Buffalo Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel looked solid in his regular season debut against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Manuel didn't have huge stats, but he led the team well, didn't turn the ball over and kept the Bills in a game in which very few thought they could even be competitive.
E.J. Manuel looks poised, but doesn’t put up big fantasy numbers in debut
Buffalo Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel looked poised in his regular season debut. We break down the fantasy implications.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
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Poise is the word that's used a lot in situations like this. Manuel showed a command of the offense and poise. His stats were average, as he completed 18 of 27 passes for 150 yards, but had a pair of touchdowns as well, with no interceptions. His touchdowns went to Stevie Johnson and Robert Woods.
The touchdown to Johnson went for 18 yards in the third quarter, and it gave Buffalo a 21-17 lead over their division rivals. Unfortunately for the Bills, the Patriots managed a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter to take the win.
Fantasy Impact: For starters, it’s good to see that Manuel is healthy. His status for Week 1 was in doubt due to an injury suffered in the preseason. Through two preseason games and one regular season game, Manuel has yet to throw an interception. It seems like he’ll probably do well in that regard all season, but he’s also been one to rely on check-downs and short passes in general. He’s not going to blow you away in fantasy, or rather, he’s not likely to. There’s still some boom potential there so he might be worth a pickup for a bye week at this point.
