EJ Manuel is starting in Week 6 for the Buffalo Bills in place of Tyrod Taylor, who is out with an injury, and a report on Sunday indicates he could retain the job if he performs well against the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (via Pro Football Talk), Manuel could keep the job if he can get wide receiver Sammy Watkins involved in the Bills offense.
Watkins has been awfully quiet this season with Taylor as the distributor within the offense. To date, he only has 12 targets on the season, with seven catches for 99 yards and one touchdown to show for his efforts.
He recently voiced his frustration about his lack of targets, per Mike Rodak of ESPN, saying, “‘You’re making me look bad, and you’re making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?”
Last year Watkins caught 65 passes for 982 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
If Manuel can get Watkins — one of the league’s burgeoning superstars — involved in the offense, then it can mean only good things for the Bills.
On the flip side, it is kind of strange to hear this kind of chatter about a quarterback losing his job after said quarterback has done nothing but inspire his team.
Taylor earned the praise of his head coach as recently as last weekend. He gutted out a tremendous performance against the Tennessee Titans, playing on a gimpy leg (MCL sprain) and driving the Bills to score two second-half touchdowns, winning the game by one point. Afterwards, head coach Rex Ryan said it was a “tough” and “courageous” effort.
Football is an unforgiving sport, however. If Manuel comes out on fire, gets Watkins involved and gets the Bills offense moving against the Bengals, then nobody should be surprised if he remains the starter, regardless of Taylor’s exploits.