Report: Bills Will Start QB Jeff Tuel Against The Chiefs

Update:

Jason La Canfora reports that the Bills will start QB Jeff Tuel against the Chiefs on Sunday.

• La Canfora adds that Thad Lewis is doubtful, which means Matt Flynn will be the Bills backup quarterback.

Tuel, undrafted out of Washington State, will get his first NFL start against one of the league’s best defenses. Buffalo has done pretty well with first-round QB E.J. Manuel sidelined with a knee injury.

It’s hard to expect a lot from Tuel tomorrow, so it seems very likely that the Bills will lean heavily on run game in order take some pressure off of Tuel. We’ll have more tomorrow regarding Tuel and the Bills quarterback situation.

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Bills’ HC Doug Marrone announced on Friday that QB Thad Lewis is listed as doubtful for Week 9 against the Chiefs, per Joe Buscaglia.

Lewis was able to put in a limited practice on Friday, but Marrone sounded as if Jeff Tuel or Matt Flynn are more likely to start this weekend.

The “doubtful” tag implies that Lewis has a 25-percent chance at best to play on Sunday. Marrone mentioned that Tuel received the majority of the first-team reps on Friday, so it appears as though he has the best chance of playing against the undefeated Chiefs.

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Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports that the Bills had Jeff Tuel and Matt Flynn splitting first-team reps during Wednesday’s practice.

Thad Lewis was sat out of the team’s practice in order to recover from a few injuries that he is currently dealing with. On Sunday, Lewis suffered a rib injury that took him out of the game briefly.

Bills’ HC Doug Marrone reportedly told his quarterbacks that “it could be anybody” starting against the Chiefs this weekend. Marrone added that Lewis is “truly 50-50” to play.

Lewis has played pretty well for a guy who was on their practice squad to begin the year, but it’s hard to be optimistic about their chances of beating Kansas City’s strong defense with either Tuel or Flynn under center.