ORCHARD PARK – There is one thing actually bizarre occurring with the Buffalo Bills at the beginning of 2024: Josh Allen has became a sport supervisor.
OK, that’s a bit hyperbolic as a result of that’s in no way what Allen is, however his statistical profile throughout Buffalo’s 2-0 begin is definitely a departure from what we’re used to seeing from the megastar quarterback.
“If you’re focused on stats it’s frustrating,” Allen stated Wednesday when he was requested in regards to the low passing numbers he has compiled. “In terms of winning football games, it’s not. It’s just whatever helps us move the ball and score when it matters. That’s all we’re caring about right now.”
Sign up for the Bills Blast publication Delivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana
Which, after all, has at all times been Allen’s precedence, even when he was placing up 4 consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons between 2020 and 2023. He actually doesn't care about his numbers, so long as he walks off the sector with a smile on his face.
Josh Allen statistics heading into NFL Week 3
Allen entered Week 3, which is able to wrap up on Monday night time when the Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars, ranked twenty second in the NFL in passing yards (371), twenty third in completions (31) and twenty first in first downs by way of the cross (16).
Part of the rationale for the numbers was the weird sport script in Miami, the place the Bills had 4 possessions that began inside Miami territory due to the stellar play of their protection; they misplaced a possession when moderately than punting, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa threw a pick-six to Ja’Marcus Ingram; they usually had a one-play drive when James Cook ran 49 yards to the home on the primary play after a turnover on downs.
The Bills offense was on the sector solely 23 minutes, 41 seconds, they ran solely 45 offensive performs, and for many of the second half – already up 31-10 – they have been basically simply attempting to get the sport over.
“I think given our situation last week when we’re running it as well as we are and you get the ball in really good field position throughout the entire game, that’s just kind’ve the game it’s gonna be,” Allen stated of his 139-yard passing output. “I don’t know if I’d say weird, but I think it feels pretty good being able to hand the ball off to James and Ray (Davis) and let them go do some work. If it’s working, keep calling it.”
Which is what offensive coordinator Joe Brady knew. There was no motive for Allen to chuck the ball throughout Hard Rock Stadium as a result of the sport was nicely in hand.
Buffalo Bills are discovering ‘alternative ways to win'
“It was really complimentary football, especially in the second half,” Brady stated. “I think the biggest thing is, throughout the season, just finding different ways to win. Win up front rushing the football, and there’s gonna come a time and place when we’re gonna have to throw the ball 50 times. It’s about us just being willing to be able to adjust to how the games being played and being able to dictate the terms.”
Miami was a little bit of an outlier, however even in opposition to Arizona, Allen tried solely 23 passes (he accomplished 17 for 232 yards) on a day when the Bills fell behind by 14 factors in the primary half and needed to work their approach again, however in that sport he seemed a bit of extra just like the Allen we’ve grow to be accustomed to seeing as he made a number of large performs and totaled 4 touchdowns, two passing and two dashing.
His 19 makes an attempt in opposition to Miami have been the third-fewest in his profession the place he began and performed your complete sport and the 23 in opposition to the Cardinals have been the ninth-fewest.
Josh Allen passer score nonetheless stands out
While Allen hasn’t been prolific, he has been environment friendly. He’s third in each NFL passer score (124.2) and ESPN’s quarterback score (84.2), he has the fifth-best completion proportion (73.8%), fourth-best yards per try (8.8), has taken simply two sacks, has not thrown an interception, and, as we already stated, all of that provides as much as the one factor he cares about: 2-0.
“Watching a guy like Josh, no matter whether he’s throwing it 10 times, whether he’s throwing it 50 times, just how he was out there having a lot of fun,” Brady stated. “Taking what the defense was giving him and leading out there. Not having to do everything was a lot of fun to see.”
Aside from the move of the primary two video games, one factor that has grow to be a league-wide development is that defenses merely aren’t permitting quarterbacks to show it unfastened. There’s a lot two-high security being performed and defenses wish to make offenses go the lengthy, onerous route to attain, hoping that someplace alongside the best way they’ll make a mistake. That has additionally impacted Allen’s numbers.
“When we have opportunities we’ll try to hit on those and try to execute as well as possible,” Allen stated of the downfield passing sport which thus far has been non-existent for the Bills. “I think over the course of the league right now, what defenses are doing, playing a lot of two-high shell is in high demand right now. As we continue to run the ball effectively, we’ll have more opportunities to hit downfield.”
Sal Maiorana has lined the Buffalo Bills for 4 a long time together with 35 years because the full-time beat author for the D&C, and he has written quite a few books in regards to the historical past of the staff. He might be reached at [email protected], and you may observe him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
