By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
For the second time in as many seasons, the Buffalo Bills will make a switch at quarterback prior to facing the Los Angeles Chargers.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced on Monday that his team will turn things over to rookie quarterback Josh Allen after a 47-3 season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Allen entered Sunday’s loss in the third quarter. He replaced second-year pro Nathan Peterman who went 5-for-18 with 24 yards passing. However, Allen didn’t fare much better, going 6-for-15 for 74 yards and 26 yards rushing. The Bills offense, overall, struggled to help both QBs on the day.
On making the switch to Allen, McDermott did not feel the need to elaborate much.
“It’s the right move for our football team, I’m not going any further than that,” McDermott said in Orchard Park on Wednesday.
Additionally, the coach didn’t commit to Allen for the entire season, just for Sunday’s game.
“I’m not going to get into how permanent it is,” McDermott said. “And again, you’ve got to understand where I’m coming from. It’s the right move for our football team and I’m not going any further than that. It’s the right move for our team and I’ve got confidence in Josh. I have confidence in this football team. And it’s the right move for our team.”
Hindsight is 20/20 for the Bills. Looking back, starting Peterman might’ve been the wrong choice. That’s not what McDermott thinks, though. He defended his decision, much like the way he defended starting Peterman in 2017 over then-starter Tyrod Taylor, leading to Peterman’s five-interception outing.
“I felt like, just like this … I thought that was the right move. I’ll take that to the grave,” McDermott said.
Despite not regretting his decision, nor further explaining his decision to start Allen this week, the coach did explain what he liked about Allen’s brief stint against the Ravens. McDermott mentioned the way Allen got the offense out of the huddle and his mobility as things that impressed the coach.
“I thought his command of the offense was there. There was some things he did well … in getting us in-and-out of the huddle. Those are things you don’t take for granted with a young player out there. After the snap, he executed fairly well at times and there’s other times where we need to execute better. He moved well to put himself into position to generate some offense, within the pocket and then outside of the pocket.
“He’s going to continue to learn and grow and that’s the growth mindset that our team embraces and that’s the key in this situation,” McDermott said.