ANTHONY GETTINO
Special to The Leader
This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. After the Bills first playoff appearance in 17 years, they played poorly enough to wonder if it will be another 17 before they go back.
Sunday, in a final score of 47-3 to the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills looked the part of the worst team in football. Led by Nathan Peterman, who posted a passer rating of 0.0 through the first half before playing his way onto the bench, looked awful.
It was one of the single worst performances a quarterback has had this decade. He was eventually replaced by 2018 first round pick Josh Allen, who also did not look like a savior, with a final stat line of 6/15 for 74 yards, and a passer rating of 56.
For all the offensive woes the Bills faced on Sunday, the defense did not help matters.
The unit that was the focal point of last year’s playoff push looked awful, allowing the “elite” Joe Flacco to torch them to the tune of 236 yards and 3 touchdowns, resulting in a 121.7 passer rating. If this unit plays this bad the rest of the season, the team will have no chance to win.
Was there any good from this game? Yes. His name is Tremaine Edmunds.
Buffalo’s other first round pick from 2018, the linebacker showed out with a final stat line of seven tackles, two passes defensed, a sack and a forced fumble. He looks like the real deal, and at just 20 years old, he will be a vital part in the rebuild that will come to Buffalo soon.
Without a functional offensive line to protect the quarterback or open any running lanes, this season should already be considered lost. Play the young guys, start the rebuild, and move toward the future with all these draft picks the front office has hoarded the last few years.
This whole roster has went from wildcard caliber to number one overall pick worthy in one offseasons time, when it really didn’t need to be this way.
Who knows, maybe Josh Allen lights the field up for the rest of the season and makes the front offices decision to start Nathan Peterman look even worse once it’s all said and done, but it seems unlikely.
Allen will be hit hard, and hit often by opposing teams defensive linemen. He also has no receivers to throw the ball to, and LeSean McCoy is getting older.
As for next week, the Bills will go up against the San Die . . . Los Angeles Chargers in their home opener, with Josh Allen making his first career start. As all Bills fans know, the Chargers are not a team you want your rookie QB to debut against. The last QB to debut against the Chargers for the Bills was the man himself, Nathan Peterman, who ended up throwing for 5 interceptions in the first half of that game. The Bills will in all likelihood lose this game, and follow it up with another loss week three to the Minnesota Vikings.
“Still going to evaluate where we are, dotting the i’s, crossing the t’s,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
From week two we can conclude that the Bills are indeed bad. They are now 0-2, after a 31-20 loss to the Chargers at home.
Josh Allen was under pressure almost every play, resulting in a stat line of 18/33 for 245 yards and a passer rating of 63.3. He also threw his first touchdown, with his first two interceptions to go along with it.
The defense again got torched, with Phillip Rivers having a cool 23/27 for 256 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 143.2. For those of you at home keeping track, that’s an average rating of 132.45.
That’s bad.
At least the Bills scored a touchdown, their first of the season, with a run by Chris Ivory in the third quarter. This is the season ahead. Pain and suffering, with hope for the future coming from guys like Josh Allen, Tre White and Tremaine Edmunds.