Breakdown: The maddening playoff debut of Josh Allen

The playoff debut of Josh Allen was essentially a microcosm of every opinion and critiques that folks have had of the second-year pro.

The playoff debut of Josh Allen was essentially a microcosm of every opinion and critiques that folks have had of the second-year pro. There were exceptional highs balanced with ridiculous lows. The impressive arms strength countered with baffling decisions.

The opening drive of the game was a dream for followers of the Bills. Buffalo found the end zone in six plays. During the drive, Allen ran for a sweep for 42 yards, the longest run of the season for the Bills. On the final play of the drive, Allen caught a pass from wide receiver John Brown, culminating possibly the most exciting opening drive in the team’s playoff history.

Allen continued with a solid opening half, completing the half with 131 passing yards on 13-of-20 passing. He added 52 yards on three carries while completing the hat trick with the aforementioned 16 receiving yards.

Allen did play with fire a few times, though. Texans defensive back Brady Roby almost picked him off on two separate occasions. Nevertheless, Roby was did not in either of the passes, so the signal-caller largely escaped unscathed.

The quarterback would end the game as the Bills leading rusher, as he scurried for 92 yards on nine carries. His 264 passing yards are the second-highest total in Allen’s career.

However, the downhill trend of quizzical decisions and execution ultimately buried Allen’s progress in the first half.

Essentially, as Deshaun Watson started to take over the game on the offensive side of the ball for Houston, Allen attempted to do the same. And as Bills fans have seen in the past, hero ball usually ends with negative results.

Allen stopped taking what Houston’s defense gave him and put the game on his shoulders. While some may see this has valiant, the results led one to see these actions were reckless.

The Wyoming product completed only 11-of-26 passes following halftime. The team’s inability to produce early in the game put the team in a stressful situation as the Texans moved the ball at will during the middle part of the second half.

Allen fumbled on a rush early in the fourth quarter. With the Bills up by eight points, the turnover at midfield flipped the field and put the Texans in prime position to chip away at the Bills’ lead.

The chaos reached a fever pitch late in the fourth quarter as the Buffalo was working into Houston territory down by three with two minutes remaining. On a third-and-13 play, Allen took a sack, taking the Bills out of field goal range. On the next play, the offensive line failed to block the blitz along the left side of the line, and Allen retreated backward, losing 19 yards on fourth down.

Somehow, the Bills defense stopped the Texans, giving the ball back to Allen with just over a minute remaining. On Allen’s first play of the possession, he ran for a 20-yard gain. However, he lateraled the ball at the end of the play to no one in particular. Dawson Knox batted the ball out of play, and this play of mayhem ended up benefiting Buffalo, as the time stopped with the ball out of play. If Houston would have recovered the lateral, all hell would have broke loose.

With the Bills on the edge of field goal range, Allen threw a pass that was nearly intercepted by Roby. Amazingly, the Bills kicked the game-tying field goal and take the game into overtime.

Allen, with a shot to redeem himself and erase all of the chaos of the second half, took control of the offense. On the second play of the drive, Allen was under pressure and chucked the ball up to a receiver deep down the right side of the field. The receiver ended up being fullback Patrick DiMarco, who was double covered. Thankfully, the ball fell to the ground for an incomplete pass.

Allen’s final pass of the game bounced off the hands of Duke Williams, a pass that, with Buffalo in a third-and-24 situation, would have netted little to get the team back into field goal range.

The game revealed the peaks and valleys of Allen’s game. Allen was described as the ultimate boom-or-bust prospect during the 2017 draft. This performance was a testament to that label, as his tantalizing skills, whether running or throwing, were neutralized with several bewildering decisions.

It was maddening to see Allen play on Saturday, as it gave folks a glimpse into how he could be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. However, the lack of refinement and preponderance to chaos is holding him back from being mentioned among the league’s best quarterbacks.

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