Bills reverse course in having Taylor ‘start’ against Chiefs
Titans QB eager to play again
ORCHARD PARK, NY, Nov 23, (AP): Rather than risk another meltdown with the Bills still in the midst of the playoff race, coach Sean McDermott had little choice but to reverse course at quarterback.
Tyrod Taylor will start on Sunday when Buffalo (5-5) travels to play the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4).
And Nathan Peterman has been sent back to the sideline after the rookie threw five interceptions in the first half of a 54-24 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend.
“It’s the right thing for our team,” McDermott said, in switching quarterbacks for the second consecutive Wednesday.
The first-year coach, however, was in no mood to revisit the reasoning behind starting Peterman in a move that ultimately backfired.
“Really, when you focus on that, when you look in the rearview mirror too long in this league, you lose sight of what’s in front,” McDermott said. “We’ve got to focus on the Chiefs, and that’s for myself as well as our team.”
In making his first career start, the fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh became the first quarterback to throw five interceptions in the first half since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Peterman finished 6 of 14 for 66 yards and was replaced by Taylor to start the third quarter with Buffalo trailing 40-7.
Whatever confidence McDermott lost in Taylor a week earlier will have to quickly be restored to spark an offense that’s sputtered no matter who’s played quarterback during a three-game skid.
“Just do his job,” he said. “I expect him to prepare like he’s always prepared and come out and lead this football team.”
McDermott faced heavy criticism for making what he called “a calculated risk” in benching Taylor at a time the Bills held the AFC’s sixth and final playoff spot. The team is also in the midst of a 17-season playoff drought, the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.
Taylor summed up the past week as “an interesting set of days,” while saying he’s not lost any confidence in himself.
In Nashville, Tennesee, Marcus
Mariota finally has done something in the NFL that the Tennessee quarterback never managed before in his career. Not in college at Oregon while winning the Heisman Trophy , nor in high school back in Hawaii.
He saw defenders intercept four of his passes in the same game.
And it’s been as painful as anyone could expect. Making it worse? All those interceptions coming on a Thursday night to add extra days to Mariota’s wait before the Titans (6-4) visit Indianapolis (3-7) on Sunday.
“I would say I’m anxious,” Mariota said Wednesday. “I think the competitor in me wants to prove that it was a fluke and that I’m better than that. Obviously, you can learn from it, make smarter decisions with the football. Yes, I’m ready to get back out there.”
With the four interceptions in the 40-17 loss in Pittsburgh , Mariota already has 10 this season, two more than the eighth touchdown passes he’s thrown. The 10 interceptions through his nine games already match what Mariota had through 12 games as a rookie and is one more than he had in 15 games last season.