ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The uncertainty continues.
As the Bills offense struggled in the first quarter — two three-and-outs while trailing Jacksonville (2-9) 7-0 — the Buffalo fans among the 67,849 in New Era Field on Sunday afternoon booed lustily.
Their target was quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
In fairness, he had no running game.
Feature back LeSean McCoy, in the first half, had eight carries for five yards … and that INCLUDED a 7-yard touchdown run.
On the game, the Bills had 11 plays for negative or zero yards, eight in the first half, four of them sacks … though they eventually rallied to win 28-21.
Taylor finished the opening 30 minutes 7-of-11 passing for 48 yards — no completion longer than 12 — with a substandard 73.3 passer rating and having been dumped those four times.
He seemed nervous in the pocket while going through his reads, and was reluctant to throw over the middle except on dump-offs.
The crowd sensed his indecisiveness.
After intermission, Taylor’s performance improved dramatically, likely buoyed by McCoy’s career-best 75-yard touchdown sprint on the first snap of the second half.
His numbers were good enough: 12-of-18 passing for 166 yards, a 16-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter for the winning score, no interceptions and a solid 114.6 passer rating.
But Taylor threw only seven times after the break — completing five — and ran seven yards for a score.
And if you buy the bromide that “any win is a good win” that should be enough.
But Taylor is playing for his Bills career.
He signed a 6-year, $92 million contract during the summer, but the team can void the last five when the season ends. That decision must be made in a span of three days when the campaign finishes (Super Bowl) and if the Buffalo administration decides to invoke the contract, Taylor will be due $27.5 million ($15.5 million in bonus money) for 2017.
Five games remain and he has hardly established himself as Buffalo’s “franchise quarterback.”
He was helped on Sunday by the return of No. 1 wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who caught three balls for 80 yards, including a 62-yarder up the sideline that was a catch only an elite wideout makes.
But to fans, Taylor still seems to be a run-first (7 carries for 38 yards), or at least with the first sign of trouble, QB, who is reluctant to pull the trigger downfield, especially away from the sidelines.
“The game has definitely changed,” said the 27-year-old former Raven. “(All) 32 quarterbacks (starting in the NFL) play it differently. I’m going to do what I’ve been doing. It’s gotten me to this point … just continue to keep building and growing my game from that.
“Honestly, I don’t play to please the people that’s watching. I play for my teammates and whatever it takes to win. Wins and losses, that’s all I care about.”
Buffalo coach Rex Ryan, defending his quarterback, maintained, “(The Jaguars) did a good job coverage-wise and they were able to really put some pressure on (him) and at the time it just looked like they had (our receivers) covered.
“We stayed the course and knew if we could protect it would give Tyrod a little more time and he’d be able to make some plays on them.”
Taylor is now 14-11 in his 25 starts as a Bill, but the questions remain about his viability as Buffalo’s long-term starter, though the return of Watkins may help the team’s decision-makers arrive at a more well-considered conclusion.
“Missing Sammy early on in the season definitely hurt our offense,” the former Virginia Tech star said. “Sammy’s presence, what he’s been able to do since he stepped into this league, has been incredible.
“It was great to have him back today making plays. We’ve just got to continue to keep building with this chemistry moving forward.”
Especially, in as much as Watkins might literally have Taylor’s career in his hands over the next five games.
(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
