Bills need more from Josh Allen to win in the playoffs
In seeing what Deshaun Watson did to win this game for his team (20-25 passing, 247 yards, a go-ahead touchdown pass, a touchdown run, and a play for the ages in OT), maybe it doesn’t seem fair to compare Josh Allen to him. Unfortunately, you have to, especially considering that the Bills’ brass had the opportunity to draft Watson as their franchise quarterback in 2017 and instead chose to pass on him.
Whether the opponent was Watson, or Pat Mahomes, or Lamar Jackson, or even Tom Brady, quite frankly, what Allen gave the Bills on Saturday was not good enough to match the play of the best quarterbacks in the AFC.
Allen started this game off in spectacular fashion, breaking off a 42-yard run and catching a touchdown pass from John Brown on the opening drive. After that, it was really a struggle for the Bills’ franchise QB.
Allen ended up throwing for 264 yards in this game, but keep in mind that this was an overtime game and he threw 46 passes. That comes out to under six yards an attempt, which is not very good at all.
The Bills needed just one more touchdown drive from Allen to put this game away. Nearly four hours of action passed by without the Bills finding the end zone for a second time. There were mistakes by several members of the offense that contributed to its demise, but the mistakes made by Allen really stood out. There were times where Allen made some decisions that simply have you shaking your head and wondering if he’s playing the sport for the first time (trying to lateral to a tight end on the final drive of regulation, launching a bomb to a double-covered fullback in overtime).
The most glaring mistakes were his fumble on a scramble early in the fourth quarter with the Bills ahead by just eight and the back-to-back plays at the end of Buffalo’s second-to-last drive of regulation that turned a 3rd and 13 from the Houston 28 into a Texans’ first down on the Buffalo 39.
Allen cannot lose his head on plays like those where the rush is coming. He has to do a better job playing in the pocket and not panicking. Allen blew that drive for the Bills by not anticipating the blitz, then compounded the mistake by throwing the ball to an offensive lineman, bringing flags out for both illegal touching and intentional grounding. On the next play, Allen turned his back to the oncoming rushers and tried to run away from them. That is the type of mistake you learn not to make in Pop Warner football. How Allen could possibly do that in that situation is beyond explanation.
We also saw the bad throws that Allen has had the tendency to make all through his pro career. We saw low throws to open receivers and ill-advised throws into coverage. He avoided throwing an interception, but only because Bradley Roby dropped two of them.
Allen took big steps forward as a quarterback in 2019 and he has earned plenty of leeway from the Buffalo fan base for getting this team to the postseason. But the expectations have to be raised for the former seventh-overall pick next season. Allen needs to start looking like a premier quarterback, not simply a great athlete playing quarterback. There were too many times where they Bills could not count on Allen to make the big throw they needed, including Saturday in Houston.
Allen gave the Bills plenty to be encouraged about in 2019, but there was also plenty to still be concerned about. Allen’s play is not at the level of a Watson or the other top quarterbacks in the conference. It will have to get to that level to justify the moves the Bills made to get him and to ensure the Bills can get out of the first round of the postseason next year.