CBS Sports

‘This has been a theme of Pryor’s career since he left Cleveland after the 2016 season, during which he seemingly established himself as a starting-caliber receiver with a 1,000-yard season. Since then, he’s failed to latch onto the Redskins, Jets, and now the Bills. It’s his failure to stick with the Bills that is the most concerning, because the Bills roster is devoid of starting-caliber receivers. Zay Jones leads the team with 392 receiving yards. Next is Kelvin Benjamin with 302 receiving yards. A lot of that has to do with the Bills’ quarterback situation, but the receivers aren’t exactly helping.’

‘Peterman had arguably the worst game in NFL history in his first start, getting intercepted five times in 14 pass attempts while throwing for only 66 yards. He was benched for Taylor at halftime and Taylor resumed the starting job until getting injured later in the season. For the season, Peterman completed just 24 of 49 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns, and the aforementioned five picks.’

‘Sean McDermott, current Bills coach, was the overwhelmingly popular choice by everyone involved in the process. The data they used, as well the other elements of the criteria set up at the start of the process, all pointed to McDermott, a highly-regarded defensive coordinator with Carolina at the time.’

‘The Jets aren’t exactly in great shape either. New York will be starting Josh McCown after rookie Sam Darnold suffered a foot sprain that could sideline him for several weeks.’

‘They will shock you. No, really, they will, and you definitely will want to take Alabama, because the Tide would be catching almost 30 points from the Buffalo Bills, according to Jeff Sherman of SuperBook USA, who tweeted on Thursday the Bills would be 28.5-point favorites over the Crimson Tide.’

‘Manuel definitely has a point here. At the very least, the Bills would almost certainly cut down on their interception count if they added Manuel and dumped Peterman. Manuel has only thrown 16 interceptions in 590 career passing attempts (one interception every 36.9 throws) while Peterman has thrown 12 picks in just 130 career passing attempts (or one interception for every 10.8 throws). Basically, Peterman throws interceptions nearly three times as often Manuel.’

‘The point being, this is arguably a matchup between the league’s worst offense and the league’s best defense, and the league’s most interception-prone quarterback and one of the league’s most interception-inducing defenses. As a result, the Bears are nine-point road favorites, according to SportsLine.’

‘It’s not an unfair suggestion. Now that Pryor is on the Bills’ roster, he might not just be their best receiver. He also might be their best quarterback.’

‘The bottom line of this game? It was a have and have-not matchup. The Patriots are the cream of the crop and they’re about to hit the cruise control portion of the season, having overcome a slow start, stacked some wins and moved to 6-2 with a large division lead. Buffalo is a team starting a 35-year-old Anderson under center because Josh Allen is injured and Nathan Peterman is addicted to throwing interceptions. Anderson was signed on Oct. 9.’

‘Anderson is at least familiar with McDermott (and general manager Brandon Beane) from their shared time in Carolina, where Anderson served as the backup to Cam Newton for several seasons. He can at least run a functional NFL offense, even if he does not necessarily have the highest ceiling. Either way, Allen seems likely to re-enter the lineup whenever his elbow has healed. It would not be a surprise if the team officially moved on from Peterman shortly after that.’

‘Peterman has been the subject of much mocking since his latest appearance — including the playoffs, Peterman has 82 career passes. In those 82 passes, he has thrown 10 interceptions. His regular-season interception percentage is 11.4. 11.4! He throws interceptions on more than 11 percent of his passes. For veterans in the locker room, it’s understandable they might not want to keep grinding through a potentially lost season fueled by Peterman throwing picks all over the place.’

‘While the Eagles did call Buffalo to briefly discuss the availability of running back LeSean McCoy, the sides never got close to a deal and the Bills are not seeking to move the running back, or veteran pass rusher Jerry Hughes, whose stellar play has also drawn the notice of contending teams. Both players are considered vital veterans on the youthful team, both are signed to team-friendly deals beyond this season, and the Bills intend to keep both.’

‘”We get calls all the time. Incoming calls happen all the time. [General manager] Brandon [Beane] and I talk a lot. I won’t go into any more detail than that. Really, again, this is a big week for us. Another opportunity to get better. Another opportunity for us to develop as a football team against a very good opponent, in particular down there in a tough place to play.”‘

‘”No longer a Miami Dolphin, good luck to my brothers on the team I’ll miss y’all but I couldn’t be happier to be out of there,” Phillips wrote. “I’m in my bag, don’t take it personal. Sometimes you got to put your future in your own hands and live with it.”‘

‘After sitting out one week, it sounds like McCoy plans on making a return to the field on Sunday when the Bills travel to Green Bay. As a matter of fact, McCoy is so sure that he’s going o be playing that he basically guaranteed it on Wednesday.’