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Tyrod Taylor will start for the Buffalo Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs

The veteran gets the nod.

Buffalo Bills v Los Angeles Chargers Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

After failing to name a starting quarterback on Monday, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced Wednesday that Tyrod Taylor would be his starting quarterback in Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nathan Peterman will serve as backup.

McDermott gave a wry smile after walking out and telling reporters he was opening the floor for questions. Media members tripped over each other asking the same thing; “Who is your starting quarterback?”

“Tyrlod Taylor will be our starting quarterback this Sunday,” said McDermott. “It’s the right thing for our team.

Taylor came in to finish 15-of-25 for 158 yards with a passing touchdown and another touchdown on the ground leading the offense. Taylor looked confident and took more downfield chances in his two quarters of football. He is 5-4 this season as the starter.

“Discussions with team played an impact on decision, but at the end it's my decision, continued McDermott. “It's always about the team, and it will always be about the team. It's about the pulse and having a feel for his team. That's part of decision to start Tyrod Taylor."

This past Sunday, Peterman started for the first time as a pro against the Los Angeles Chargers, throwing five interceptions on just 14 attempts. He completed more passes to his own team, though, as he managed to find his target six times. While not all of the fault for the inteceptions is on Peterman, it certainly didn’t look great when he was pulled at halftime.

“Discussions with team played an impact on decision, but at the end it's my decision,” continued McDermott. “Nathan was a pro when I told him he would get benched. At some point rookies have to play. That's how you get better. That's how you develop the future of an organization.”

Moving forward, McDermott reiterated that it is still week-to-week on the starting quarterback decision while shaking his head no when asked if he thinks Taylor is going to be looking over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake.

"Like every position. Every position is the same. We are going to evaluate every week," said McDermott on the decision. “A week ago, I felt like the right thing for this team was to start Nate. This week, the right thing for this team is to start Tyrod Taylor.”

When asked what Taylor had to do to keep his starting spot, he merely replied “Do his job.”

McDermott, who said he spoke with general manager Brandon Beane about the decision, once again said he didn’t regret starting Peterman but part of his most recent decision is to protect the rookie.

“It's important, number one, that he's mentally in the right state of mind,” said McDermott of Peterman. “He has to understand that all of it was not on him.”

Former Bills came out of the woodwork to criticize McDermott for making the switch before, during, and after the game. Even current Bills were visibly frustrated by the move, especially veteran LeSean McCoy.

Buffalo travels to Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday to take on the faltering Kansas City Chiefs at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.