It's one of the toughest decisions a coach can make in the preseason: How much should they play their starters in a meaningless preseason games?
Bills coach Rex Ryan admits he made the wrong decision on Friday night when he allowed starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to play in Buffalo's 21-16 loss to the Redskins. Washington sacked Taylor once, and the quarterback took a hard hit on another play before leaving after two series.
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"Looks like a stupid decision to play him, because I never expected him to get hit," Ryan said at halftime, via ESPN.
While many teams typically use the third preseason game to give their starters more extended playing time to prepare for the regular season, Ryan sat most of his starters.
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"I'm doing what's best for our team," Ryan said. "We want to show up at the starting game of the regular season."
Taylor completed 2 of 5 passes for 11 yards, and rushed once for 5 yards.