By Brad Gelber / Billswire.usatoday.com
On a day where nothing seemed to go right for the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Josh Allen showed quite a bit of maturity, despite being a 22-year-old rookie.
Following histeam’s 22-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Allen was quick to shoulder the blame in a game that saw him throw two interceptions and lose an additional fumble.
“They (the defense) forced two turnovers, and myself, I gave it back three times. That’s not complementary football. You can’t win… it’s not easy to win doing that type of stuff. I have to do better. The offense has to do better and it starts with me. Learning from this experience that I had here,” Allen said.
When given the opportunity to pass some of the blame off on a run game that produced a total of 58 yards, Allen quickly brought it back to how he could have helped them do a better job.
“We have to be better at executing. We have to be better at myself getting the ball out on time and when it needs to be. You know, I have to help the running game, too, whether it’s quick passes here or there that get them backed off a little bit and enable us to run the ball. I have to be better in all aspects and this is going to be a learning experience. Take it and run with it and we will be better as an offense,” Allen said.
Allen was also aware of the fact that it’s a quarterback’s job to protect his wide receivers, by not leading them into dangerous situations.
“The one I threw to KB [Kelvin Benjamin], I can’t lead him into a split safety. That’s my fault. I have to continue to get better and understand what’s going on around me.”
Despite the fact that today’s game seemed to be a total reversal of the success we saw from Allen and the offense in Minnesota, the quarterback isn’t losing his confidence going forward.
“I take this one on my shoulders,” the rookie said. “We can only go as far as the quarterback goes. I’m a strong critic of myself and the only way I can look at this is that we are going to be better from this. It’s going to pay off in the long run.”
Whether it does pay off in the long run or not, remains to be seen, but it is nice to see Allen stepping up despite it being far from only his fault. As a quarterback league, both success and failure will be attributed to him and he seemingly understands that.
Part of the reason some were against Allen starting this season, was fear that he wasn’t ready to handle all of the things that come with being a starting quarterback in the NFL. While he is still has a long way to go on the field, it appears that he is making strides off of it.
There’s a reason Allen has earned his teammates trust and that they feel he brings that intangible that comes with being a franchise quarterback. Assuming the blame in only your third career start, despite not receiving virtually any help around you, is one of them.