Tag: 2019 wild card

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.

[lawrence-related id=53086,53077,53036,52950]

AFC Wild-card rooting guide: Let the games begin

The Baltimore Ravens will watch from afar as the 2019 wild-card round begins. Who should they be rooting for?

The Baltimore Ravens don’t have to play in the wild-card round as they earned the top seed in the AFC with their 14-2 record. They can watch from the comfort of their couches as the New England Patriots host the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills travel to Houston to face the Texans. However, don’t be fooled into thinking Baltimore won’t have rooting interest in this weekend’s games.

While the Ravens have faced four of the five other AFC playoff teams (the Titans are the exception), Baltimore has teams they’d much rather potentially face next week than others. Though it might be hard to pick out which teams the Ravens would have an easier time with thanks to the immense talent of each squad in the playoffs, we’ve made the call here for you.

Let’s take a look at the rooting guide for wild-card weekend for Baltimore.

Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images

Tennessee Titans (No. 6 seed) at New England Patriots (No. 3 seed)

Rooting for: Titans

New England will look to bounce back after an embarrassing loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17, dropping out of the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. They’ll turn their attention to Tennessee, who come into the playoffs on a bit of a hot streak, winning five of their last seven games.

Ever since Ryan Tannehill took over as the starting quarterback for Tennessee, they haven’t looked back. They made a late-season push led by Tannehill and league-leading rusher Derrick Henry to surge beyond the Pittsburgh Steelers for the final wild-card position. With the Patriots looking vulnerable and the Titans looking like a threat, some feel like it’s common sense to root for the Patriots. However, it isn’t that simple.

The Patriots have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Tom Brady. They have one of the greatest coaches of all-time in Bill Belichick. It’s extremely hard to beat those guys once, let alone twice. And we’ve certainly seen New England look very beatable to close out a season only to wind up winning the Super Bowl a few weeks later.

While the Ravens wouldn’t have to play the Patriots until the AFC Championship Game, New England is a different animal in the playoffs and are a threat whenever they step on the field in January. Also, playing the only team they haven’t seen yet might be to Baltimore’s advantage, helping give them the element of surprise on their opponent like they have all season long.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2