Bills vs. Patriots, 2014 NFL Week 17: should Kyle Orton or EJ Manuel start?

The Buffalo Bills have one more meaningless regular season game to play in the 2014 season, and the topic of which quarterback will start on Sunday in New England is likely to be a popular one throughout the week.

Kyle Orton (63.9 percent completions, 2,842 yards at 6.7 yards per attempt, 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 86.8 rating, and 6-5 record) is as known a commodity as there is at his position in the NFL. Aside from a play-for-pride dream, in which a Bills team that just lost to Oakland somehow convinces itself that they can beat New England in a stadium they've never won in, there is little that the team is going to glean about Orton that they don't already know with a start this coming weekend.

EJ Manuel (58.0 percent completions, 838 yards at 6.4 yards per attempt, five touchdowns, three interceptions, 80.3 rating, and 2-2 record) might be a known commodity, too - but there is, at bare minimum, certainly more that's to be learned about Manuel than there is about Orton in one game, particularly after a three-month layoff for the former first-round pick. Buffalo's unwillingness to turn back to Manuel despite Orton's struggles speaks volumes about how they feel about their most important draft pick in years - but if they're truly in information-gathering mode heading into the offseason, Manuel starting might benefit them greatly.

Who would you rather see start at quarterback for the Bills this weekend? Orton or Manuel? And in the grand scheme of things, will the answer to this question ever really matter?