Darren Woodson and Herm Edwards believe that it will be a low-scoring game on Monday night between the Bills and Seahawks and that the Seahawks' defense will be strong enough for the victory. (0:45)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- How good is Tyrod Taylor? Well, he's better than you think he is. Yes, seriously. He ranked seventh in Total QBR last year and is No. 8 so far this season. That complicated metric makes the Buffalo Bills quarterback look like one of the better quarterback bargains around.

But while he might be better than you think, Taylor still isn't as good as he thinks he could be.

"To be one of the best -- if not the best -- to play this game," Taylor said last month in response to the question of what drives him. "I think, with my skill set, if I maximize the potential that I have, I can definitely be remembered as one of the best this league has had."

Is he crazy? Taylor isn't in anyone's top 10 of current QBs. He has started 22 NFL games and thrown for 300 yards in none of them. Because he was behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore, he didn't get to start until he was 26 years old, and only when two guys in front of him on the 2015 Bills' depth chart flopped.

Yet Taylor, whose Bills take on the Seahawks in a Monday Night Football matchup in Seattle, is the guy Buffalo considers to be its franchise quarterback. Sort of.

"We feel like, if we have a good defense and a running game to support him, we can do kind of what Seattle did with Russell Wilson," Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said last week. "He knows that the formula to win here may not be throwing for 400 yards per game. But when he's had people around him, he has made plays."

The Wilson comparison has come up throughout the past week thanks to the Monday night meeting. For some, it fits because Taylor's running ability is such a big part of his game -- as it was with Wilson prior to this season -- and because Wilson has always had a strong defense and run game to support him.

The comparison falls apart, though, when you look at records. Wilson has won at the very highest level on a consistent basis for a number of years. He has elevated a substandard receiver corps. He has delivered in the fourth quarter -- an area in which Taylor has so far fallen woefully short. Comparing Buffalo's defense in Taylor's tenure to the defense Wilson has had in Seattle is ridiculous. But, at this point, Taylor's ability to win with a high-quality defense is still a matter of speculation, whereas with Wilson there is proof.

"There's a learning curve, and a year and a half into being a starter, he's still going through some things," Lynn said. "But if you're able to move around, that gives you some time to figure some things out. There's a lot of upside to him."

Tyrod Taylor has thrown for 1,480 yards and nine touchdowns through the first eight weeks. Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

The way Taylor is viewed inside the Bills' building might not match up with the mezza-mezza perception the outside world has of him, but in a lot of ways it's the only perspective that matters. Buffalo gave Taylor a new contract in the offseason that raised his 2016 salary over $9 million and established a series of option years beginning in 2017. If Taylor flops, the Bills can walk away. They could pick over a free-agent crop that includes the likes of Kirk Cousins, Jay Cutler and Ryan Fitzpatrick (who's already been through there), or they could turn to a trade market that might feature Tony Romo.

If he doesn't, and they pick up his option, his 2017 salary cap number would be just over $15.9 million -- the 20th highest among quarterbacks currently signed for next season. His 2018 cap number would be only $16.78 million. What that actually means, believe it or not, is that it's likely a no-brainer for the Bills to pick up Taylor's option.

"[Taylor] is an interesting guy," said one NFL talent evaluator whose team will not be in the offseason quarterback market. "He throws a good deep ball, and the legs are obviously a big plus. I think it helped him being in Baltimore those years. You can see he has that veteran cool about him."

Taylor agrees with the notion that spending his early years as a backup in a winning environment in Baltimore was a benefit to him. He says he learned a lot being around veterans like Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed (who's now a member of the Buffalo coaching staff) that prepared him to take advantage of his chance to start when it arrived.

"Watching those guys come to work every day with their mindset, even after years of being in the league, seeing what drove those guys made me better as a player," Taylor said. "It encouraged me in the days when I thought, 'Oh, man, maybe the opportunity won't come.'"

The Bills are pleased they gave Taylor his opportunity. The way they look at it, he works for them -- or would, if they could get their running back corps and wide receiver group healthy.

Taylor has barely had Sammy Watkins, who missed three games last year then another six this year, and has played hurt much of the time he's been on the field. Taylor has also played the past couple of weeks without feature back LeSean McCoy. Robert Woods has been in and out. Keep in mind that Total QBR stat in which Taylor looks so good favors quarterbacks whose supporting casts are substandard. And while Taylor's offensive line has actually performed well this year, the skill position group around him has been an injury-riddled mess.

"Tyrod's going to be fine," Bills coach Rex Ryan said after a loss Oct. 30 to New England, in which Taylor was a somewhat miserable 19-for-38 for 183 yards but chipped in 48 yards and a touchdown as a runner. "It seems like every week I'm defending him, and I don't understand why."

It's because Taylor doesn't give off the impression of a very good NFL quarterback, but there are numbers that say otherwise. In today's NFL, where there aren't 32 perfect quarterback solutions, he's a better long-term solution for the Bills than you might think he is.