CHICAGO BLITZED
How Trubisky handles Bills’ pressure will be measuring stick
Trailing the Texans by seven in the final 30 seconds in Week 6, the Bills’ Nathan Peterman committed a cardinal sin of quarterbacking.
He rolled to his right and threw across his body into the middle of the field.
It was only a short throw, but it still sailed over the head of running back LeSean McCoy and into the hands of Texans safety Kareem Jackson.
It was Peterman’s fourth interception this season and his ninth in 81 passes in seven games in his first two seasons.
“Every interception — as I heard some old quarterbacks used to say — has a story behind it,” Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Thursday.
“All of his have a story, whether it be pressure and throwing under duress, reading the coverage the wrong way, a tipped ball. They’re all individual. I don’t think there’s a common theme to them.”
But throwing interceptions has been a theme of Peterman’s brief career that Fangio’s defense wants to exploit Sunday.
Peterman is expected to start against the Bears — his first since throwing two interceptions and completing only 5 of 18 passes before being benched in Week 1 against the Ravens — with first-round pick Josh Allen (right elbow) and veteran Derek Anderson (concussion) dealing with their respective injuries.
The Bears are on quite a slope when it comes to the quarterbacks they’re facing, going from Patriots superstar Tom Brady to Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold to Peterman, but they’re mindful of it becoming a slippery one.
After all, Brock Osweiler did beat them. The Bears can’t forget that.
“We know they’re down to their third quarterback, but we still have to play our game because anybody can make a play,” safety Eddie Jackson said.
“Really, we can’t take them lightly. We have to be aggressive and play with that swagger and that intensity that we had last week [against the Jets].”
The Jets, though, were short-handed, particularly at wide receiver. The Bills aren’t. Darnold is better than Peterman, but the Bills have more firepower, starting with McCoy and wide receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones. Fangio also commended the play of tight ends Charles Clay and Jason Croom. Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor was just signed, too.
“They have the threats offensively, and they’ve beaten some good teams,” Fangio said. “They beat Minnesota, beat Tennessee [and] had Houston on the ropes.”
Well, they did until Peterman threw his interception.
“We just have to defend their offense regardless of who’s playing quarterback for them,” Fangio said. “I know that they like [Peterman] there. He did earn the starting job coming out of camp. They pulled him for [Allen] at some point, and I do know that they have a lot of confidence in him. We have to be able to defend their offense. He’s a capable player.”