When Keith Wenning was signed this week as the quarterback to relieve Nathan Peterman, the only healthy quarterback on the Bills’ roster, he was the joke of the week. They guy had been a back-up for the Cincinnati Bengals and a Baltimore Ravens sixth round pick. If Wenning could just hand the ball off and have some semblance of being a mediocre game manager when he faced the Detroit Lions, he would have earned his money. Things turned out much better than that for Wenning and the Bills. He and Nathan Peterman put up a solid showing that ended up with a 27-17 win over the Lions.
Here is the lowdown of Buffalo’s only pre-season win.
Nathan Peterman shines
Once again, rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman displayed some talent and confidence that the Buffalo Bills seemed to thrive on. Most of his passes were right on the money. The only incompletion that was slightly off target sailed to tight end Nick O’Leary. However, the throw was still catchable. In other words, Julio Jones would have turned it into a completion. According to Buffalo Rumblings, Peterman ended the night with 9 out of 11 completions for 91 yards. He looked comfortable and maintained an offensive rhythm that clicked for the entire first quarter. The quarterback hit receivers such as Brandon Reilly, Logan Thomas, and Philly Brown all over the field.
Bills’ coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane should be feeling secure if Peterman is the starter on opening day against the New York Jets. First-stringer Tyrod Taylor is still in concussion protocol and may not be ready to play on Sept. 10.
The Keith Wenning show
Game announcer Steve Tasker praised Keith Wenning’s performance after the game and said that a guy who was the punchline for the week held his own.
Wenning only had three days to prepare for the game and still managed to drive Buffalo down the field for three quarters. He finished with 41 yards passing, according to Buffalo News. However, Buffalo’s running backs carried the offense with over 200 yards rushing. Jonathan Williams and Joe Banyard led the ground attack. Buffalo native Jordan Johnson capped off his preseason with a red zone touchdown.
It is possible that Wenning could replace quarterback T.J. Yates, who has had a poor performance this offseason.
The Bills also reduced their penalties with only 5 for the night, a great improvement from the other pre-season games. That helped to keep the chains moving. Good luck in your season opener, Buffalo Bills.
