This game showcased Allen's development

[Inigo Montoya]

Josh's box score last night won't impress anyone, but if you watched the game, you could not walk away without seeing what a complete QB Allen has become. 

 

In the first half there were Steelers' defenders all over Allen. He never looked panicked or flustered.  He didn't just take off and run as the first sign of pressure.  He hung in there and continued to try and push the ball down the field.  He had a pick but it was when his arm was hit during the throw.  The end zone view of that play shows what Allen saw, Beasley had gotten behind the secondary and was streaking down the sideline.  Allen is playing with so much composure this year.  The pocket can be a mosh pit and he is still hanging in there making good calls.  He's not seeing ghosts, tucking and running, or playing Hero Ball.  What a difference.

 

We watched the Bills' offense struggle to find a rhythm the entire first half.  The same thing happened last week.  Allen didn't let that affect him.  He continued to battle.  How many times in the past 20 years have we seen the Bills start a game poorly and it just snowballs?  Not anymore.  Sometimes we get off to a fast start, sometimes it's a slow start like last night, but Allen doesn't let it get in his head, he keeps grinding, and eventually things start to click and he starts moving the ball.  I also think it's fair to say that he has exorcised the team's 3rd quarter demons.  Josh has the mental toughness that you need to be a great QB.  It never seems like the Bills are out of a game anymore.  

 

Josh is now manipulating defenses with his eyes and pump fakes and consistently finds the open man.  How many times have you heard the announcers call out Allen for missing a wide open receiver somewhere?  It just doesn't happen.  This is two weeks in a row where he has helped get Gabe Davis open for a 20 yard TD with a pump fake to slow the secondary for just a split second to allow Davis to get to behind them and into the corner of the end zone.  He is looking off safeties and he doesn't get fooled by coverages.  He is executing the offense like a real franchise QB.

 

This was only the second game this season when Allen had a completion percentage of less than 60%.  Watching the Bills' offense struggle in the first half I didn't feel like it was because Allen was having accuracy issues.  In the second half when the protection scheme was adjusted and Daboll shifted to shorter receiving routes and more of a rhythm passing attack to get the ball out of Allen's hands quickly,  Allen and Diggs just took over the game.  Allen just doesn't hit his receivers, he hits them in stride, leading them with the ball and allowing them to pick up YAC.  That's a whole new level of accuracy from Allen.  He isn't just getting the ball inside of the receiver's catch radius, he is putting it exactly where it needs to be to maximize the run after catch.

 

Lastly, his leadership skills are incredible.  Josh Allen is not hot and cold, jumping up and down with joy and then pouting five minutes later on the bench.  He doesn't throw hand grenades during press conferences.  He deflects all praise to his teammates and coaches and takes all the blame on himself when anything goes wrong.  Even when it's not his fault.  Even though this team's success is all about him, you never get the sense that Josh is full of himself.  When asked about his game Allen always starts with what he needs to improve upon, not what he did well.   Josh Allen has the temperament to be a franchise QB, unlike a mercurial QB from Cleveland.  Sorry Skip Bayless, you common, ignorant, jerk.

 

I think this team can beat the Chiefs.  If we played the Chiefs 10 times I think it would be a 6/4 result.  Not sure who has the 6 and who has the 4.  The bottom line is that Josh Allen is playing at a level that puts the Bills in position to go to a Super Bowl this year.  At the beginning of the season the prevailing opinion was that the Bills would go as far as Josh Allen could take them.  Fourteen weeks into the season and the Bills are sitting at 10-3 after playing a much harder schedule than last season, and are a Hail Mary away from being 11-2 and competing for the Conference bye.

 

Josh Allen has developed into an elite NFL QB and talk of a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl is neither unrealistic nor premature.

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Inigo Montoya

[oldmanfan]

Very good analysis.  The Steelers d (and the Bills D for that matter) played great in the first half.  It was good to see the young QB not get down on himself, and for him and the coaches to make the necessary adjustments in the second half.  I said a couple years ago that Josh had the same issue many if not all young QBs have, that the game has to slow down for  the young QB to make the right reads and such.  The game has slowed down considerably for Josh this year.

[fergie's ire]

Yeah, in its own way, I thought this was one of Allen's most impressive performances.  Even when things weren't going well, he seemed in control and totally took control in the second half.  It wasn't just the 3rd quarter.  The drive for the field goal was huge...and when the Steelers finally had some success against our D, the offense managed to keep the ball away from them.  Collinsworth made a comment about Josh seeming to be in control and it being Brady-esque.  I hate to besmirch Allen with that comparison...and yet it seems apt.

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

OP, I agree with everything you said.

 

if I had one small regret/complaint, I would have loved to see JA connect on that one bomb to Davis. He has yet to make that completion all year. Would have been awesome to see.

[jletha]

The drive to get a FG late int he first half seemed to be when they started to figure it out. Once the second half got going I was never worried. Josh hung in the pocket longer than we had ever seen before this season. I especially remember a play late in the game that they highlighted on the broadcast. I think it was a third down and Steelers went all out Cover-0 blitz. Josh knew exactly what we he was going to do against it, waited until the last second for the defense to clear the field and dumped it to Knox who had nothing but green grass. The second he saw the blitz he knew he was going to Knox.

 

[NC Lifelong Bills fan]

What a wonderful thread this morning! In retrospect, the most impressive part of last night was the use of the clock for those last 7 + minutes. Josh became a complete player, with another facet of his development shining. It wasn’t long ago when we had terrible clock control, and the team erased that last night. So excited, and Go Bills!

