Bills name QB Nathan Peterman as Week 1 starter vs Ravens

The Buffalo Bills have named second-year quarterback Nathan Peterman as their Week 1 starter.

As a rookie last year, Peterman struggled. Playing in four games (two starts), he went 24-for-49 (49.0% completion percentage), passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions, owning a passer rating of 38.4. All five of Peterman’s interceptions came in his debut last season.

After selecting former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen in the first round of this year’s draft and signing A.J. McCarron, it was believed that Peterman would be buried on the depth chart. Against all odds, Peterman stood out during the preseason and secured the starting role with his play. McCarron has since been traded to the Oakland Raiders. Allen will be one of the four first-round rookie quarterbacks to not start. Sam Darnold is the only rookie starter in Week 1.

Peterman threw the majority of his passes in the short field during the preseason, which carries over from last year. In 2017, he averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt. However, he went 33-for-41 (80.0% completion percentage) passing for 430 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Baltimore has a defense that prides itself on takeaways, leading the NFL last season with 34. The Ravens also led the league in interceptions in 2017 with 22. Though Baltimore will miss Jimmy Smith due to suspension, who had the third most interceptions on the team (3), they will have Eric Weddle (6), Brandon Carr (4), Marlon Humphrey (2) and C.J. Mosley (2) in coverage to defend against Buffalo.

Last time the Ravens played against Buffalo was in 2016 - another Opening Day game. Baltimore won 13-7.