Bills playoff hopes sill alive despite loss to Patriots: 5 Takeaways

5. The Nathan Peterman Decision could haunt the Bills

If the stars don’t align and the Bills *knock on wood* miss the playoffs for the 18th straight year then it all comes back to head coach Sean McDermott’s decision to start Nathan Peterman as quarterback in Week 11.

With Peterman making his NFL debut the Bills got thumped by the Chargers 54-24 with Peterman throwing five interceptions.

Yes those same Chargers that they are now tied at 8-7 with and are fighting for the last playoff spot in the AFC.

The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman didn’t mince words as to how bad the  decision was to start Peterman over Taylor against the Chargers.

"“The point here is not that Buffalo certainly would have won with Taylor. It’s that it would have had a chance with Taylor, and instead chose to go with Peterman, who gave the Bills absolutely zero opportunity to win. They voluntarily conceded a winnable game in the midst of their first legitimate playoff chase in years. To argue that Buffalo, which could tie for its best record this millennium, had no chance to win a game in which it started Taylor, the team’s best quarterback since Drew Bledsoe, is essentially to argue that the Bills are pointless and should disband as an organization.”"

It’s a decision that hasn’t been forgotten by Bills fans and the rest of the NFL community but if the Bills miss the playoffs due to a tiebreaker McDermott’s mid-season quarterback change will be scrutinized for years to come.

Especially with this year being the best chance the Bills have had in years to reach the playoffs once again.

Week 17 will sure to be a wild one and will have the Bills Mafia glued to their seats as the 2017 regular season winds down.

What do you think about the Bills chances on Sunday against the Dolphins? Do they finally end the playoff drought?