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Two weeks ago, Derek Anderson was out of football. Last week, the Buffalo Bills signed him to mentor rookie quarterback Josh Allen. Sunday, he will be the starting quarterback of the Bills against the Colts in Indianapolis.
Things went quickly for 35-year-old Anderson, who played for the last time in an NFL game last January, after being eliminated by the Carolina Panthers for a game against the New Orleans Saints after the dismissal of Cam Newton. Anderson launched a pass, an unfinished one, in this loss after the season.
The last time Anderson started a match was in 2016, when he started two games for the Panthers, losing both.
But now, Anderson is a quarterback again.
"That's football," said Anderson this week. "Things that happen in this game never amaze me, you just have to be ready at all times, I was quite aware of what I wanted to do here." is not ideal, but we will do what we can. "
Anderson received the nod because Allen was injured in the right elbow and the Bills apparently did not have much confidence in Nathan Peterman.
Peterman replaced injured Allen in last week's game against Houston, and he sent a touchdown pass and two interceptions in the 20-13 loss to the Texans. One interception came late in the game and was returned for the winning touchdown. Peterman has a touchdown pass and four interceptions this season and has three touchdowns with nine interceptions in six career NFL games.
"It's the right choice for our team," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott, making Anderson the starter.
Anderson has a major challenge. Buffalo (2-4) averages only 12.7 points per game, the last of the NFL, and the Bills game is also last at 123.0 yards.
In addition, Anderson could be a little rusty.
"It will take a minute to get used to it," he said of the speed of the match. "But I think we'll have a good plan and I'm happy with the things we've had today, football is football for me, physically, I feel good last week, I just pushed myself enough for I knew what I was doing, but I managed well all week, I ran pretty hard on Sunday.I felt good today, I feel good in the legs , the arm feels good, we are mentally working on it, I spend a lot of time trying to catch up with these guys, it's my job to do everything in my power to catch up with our guys. "
The fact that the Colts (1-5) lost four games in a row, ranking 26th in the NFL against the pass and 30th in points, played for Anderson.
However, the Colts have an excellent pass and are tied for third in the NFL with 19 sacks. Margus Hunt and Darius Leonard share the lead with four sacks each.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck leads the NFL in full passes and is second with 16 touchdowns but has launched eight interceptions.
Luck also faces a daunting challenge. The Bills are ranked third in the league in authorized yards, and tied for third with 19 points. The defensive wing Jerry Hughes is leading the Bills with 4.5.
"They are under a lot of pressure and of course, this will be a factor for Andrew this week," said Colts head coach Frank Reich, who has been acting quarterback for the Bills for nine seasons. "No doubt they're putting a lot of pressure on the defense – it's probably the best defense we've played so far this season and I think it's because of the Pass rushes because they are under pressure.They find the way to press four rushers and still play the zone blanket behind and when you can do it, it's a winning formula. "
Luck was not sacked in the 42-34 loss to the New York Jets last week, but staying face to face will be more difficult against the Bills.
In the loss to the Texans, the Bills fired Deshaun Watson seven times and forced him to fumble three times (he lost one).
The Colts were pretty good at the attack, averaging 25.3 points and 369.2 yards per game. They rank 10th in the NFL in passing yards.
But their only victory came on Sept. 16 – a 21-9 win over the Washington Redskins.
"Losing is not fun," Luck said this week. "What we can not allow is that losing becomes OK and you start looking for an excuse or looking for – do it OK, I learned that when I was a recruit and I went into this cloakroom There is a proud winning culture in this team and we need to get it back a bit I think we're close I think we have the people to do it but we have to take the next steps and make myself excited for this week. "
Chance may have T.Y. wide Receiver Pro Bowl Receiver. Hilton returns this week after missing two starts. Hilton had to test her sore hamstrings in training late in the week to see if he could go on Sunday. But he was a full participant Wednesday, suggesting that he will play.
"My less than (100%) is better than a lot of people," said Hilton, when asked if he could play injured.
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