<
>

Buffalo Bills yet to decide if Nathan Peterman or Josh Allen will start vs. Chargers

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott had yet to decide Monday on a starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, keeping open the possibility of Nathan Peterman making another start instead of rookie Josh Allen.

"I'm still going through it," he said. "I certainly respect where everyone is coming from on it. I'm gonna continue to evaluate where we are -- dotting the I's, crossing the T's and taking it one step at a time.

"There's a lot of things that will go into that decision. To get into all of the things I have to look at and consider, it's not just as simple as some might think. There's a lot of hands in that jar and I got to look at the overall team in all three phases, and Josh's development being one of them."

Peterman started Sunday's regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens but was benched in the third quarter after completing 5-of-18 passes for 24 yards, two interceptions and a 0.0 passer rating. He was replaced by Allen with the Bills trailing 40-0. Allen completed 6-of-15 passes for 74 yards.

Peterman has a 16.8 passer rating in three career starts, the fourth-worst rating in starts among the 227 NFL quarterbacks who have started games since 2001. In his starting debut last season against the Chargers, Peterman threw five interceptions before he was benched at halftime.

The Ravens sacked Peterman and Allen three times each in Sunday's game. Buffalo's receivers dropped four passes, according to ESPN Stats & Information, tied for the second-highest total among Week 1 games before Monday night.

"I thought [Peterman] made some good decisions and some decisions he would like to have back," McDermott said Monday. "Overall as an offense we didn't move the ball."

Also on Monday, the Bills signed former Browns defensive end Nate Orchard, filling the roster spot created by waiving defensive tackle Adolphus Washington.

Orchard, a second-round pick of Cleveland in 2015, was featured on this season of "Hard Knocks."