Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen attempts to explain abysmal showing from passing attack
We knew the Buffalo Bills offense was going to be hurting without wide receiver Khalil Shakir, but it was worse than anyone could have imagined.The passing attack, to put it bluntly, largely looked horrible, outside of a couple drives early in the second half where Josh Allen was able to get going. The offense was […]
We knew the Buffalo Bills offense was going to be hurting without wide receiver Khalil Shakir, but it was worse than anyone could have imagined.
The passing attack, to put it bluntly, largely looked horrible, outside of a couple drives early in the second half where Josh Allen was able to get going. The offense was disjointed, nothing was in-sync, and the receivers continuously failed to get any form of separation.
Allen finished the game completing only 9/30 passes for 131 yards and 1 TD. Allen started 1/9 for 24 yards, with that one reception a catch-and-run to James Cook. It was, statistically, the worst start to a game of his career.
"We missed by a little bit," Allen said after the game. "I had Mack [Hollins] open early, [and it was] overthrown, and then right before the half, I had Dalton [Kincaid] running down the seam, had a chance and opportunity there, we just we were off slightly tonight. That's something I've got to clean up, and I'm proud of how we responded in the second half, got on our horses, and gave ourselves a chance to win a football game."
"Well, it starts with making better decisions on my part, and I know I didn't complete the ball at a high rate tonight, I put the ball in harm's way, especially early in that first half" Allen continued. "But I trust our guys. I know you guys are gonna be wild this week, but I love my guys, and we're gonna keep working. And you know, this isn't a defining moment in our season. We have the chance to learn and grow from this, and that's what we're gonna do."
I'm not going to be wild, but I am going to be fairly critical. This was an inexcusable and concerning outing from the offense. Allen and his receivers looked completely out of sync, and the play calling once again left a ton to be desired. After starting the season looking like one of the best offenses in the league, Buffalo now looks like one of the worst, and all creative life in the play calling has instantly evaporated.
Where did it go? Why has Joe Brady gone away from the concepts that worked so beautifully through the first three weeks? It's as though the concepts with the window dressing and pre-snap motion that created so many wide open throws and mismatches were only called when the confidence was high against weaker defenses, when against tough defenses is exactly when those concepts are needed the most.
Allen certainly needs to wear some of the blame for his performance. There were plenty of throws that he will want back. That said, Allen can't do it on his own. Rarely did we see open targets running around the field, which is partly on the receivers, and partly on the play calls. His targets, to this point, do not look good enough.
The play calling and the execution continuously putting Allen and the offense in third down was not a recipe for success, and the offense was only able to convert 3/14 third down opportunities. Two weeks in a row have seen the Bills struggle mightily in the passing game, with Allen combining for 311 passing yards and one touchdown, while completing only 42.6% of his passes. For an offense being run by one of the best quarterbacks in the league, this is a giant red flag, and something that Allen and Brady need to get on the same page about in a hurry.
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