Buffalo still uncertain on QB position

Bills head coach Sean McDermott will not solely base the performance of his QBs on last weeks loss.

OR CHARD PARK, N.Y. » Bills coach Sean McDermott isn’t going to be rushed into naming a starting quarterback a day after his decision to go with rookie Nathan Peterman backfired.

McDermott on Monday said he’s still evaluating whether to give Peterman another start or return to Tyrod Taylor for Buffalo’s game at Kansas City this weekend. Peterman unraveled in a 54-24 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Peterman he threw five interceptions in the first half before being replaced by Taylor with the Bills down 40-7. Buffalo (5-5) has lost three straight with McDermott being roundly criticized for taking what he called “a calculated risk” to switch starters while his team is in the playoff race.

“I own the decision and as I said yesterday, I don’t regret the decision. I do regret the result, and there’s other hands also in the result,” he said. “You go back and you learn from it. I learn from it as a head coach and I expect all to learn from and we grow and we move forward.”

McDermott won’t be swayed by the criticism even when acknowledging the quarterback switch failed to provide much spark to what had been a sputtering offense. And he maintained his confidence in Peterman, a fifth-round draft pick who split his college career at Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

“One game is not going to define Nathan or Nathan’s career,” McDermott said. “Young players go through it. And you saw some of it yesterday and I put that back on myself.”

Peterman completed 6 of 14 attempts for 66 yards over seven first-half possessions and became the first quarterback since 1970 to throw at least five interceptions in the first half of a Buffalo Bills quarterback Nathan Peterman warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, in Carson, Calif. game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He did oversee one touchdown drive, which had him hand the ball off twice to running back LeSean McCoy for a 37-yard gain followed by a 27-yard touchdown run up the left sideline.

Otherwise, Peterman threw interceptions on four of Buffalo’s first five drives, and then another one to close the half. The turnovers accounted for the Chargers scoring 24 points, including Korey Toomer returning one 59 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring.

The Chargers’ pass rush rattled Peterman into throwing at least two in- terceptions. The first one, however, wasn’t entirely the quarterback’s fault. His pass hit off the hands off fullback Patrick DiMarco and deflected into Toomer’s hands.

“I did not play very well,” Peterman acknowledged after the game. “As things start to happen, I have to let them go. I have to put more on myself.”

Taylor mopped up, going 15 of 25 for 158 yards with a touchdown passing and rushing, while also losing a fumble that was returned for a score.

Taylor was abruptly benched after he went 9 of 15 for 56 yards and the Bills managed four first downs through 55 minutes in a 4710 loss to New Orleans on Nov. 12.

In updating injuries, McDermott said tests showed starting receiver Kelvin Benjamin did not sustain any ligament damage to his right knee after being hurt while making a 20-yard catch on Buffalo’s opening drive. McDermott did not say whether Benjamin would be cleared for practice this week. title here Saturday with a 35-10 victory over Georgetown. The win was Colgate’s fifth in a row to end the season and wrapped up a 5-1 Patriot League campaign.

The Raiders finished 7-4 overall and are the only 2017 Patriot League team to sport an overall winning record (Lehigh and Bucknell both 5-6).

Many of the Raiders celebrating were doing so for the second time in three seasons, and they were joined on the turf postgame by many of the graduated members of that 2015 NCAA playoff run.

Saturday, Colgate’s defense stretched its streak of not allowing a touchdown to 15 quarters, dating to Holy Cross scoring on its opening drive back on Oct. 21. Georgetown’s only TD was a pick-six on the game’s very first play. The Raiders fell behind 10- 0 but then scored the game’s final 35 points.

Thomas Ives accounted for three of those TDs on receptions from Grant Breneman that basically should be categorized in the following order: Good, Great, Incredible.

The first went for 2 yards on a good route and toss from Breneman. The second covered 19 yards and Ives actually brought this one down one-handed while fighting off the Georgetown defender. The third TD went for 3 yards and must be seen to be be- lieved. Ives not only set himself up single-handedly (get it?) as an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 nominee for the third time this year, but he also tied a Colgate game record with the three touchdown receptions.

Colgate Men’s Ice Hockey

Jared Cockrell (Readfield, Maine) scored a pair of goals within 3:18 of each other in the second period Saturday night for his second career two-goal game as the No. 19 Colgate men’s ice hockey team held on to beat the St. Lawrence Saints at Class of 1965 Arena.

The Raiders wrapped up the home slate for the 2017 calendar year with a record of 6-1-2 in nine games as they returned to the win column Saturday night.

Adam Dauda (Kitchener, Ontario) tallied his second goal as many nights for the Raiders in the victory while Bobby McMann ( Wainwright, Alberta) added an assist for his third point of the weekend.

Goaltender Colton Point (North Bay, Ontario) was solid between the pipes for the Raiders as he made 26 saves on 27 shots to lower his goals against average to 1.46 on the season.

Offensively, the Raiders peppered the Saints’ defense and goaltender Arthur Brey with 43 shots, including 31 over the final two periods as Colgate dominated much of the play. All of the action happened during an exciting second period in Hamilton with all four goals coming during the middle stanza.

Colgate Women’s Ice Hockey

Megan Sullivan ( Toronto, Ontario) scored a pair of goals for the No. 3/3 Colgatewomen’s ice hockey team Saturday afternoon as the Raiders skated past the Brown Bears, 5-3, at Meehan Auditorium.

Sullivan gave the Raiders a two-goal scorer for the second straight game following up Breanne Wilson-Bennett’s (Markham, Ontario) two-goal game Friday night at Yale.

With the victory, the Raiders extend their winning streak to six games for the second longest winning streak in the nation. The Raiders are now 13-1-0 on the season, their most wins through 14 games in program history.

Morrisville State Men’s Basketball

The Morrisville State College women’s basketball team was overpowered by host Stockton University Saturday evening in the opening round of the Stockton Tip-Off Tournament held in Galloway, falling 77- 46 to the Osprey’s. Two freshmen led the way for the Mustangs, as Alexis Campbell (Buffalo, N.Y.) posted 11 points and two steals, while teammate Abby Halsey ( Palmyra, N.Y.) added 10 points and team high seven rebounds. Peyton Jackson (Rochester, N.Y.) added seven points.