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Wednesday morning, the Buffalo Bills raised eyebrows around the NFL when coach Sean McDermott announced that rookie Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round pick out of the University of Pittsburgh, will get his first career start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. The switch to Peterman from incumbent and captain Tyrod Taylor comes as a surprise but also at a time when the Bills' offense could desperately use a shot in the arm. Buffalo is coming off its first home loss of the season, a 47-10 blowout in which the New Orleans Saints ran for 298 yards and a franchise-record six rushing touchdowns, in the process becoming the first team since 1941 to run for six scores without punting. As it stands, Buffalo ranks 30th in the NFL yards per play (4.72), 28th in yards per game (292), tied for 27th in first downs per game (16.9), and 31st in sacks per pass attempt percentage (10.6). The jury's out on what boost trade-deadline acquisition Kelvin Benjamin can bring to the Bills' sputtering passing attack; in Sunday's loss, the former first-round pick caught three passes for 42 yards. If the playoffs were to begin today, the Bills would be in for the first time since 1999. Before Wednesday's quarterback change, ESPN's FPI gave Buffalo a 26 percent chance of reaching the postseason. As ESPN's Dan Graziano writes, this likely marks Taylor's last season in Buffalo. He laid out a number of possibilities for 2018 destinations, including the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins. Was change necessary? Vote below: In his final season at Pitt in 2016, Peterman led the ACC in passer efficiency rating (163.4) and fewest sacks (10), as the Panthers completed an 8-5 campaign that included an upset of eventual national champion Clemson. He'll be facing a Chargers defense that is allowing the NFL's most rushing yards per game but whose opponents have the league's lowest red zone efficiency. -- Brendan C. Hall
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