Josh Allen will thank the Bills for decision to start Nathan Peterman

The Buffalo Bills are actually going with Nathan Peterman in Week 1, and Josh Allen for one should say thank you.

Despite moving up to draft Josh Allen and signing A.J. McCarron, the Buffalo Bills maintained the idea of a three-way quarterback competition including Nathan Peterman. McCarron was traded to the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, and on Monday morning Peterman was announced as the starter for Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Allen had some good moments during the preseason. But he did not fair particularly well in the third preseason game, taking five sacks before leaving the contest to be checked for a concussion. Facing a tougher Ravens’ pass rush in a meaningful game would be risk not worth taking.

For what it’s worth Peterman did go 24-for-31 for 313 yards over the second and third preseason games. But his first NFL start as a rookie last year will be the most memorable outing of his career until further notice, with five interceptions in the first half of a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that could have (and nearly did) cost the Bills a playoff spot.

Peterman completed six passes to his teammates in that game. Accounting for return yardage and one interception returned for a touchdown, he would have had a better passer rating as the Chargers’ quarterback with Chargers’ players as his intended targets.

The Bills will open their 2018 home schedule in Week 2, against the Chargers. Any lingering psychological effects for Peterman from last year’s performance could be set aside now, but it also might be a better opportunity to go with Allen in a home game.

We’ve seen a notable case of a high-touted rookie quarterback taking a beating as a rookie and never really recovering, as David Carr took a league-record 76 sacks for the expansion Houston Texans in 2002. So the Bills are taking a better path, with their own offensive line issues, by letting Peterman take some lumps for at least one game.

As for Allen, if not Week 2 in the home opener, Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers could be the target date for his first NFL start.