Well, that didn’t take long. On Wednesday, Buffalo Bills Head Coach, Sean McDermott, announced that rookie quarterback, Josh Allen, would start in week two against the Los Angeles Chargers – Buffalo’s home opener.
When asked to explain the change in starting quarterbacks after only one week of regular season football, McDermott didn’t feel the need to go in to detail. “Yeah, look, I don’t feel the need, honestly, to elaborate. We talk a lot in house about decisions and things and what we need to do and the right move at the right time. Right now, this, with all respect to your question, is the right move for us”, Sean said. In his time at the podium, McDermott would tell members of the media that starting Allen this Sunday is the “right move” a total of 14 times, but anyone who watched the game this past Sunday wouldn’t need to hear it more than once to understand. Nathan Peterman’s play against the Raven’s is the only explanation needed. Peterman would finish his day going 5/18 for 24 yards and two interceptions. His Total Quarterback Rating was 0.7. Even scarier, that wasn’t Peterman’s worst game of his career.
For many the choice to start Peterman week one was also the “right move”. A year ago, he was only a rookie and unnecessarily thrust in to the starting lineup against a Los Angeles Chargers team that would finish the season third in passing defense – the same game Peterman would throw five interceptions. Since then, he’s had some time to mature. There was hope that after a full offseason, and what appeared to be a pretty good preseason, Peterman could at least be a bridge starter giving Allen more time to learn. Well, that bridge burned in just over a half of football and it is now Allen that will be the rookie quarterback being thrust in to the starting lineup against the Chargers.
In limited action versus the Ravens, Allen showed promise. Granted, it didn’t have anyone thinking Buffalo was headed to the Super Bowl just yet, but in a league where the average tenure of a head coach is under four years, the rook showed enough to understand the need for such a quick change. On Allen’s second drive, he marched Buffalo inside the five-yard line before a string of penalties and sacks forced them to settle for a field goal. He showed flashes of why Buffalo was willing to trade up and take him with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. At times the rookie looked like just that – a rookie. Other times he stood poised in the pocket and on a few plays used his athletic ability to escape and fire darts that even guys with good arms wish they could throw. Allen would finish the game going 6/15 with 74 yard and add another four carries for 26 yards rushing.
For Allen the potential is there, but in place like the NFL everyone has potential and it means nothing on paper. This Sunday we’ll find out if Josh Allen fairs any better than Nathan Peterman did in his first start against the Chargers.
