Buffalo Bills’ confounding decision to bench quarterback Tyrod Taylor backfired immediately as rookie Nathan Peterman had a historically bad first start

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• The Buffalo Bills shocked the NFL world when they chose to bench their starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor.
• The Bills chose to give rookie Nathan Peterman a shot even though Taylor had been productive.
• The move blew up in the Bills’ face right away as Peterman threw five interceptions.

The Bills’ decision to bench quarterback Tyrod Taylor in favor of Nathan Peterman did not look like a good one through two quarters, with Peterman throwing four interceptions in his first nine passes and adding a fifth pick later in the game before he was eventually pulled.

The decision to switch quarterbacks during the Bills’ game last week against the New Orleans Saints raised eyebrows. Taylor played poorly, going 9/18 for just 56 yards and an interception before getting pulled, but there hadn’t been any overly egregious bad plays that usually come with such a mid-game switch.

When it was announced that Peterman would be the Bills’ starter for Week 11, the decision felt even more odd — the Bills were right in the hunt of the AFC Wild Card picture, and Taylor’s play had largely been solid on the whole, with 1,600 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and just three interceptions on the year. Changing quarterbacks at such a crucial moment in the season isn’t a common occurrence in the NFL.

A fifth round draft pick out of Pittsburgh, Peterman took the field for his first career NFL start and promptly threw five interceptions in just two quarters of action. He’d put up a final stat line of 6/14 passing for 66 yards, five interceptions, and no touchdowns before getting benched at halftime in favor of Taylor.

In fairness to Peterman, the first interception he threw was more on his receiver, with a tipped pass being picked off by Chargers linebacker Korey Toomer for a touchdown.

But with the four other picks he went on to throw, the onus was more or less on Peterman, either throwing dangerous passes he shouldn’t have thrown or eyeing his receivers downfield so intensely he was all but telling defenders when and where to jump.

With the loss the Bills will drop to 5-5 and the path to a potential playoff spot will get a bit more difficult. But before they can think about making the playoffs, they’ll have to decide whether or not they’re going to give Peterman another shot next week, or go back to Taylor as the starter.