After losing to the New York Jets and being blown out by the New Orleans Saints, the Buffalo Bills have decided to make a major change to their starting lineup.
On Wednesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that he is benching quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round draft pick out of Pittsburgh, will start against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
#Bills HC Sean McDermott: Tyrod and I met yesterday. Tyrod is a competitor. He is a professional, and he was certainly disappointed, yet professional.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) November 15, 2017
#Bills HC Sean McDermott: I'm here to win games and win a championship. Once in a while you have to take calculated risks to get where you want to go.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) November 15, 2017
McDermott said the decision to start Peterman was made on Tuesday morning. It’s unclear what changed in a 24-hour period, as the coach emphatically stated on Monday that Taylor would remain Buffalo’s starting QB going forward.
Sean McDermott says he understands why fans may be calling for Nathan Peterman, but here's why he won't be replacing Tyrod Taylor. #Bills pic.twitter.com/OG6apEel4T
— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) November 13, 2017
Despite losing back-to-back games, the Bills are 5-4 and still in the playoff hunt. Taylor has not been bad this season, as he has a passer rating of 91.4 and has thrown 10 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions. He struggled against the Saints, but the entire team looked horrible and it was the first time Taylor got to play with newly-acquired wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.
McDermott would not commit to naming Peterman the starter for the rest of the season, which means we could see Taylor again. After McDermott had thrown his weight behind Taylor several times this year, it’s very surprising to see him make a change.
