Thursday's NFL game cost both the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns their starting quarterbacks. Soon after word Brian Hoyer is finished for the season with a knee injury, the Bills announced counterpart EJ Manuel would miss several weeks with his own bum knee.
Coach Doug Marrone made it official at his Friday media conference.
The QBs' injuries came in the Browns' 37-24 victory Thursday in Cleveland.
While Brandon Weeden is a veteran with credentials to replace Hoyer, the Bills turned to undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel as his second.
Manuel's injury is to the lateral-collateral ligament in his right knee, Marrone said.
Team officials began a hunt for a new quarterback, one who might start next week. It remains to be seen whether that QB is a current free agent or will be acquired in trade.
Marrone wouldn't commit to Tuel, saying only the rookie's starting against the Cincinnati Bengals was a "possibility."
Like Hoyer, Manuel was injured on a running play.
At the end of a 14-yard pickup in the third quarter, Manuel was whacked on his right knee by the helmet of Browns safety Tashaun Gipson, who was a nuisance to the Bills all evening.
Following the game, Marrone was drilled by reporters about whether he would prefer Manuelto run out of bounds and not risk injury.
"E.J.'s a tough kid. He took a shot, he scrambled, he made a first down, he was trying to score a touchdown," Marrone said. "What do you say? 'Don't scramble, don't score touchdowns.' "
Now, how will the Bills adjust to Tuel instead of Manuel? It didn't do well Thursday, sputtering as the Browns came back. On his first three series, Tuel went three-and-out. He threw an interception on the team's final series, resulting in a game-deciding touchdown.
Because he entered the week with little practice, Tuel appeared unprepared for his emergency fill-in work. When quizzed on whether that affected his QB, Marrone said: "I'm not going to stand here and say it didn't. Did it hurt Jeff? Yeah, I think that hurt him."
And Tuel admitted it took time to get a feel for the game.
"It's been a while since I've had any live bullets like that," he told the Buffalo News. "Especially against 'ones' like that, but after just a few snaps I felt like I settled in there a little bit and was seeing better and slowing down a little bit."
With Manuel out, Tuel will get a long week of work and plenty of reps. He will need all he can get.