Archives for November 20, 2017

‘Perhaps the AFC’s mediocrity will keep the 5-5 Bills at least on the fringes of the playoff picture well into December, but things have gone well beyond the critical stage for this team and its first-year head coach – especially after taking the “calculated risk” he did with starting Peterman and insisting it was about giving the team a better chance to win now.’

‘The Bills mercifully pulled the plug on Peterman at halftime, but not before he became the first quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to throw five interceptions in the first half of a game.’

‘The move couldn’t have blown up in McDermott’s face any worse if he had stuck his head in the annoying cannon that they set off in the corner of the end zone after every Chargers score.’

‘The decision could come down to this: Which quarterback is less likely to lose?’

‘As bad as the Bills have looked under coaches Rex Ryan, Doug Marrone, Chan Gailey and Dick Jauron — let’s even go back to how awful they were under Hank Bullough, John Rauch, Kay Stephenson and Buster Ramsey — you could make a case that what we’ve seen since Halloween is as awful as ever.’

‘Although the Chargers didn’t sack Peterman, they did a good job of pressuring him. The dominant pass-rushing duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram generally had its way with the Bills’ offensive line. Bosa hurried Peterman into one interception. He also had a strip sack on Tyrod Taylor that Ingram recovered and returned 39 yards for a touchdown.’

‘Whether you want to put all the blame on Peterman for those picks or not (the first one, for example, is definitely not on him) really doesn’t matter. It’s not a stretch to say that this is the worst decision of coach Sean McDermott’s brief time with the Bills and quite possibly one of the most disastrous things a coach has done in franchise history.’

‘Coach Sean McDermott did not have an update on Benjamin’s status after the game. The receiver was seen exiting the Bills’ locker room under his own power, with a wrap around his right leg.’

‘Even after Nathan Peterman’s first three INTs, the Bills were not dead. They were on the ropes, trailing 17-7, 2:11 into the second quarter. The fourth pickoff put a fork in the Buffalo carcass.’

‘That’s what you call a game-wrecker. Bosa now has 21 sacks in his first 22 NFL games, the most by any player ever at that stage of his career. He has 10.5 sacks on the season.’

‘What’s the worst grade possible? Multiply that by two and give it to the Bills. Can Nathan Peterman possibly come back from this? His five-interception performance in the first half – even if not all of them are squarely on his shoulders – is the worst performance by a quarterback in team history. Putting Tyrod Taylor in the game for the second half saved Peterman more embarrassment, but made little difference with the game so far out of reach. The list of issues for this team is getting longer by the day. Quarterback is obviously No. 1 on that list, but the offensive line is a serious problem, too. Jordan Mills is going to have nightmares of Joey Bosa. Oh, and so is the situation at wide receiver. Other than that …’

‘It is clear to me now, having seen what the Bills look like without him, that Tyrod Taylor is the greatest player in the history of football.’

‘The rest of the fourth quarter was mostly an exercise in how much embarrassment the Bills could take and how many times television cameras could show Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, who was passed over for the Bills’ head-coaching position.’

‘Taylor completed 7 of 13 passes for 83 yards and had a 30-yard run in the quarter while leading one field-goal drive, but he also lost a fumble that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown.’

‘The Bills’ four drives in the second quarter went one play (interception), three plays (punt), three plays (punt) and two plays (interception). Peterman completed six passes to Bills players in the first half and five to Chargers.’