Tyrod Taylor rises to the top in Bills quarterback competition

In Friday night’s preseason Week 1 matchup, the Buffalo Bills held their own in a tight loss to the Carolina Panthers 25-24.

Among the three quarterbacks competing for the starting job, Tyrod Taylor was arguably the most impressive of the bunch. He managed to convert his two drives into touchdowns and also put his feet to work, tallying 47 yards on the ground in six rushing attempts. Additionally, Taylor completed five of eight passing attempts for 49 yards.

This was enough progress for head coach Rex Ryan to decide that Taylor will start in the second preseason game against the Cleveland Browns next Thursday.

Quarterback Matt Cassel, who opened for the Bills in Week 1 as the starter, passed for 45 yards on seven completions. E.J. Manuel was hit and miss completing four of eight passes for 77 yards, which included a 51-yard touchdown bomb to Deonte Thompson. He also had trouble with snaps, resulting in a couple fumbles.

Ryan all along has talked up Taylor, despite his limited NFL starting experience as the Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback for four years. During that time he completed 19 of 35 passes for 199 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

Barring any changes in Ryan’s plans, it would appear that Taylor will be the flavor of the week come Thursday night. Based on the way things have gone for all three quarterbacks, however, there is a good chance we’ll see a different starter in Week 3 unless Taylor has a standout performance.