By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
Josh Allen can run, we’ve known that. Josh Allen can throw, we just figured that out for sure this past Sunday during the Buffalo Bills’ 14-13 win over the Detroit Lions.
But we still haven’t seen Allen throw… consistently.
Coming out of Wyoming, Allen’s accuracy was a red flag. The numbers say it is so far in the NFL as well. Allen has a 52.2 completion percent in his first season under center. That number’s very bad by NFL standards. Don’t consider the Bills coaching staff concerned, though.
Buffalo offense coordinator gave stern response to that notion on Monday.
“None,” Daboll said in regard to the amount of concern he has about Allen’s completion percentage.
“I think every game is such a unique situation,” Daboll further explained. “Everybody would like to be 80, 78, 75, 71 percent, but you kind of need to peel it back and figure out the reasons why.
“Some of it is making a play on a ball and coming down with some things. At the end of the day the quarterback really needs to be judged on leading this team down to score points and taking care of the football and giving us an opportunity for us to have success.”
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott backed those sentiments as well.
“No, not too much,” McDermott said about his level of concern. “I try to strip it down and just look at where (Allen) went with the football. Was he going through his progressions, how he stayed in the pocket, did he leave the pocket, and at the end of the game the throws that he’s making – whether it’s a two-minute drive, red zone situation, game on the line- and Josh has done that already at this point in his young career.”
In regard to individual decisions made by Allen, who was 50 percent against the Lions (13-for-26 passing for 204 yards), McDermott cited his 42-yard touchdown to Robert Foster and 25 yarder to Jason Croom as good decisions from Allen.
While the coaching staff won’t throw players under the bus much, Zay Jones and Deonte Thompson did have drops in the game, affecting Allen’s percent. His offensive line isn’t fantastic, either.
But per ESPN Stats and Info, there’s two tales to this story.
Allen has the highest percentage of off-target passes in the NFL this season at 22.9 percent. On the flip, Allen has the fifth-most drops in the NFL by his receivers at 4.7 percent.
No matter the holes that can be poked in this one, the best policy is simply just to remember he’s a developing rookie.