By Rich Kowalski / Billswire.usatoday.com
On a chilly December day in Orchard Park, NY, rookie quarterback Josh Allen continued to show why his raw, unpolished ability is something that is building excitement in western New York but is also a work in progress.
Allen’s deceptive speed, at times, has covered up the various flaws on the Buffalo Bills’ offense such as viable receiving options at both the wide receiver and tight end position. It’s hard not to almost want Allen to take off from the pocket just to see where it leads him. It’s often a positive gain, something that eluded the team’s offense for the first half of the season.
Sure, some of Allen’s scrambles have been unwarranted but if you had the lack of production from the the rest of your offense, you’d also feel the need to take over a game and do things on your own. The only thing is, Allen’s decision-making isn’t honed in enough yet for the team to truly let him off the leash.
On multiple occasions Sunday, Allen made incredibly athletic moves to dodge defenders in his face but lacked the discipline and experience to know when not to force something. His forced throw to Zay Jones with less that five minutes to go in the first half proved to be careless as cornerback Trumaine Johnson easily stepped in front of the football and gave the New York Jets the football back in a pivotal part of the uber-defensive game.
His 44.4 rating was just about five points higher than Jones’, who attempted a touchdown throw to Allen in the second quarter that was just out of the reach of the quarterbacks hands. It was arguably some head-scratching third-down trickery.
Something that stands out though to nearly every fan who’s watched Allen try and work his magic on nearly every play is just how much Allen is able to do with the “weapons” he has. The team’s tight end position has been a non-factor and their receiving core is made up of guys who all haven’t been in Buffalo for more than two seasons. Not to mention, Allen is currently the team’s leading rusher. A lot of that falls on the team’s offensive line. Heading into the contest, Pro Football Focus ranked the Bills’ starting five as the second-worst run-blocking group in the NFL. Their pass-blocking also failed to show on Sunday. In total, Allen was hit 10 times which including three sacks. Standing at a podium following the game, Allen looked defeated and beat up.
From what Allen has had to work with this season, he isn’t exactly working miracles but he’s not far off. On the other side of the field on Sunday, No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold doesn’t have a fantastic supporting cast, but they sure as heck looked like one compared to Allen’s. In fact, he took zero QB hits in the game and his receiving core is miles ahead of Buffalo’s. Robby Anderson made Tre’Davious White look bad, which is rare.
For the Bills, Allen’s development has fluctuated throughout the season but his composure is something that’s been solidifying week after week since he returned from his elbow injury. With the few games that remain on the schedule, Buffalo’s front office is learning just how much effort they’ll need to put into addressing each weakness on their team to further progress not only Allen’s success but the Bills’ overall success.
These games may be frustrating to watch at times but late season evaluation is something that will give Buffalo’s front office a roadmap for the offseason to put talent around their No. 7 draft pick and become a better overall team.
The team’s massive cap space of $92 million and 10 draft picks in 2019 should help to make the Bills an exciting team to watch the next few seasons, at least, and figure out whether or not Allen is the real deal.