[JY422]

Good take for sure. I agree with everything you said. I also agree with Miyagi about hitting the downfield throws... just once could he lay out a nice, catchable deep ball to an open receiver. If he throws that ball to Davis at the numbers rather than up the seam... whew... easy TD. 

[Ramza86]

I thought Josh was very rushed in that first half. 

 

He was rattled early. He tried to stay composed thats for sure, but you could see the eagerness to get rid of the ball.

 

2nd half, totally different story. He got into his groove and played his elite game. 

[billsfan_34]

OP- nice take! Isn’t it great to have your franchise QB? In the NFL this seperates the men from the boys!

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Allen figured it out. 

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

 

33 minutes ago, fergie's ire said:

Yeah, in its own way, I thought this was one of Allen's most impressive performances.  Even when things weren't going well, he seemed in control and totally took control in the second half.  It wasn't just the 3rd quarter.  The drive for the field goal was huge...and when the Steelers finally had some success against our D, the offense managed to keep the ball away from them.  Collinsworth made a comment about Josh seeming to be in control and it being Brady-esque.  I hate to besmirch Allen with that comparison...and yet it seems apt.

 

I agree 100 with you re one of Josh's most impressive games

I think some games come easy, some won't. I think we are seeing a lot of growth in the games that don't come easy. Use this game as another step in his career, watch the tape. Learn as much as you can for the next time. Josh is going to be deadly in this league. 

[Meatloaf63]

7 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

I thought Josh was very rushed in that first half. 

 

He was rattled early. He tried to stay composed thats for sure, but you could see the eagerness to get rid of the ball.

 

2nd half, totally different story. He got into his groove and played his elite game. 

The real question is, why did it take Daboll so long to figure it out? Does some of that blame fall on Allen? It seemed like the route running was shortened up in the 2nd half, or did the protection just get better? 
I will have to watch this game again to try and figure out the difference....

[BillsFanSD]

Great post, OP.  I thought Allen played basically fine in the first half even though the results weren't there.  It felt like the Steelers were playing with twelve men on the field -- constant pressure in the backfield, and ultra-tight coverage behind.  There were a bunch of plays in there where Allen was never able to get set but still put the ball right in his receiver's hands only to have it swatted away by a DB.  That sucks, but there's not much the QB can do about it other than to keep plugging along and not make stupid mistakes by forcing the issue.  By doing his job in the first half, Allen put himself and his team in a position to break the game open in the third quarter when they finally got a little breathing room.  

 

Perfect.  This is a good game for Allen's continued development because it reinforces that we can go a couple of quarters without scoring and it'll be okay. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I've said this defending Daboll last year that Allen does a lot at the line of scrimmage pre snap. Daboll gives Allen a lot of freedom and Allen is taking control of the offense. 

 

He's doing everything. People don't talk about that. 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Buffalo_Stampede

[fan_in_tx]

38 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

OP, I agree with everything you said.

 

if I had one small regret/complaint, I would have loved to see JA connect on that one bomb to Davis. He has yet to make that completion all year. Would have been awesome to see.

If you look at his face after that throw you could see his frustration as well.  Seemingly asking himself how could he miss that.  I have no doubt it will develop simply like the rest of his game has..

[Ramza86]

Just now, Meatloaf63 said:

The real question is, why did it take Daboll so long to figure it out? Does some of that blame fall on Allen? It seemed like the route running was shortened up in the 2nd half, or did the protection just get better? 
I will have to watch this game again to try and figure out the difference....

 

Yeah, i dont have the tools to know what really happened in the 1st half, so we dont know how much blame goes where. 

 

But the adjustments were clear in the 2nd half and JA and Daboll both improved. Its seems pretty clear that they both are tied at the hip when it comes to the offensive success.

[Motorin']

10 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

The real question is, why did it take Daboll so long to figure it out? Does some of that blame fall on Allen? It seemed like the route running was shortened up in the 2nd half, or did the protection just get better? 
I will have to watch this game again to try and figure out the difference....

I think the Steelers were playing tight man coverage early on and sending the house. But they couldn't sustain that level of pressure and cover all game so they switched to zone, and that's when Diggs ate them alive. 

 

It's really hard to play well, and I don't care who the QB is, when maniac pass rushers are consistently getting home and no one is open. But it was a storm the Bills and Allen seemed to weather because they could not sustain that level of intensity for the full 60 minutes.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Motorin'

[Saxum]

9 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

The real question is, why did it take Daboll so long to figure it out? Does some of that blame fall on Allen? It seemed like the route running was shortened up in the 2nd half, or did the protection just get better? 
I will have to watch this game again to try and figure out the difference....

 

Protection got better.  They doubled DT since Watt was being handled one on one by Williams.

[H2o]

Last night was the prime example of Josh's development. Up until this game, even through this year, if Josh comes out flat he had stayed flat for the entire game. See the Tennessee and KC games for example. Josh came out flat in both of those, we had some miscues, and he could just never seem to get rolling. Last night, against a top tier NFL defense, he came out flat then proceeded to get rolling in the 2nd half. At one point he completed 11 straight passes in the 2nd stanza. It's beautiful to watch after all of these years, a legitimate franchise QB in action wearing a Bills uni. 

[Solomon Grundy]

I absolutely agree with the OP. His best throw of the night was when he threw the ball into the ground on the rollout, backside screen pass. Showed absolute understanding of situational football there.