott mercifully ended Peterman’s day by subbing Allen in.
Allen was by no means good in his NFL debut. But he wasn’t incompetent to Peterman’s level while connecting on 6-of-15 passes for 79 yards and no turnovers behind a line that allowed him to get sacked three times.
But those are the choices the Bills are faced with. We haven’t seen much of McCarron since his Alabama days. But by most accounts, he appears to be a competent NFL quarterback who could have provided Buffalo the luxury of not deciding between the ineptitude of Peterman and the high-risk play of starting Allen.
Of course the Bills aren’t completely out of options.
We have heard reports that Colin Kaepernick is looking for a job.
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