Nathan Peterman left the Bills no choice but to go back to Tyrod Taylor (who should’ve never been benched at all)

The Buffalo Bills might have lost no matter who was at quarterback against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Buffalo defense certainly didn’t do its part, giving up 429 total yards in Week 11. But it’s safe to say that Tyrod Taylor wouldn’t have given away the game the way Nathan Peterman did.

The fifth-round rookie’s five interceptions were the most any player has thrown in a half since 1991, and just one shy of the worst ever for a first-career start.

It was a disastrous performance, and Peterman had as many interceptions as Taylor has thrown in his last 14 starts combined.

What’s worse is that the self-destruction against the Chargers came when the Bills had a tenuous grasp on the second Wild Card spot in the AFC. Now at 5-5, Buffalo is on the wrong side of a tiebreaker with the Baltimore Ravens and on the outside looking in.

Benching Taylor reeked of panic when the decision was made, and it looks even worse now.

“I don’t regret my decision,” head coach Sean McDermott said after the game. “I regret the result ... This is in part about winning now and in part about winning in the future.”

Maybe even worse was the stubbornness to stick with Peterman until halftime. Even after three first quarter interceptions — one of which was a pick-six — the Bills trailed 10-7 after 15 minutes and 17-7 after the Chargers started the second quarter with a touchdown. With the game still in reach, McDermott gave Peterman a chance to right the ship, but that only allowed things to get worse.

Peterman added two more interceptions to his total as Los Angeles rolled to a 27-0 edge in the second quarter alone and a 37-7 lead at halftime.

With his decision clearly backfiring, McDermott sat on it until it was far too late for Buffalo to have any hope of coming back.

In Week 10, the Bills scored just three points against the Saints before Peterman finally came in and led the team to a touchdown in garbage time. When McDermott announced his decision to change quarterbacks, he provided very little reasoning for what exactly Taylor did wrong.

The reality is that Taylor was benched mostly due to his conservative nature as a passer. He is — for better or worse — a player who doesn’t take many chances and doesn’t throw many interceptions as a consequence.

While Peterman threw five interceptions in two quarters Sunday, Taylor has just three in all of 2017. His tendency to check down instead of taking shots downfield can be frustrating for a team looking for a spark, but Taylor isn’t someone who will melt down.

If there’s a good thing about Peterman’s implosion, it’s that it happened fast. In one half, the rookie made it perfectly clear to everyone watching that he isn’t the one to take the Bills to the Super Bowl.

Barring some inexplicably bad decision-making, Taylor will likely be back as the starter again for the final six games of the regular season. McDermott wouldn’t commit to a quarterback after the game Sunday, but with the Bills still in the hunt, it would be astounding if the team gave Peterman another go.

The Bills just have to top other mediocre teams like the Ravens, Dolphins, Jets, Texans, and Raiders for a spot in the postseason. That’s certainly doable, although two games against the Patriots will make things tough.

With the Bills still in the mix, the real question is whether or not they can bounce back. The offense has been under the microscope with changes made at quarterback, but another concern is the team’s complete inability to stop the run, giving up 638 rushing yards over an awful three-game stretch.

But Taylor’s performance in replacement of Peterman showed good signs that the offense may have better days ahead.

In the second half against the Chargers, Taylor threw deep and took chances often. Yes, it was against a Los Angeles secondary protecting a big lead, but Taylor finished with 15 completions on 25 attempts for 158 yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown.

If benching Taylor flipped a switch that leads to more production in the long run, it could vindicate the choice to start Peterman. For now, though, it looks like a bad blunder for a first-year head coach who gift-wrapped a win to the Chargers and severely hurt his team’s playoff chances.