Look How Far They've Come (Buffalo Bills Passing Stats)

[EmotionallyUnstable]

If you want the statistics, skip right to the end! Otherwise, if you're interested in a Buffalo Bills memory, keep reading...

 

So last night I couldn't sleep and started scrolling through my old photos/videos. I quickly strayed down digital memory lane. As I thumbed through the photos, I stumbled upon a video my wife shot on April 26th, 2018. Although that date may not jump out at you, the video is easy to recognize as Santora's Pub on Transit in Amherst. i'm there with my friends, all clad in Bills gear with the first round of the NFL draft and @Roger Goodellon the TV. My wife recorded my friends and I reacting to the Allen selection. Anyways, as I thought about this date, 2018, and the McBean era, something just did not add up. How could it be that Allen is already up for an extension after 3 years, and yet, I could only remember 2 seasons? I thought and thought and all I could come up with was that in McDermott's first year (pre-Beane) they broke the drought with Tyrod and company, and then drafted Allen the next year. Thus, the past THREE years, we were 'playoff caliber.' Despite embarrassing loses to Jacksonville and Houston, the Bills under McDermott were a ship headed in the right direction. But this doesn't make any sense! If Tyrod had played for the first playoff game, and Allen the next two, how could this upcoming year be his 4th season!? 

 

And then, from a deep dark place, somewhere that I must have buried with all my old skeletons, there it was. 2018. How could it be, that in the same year the Bills made the playoffs and drafted Josh Allen, I've completely blanked an entire NFL season? Was that even possible? Tiny memories trickled back in, and then I dug deeper...

 

Below you'll see passing yards, as well as the three leading WRs in yardage that season:

 

 

2018 - 

QB - Allen, 2074 Yards, 10 TDs  (Derek Anderson was 465/0, Matt Barkley 232/2)

WRs - Zay Jones (652), Robert Foster (541), Jason Croom (259)

 

2019 -

QB - Allen, 3089 Yards, 20 TDs 

WRs - John Brown (1060), Cole Beasley (778), Dawson Knox (388)

 

2020 -

QB - Allen, 4544 Yards, 37 TDs

WRs- Stefon Diggs (1535), Cole Beasley (967), Gabriel Davis (599)

 

2021 -

QB - ????

WRs - ?????

 

Anyone care to predict 2021?

 

I'm starting to think forgetting the 2018 season was a conscious action. When you see names like Terrelle Pryor, Chris Ivory and Charles Clay pop up on the receiving leaders, you have to break out the tums. Heck, even Dion Dawkins caught a pass that year (so did Kyle Williams, remember!?)

 

Anyways, long story short, what an AMAZING and TREMENDOUS change in our passing game over the course of the Allen years. Kudos to Allen, Beane, McDermott and all involved (I see you, Stef) for such amazing success, but more importantly, progress from the days of 2018.

[HOUSE]

Very Nice Job

[TPS]

The answer: 1.4 miles farther than 2018.

[buffalo2218]

Very well written and ty for this. I gotta give a strong shout out to Jordan Palmer as well. His work with Josh has been so immensely beneficial 

[NobesBLO13]

Just now, TPS said:

The answer: 1.4 miles farther than 2018.

Fail. You must show your work.

[Buffalo Boy]

   I fondly remember Josh’s first season.I absolutely bought into the kid that first training camp.

   He was running around making and trying to make plays. 
   The receivers were indeed awful!!!! I remember a bunch of us on here hoping Foster might pan out….🤮

    Alas, we have our guy.

    My son will turn 21 soon. He gets to watch good, competitive Bills football into his thirties…. And I’ll be retired before this chapter of Bills history is closed. Magic times🤩
   

    

[EmotionallyUnstable]

12 passing TDs in 2018. TWELVE. 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

In 2018 we could barely get a proper team out on the field and it was mainly a year to eat our dead cap money and start from scratch. Considering the lack of talent and that Nathan Peterman began as our starting qb, 6 wins is pretty remarkable.

 

Josh Allen led the team in rushing yards and had more rushing tds than everyone else on the team combined in only 12 games.

 

Robert Foster and Zay Jones had career years (Zay led in yards and tds) and then both fell off the map since.

 

I think we all remember the Vontae Davis halftime retirement 🤣

 

The media has this narrative that Josh Allen "came out of nowhere" to become a star qb, but in 2018 he won games with bad protection and bargain-bin receivers with little more than willpower and his running ability. Putting most rookie qbs in that situation may have wrecked their careers (David Carr, Tim Couch, Sam Darnold (too soon?) Josh is wired to thrive in adversity and that's why I have zero regrets about paying him the big bucks.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Allen2Diggs

[Alphadawg7]

14 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

12 passing TDs in 2018. TWELVE. 

 

But 20 total TD's and lets not forget he missed a little over 4 games as a rookie too.  So his rookie stats look worse, I mean his final 6 games he already looked like a completely different QB after returning from injury.  So the 12 passing TD's definitely lack context and paint a worse picture.  

 

I always felt Allen takes more crap for his first season because no one looks at the context of it or his development down the stretch (speaking media and non Bills fans, not about you).  I mean he missed 4 games, turned it on down the stretch and was working with WR's who are either out of the league now or barely hanging on to a roster spot.  

 

He finished with 20 total TD's, and based on how he played those final 6 games, he probably reaches 25 to 30 total TD's as a rookie had he not got hurt in that Houston game despite a bad OL and terrible weapons around him.  

 

So I always say his rookie year wasn't as bad as its made out to be.  

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Just now, Alphadawg7 said:

 

But 20 total TD's and lets not forget he missed a little over 4 games as a rookie too.  So his rookie stats look worse, I mean his final 6 games he already looked like a completely different QB after returning from injury.  So the 12 passing TD's definitely lack context and paint a worse picture.  

 

I always felt Allen takes more crap for his first season because no one looks at the context of it or his development down the stretch (speaking media and non Bills fans, not about you).  I mean he missed 4 games, turned it on down the stretch and was working with WR's who are either out of the league now or barely hanging on to a roster spot.  

 

He finished with 20 total TD's, and based on how he played those final 6 games, he probably reaches 25 to 30 total TD's as a rookie had he not got hurt in that Houston game despite a bad OL and terrible weapons around him.  

 

So I always say his rookie year wasn't as bad as its made out to be.  

Great thoughts. I was solely looking at the passing numbers, but it’s hard to ignore the rushing. For consistency purposes, I nixed them for each year. 
 

I think you’re spot on in the bold. One of the most surprising facts about the 12 passing TDs was that was the TEAM total in 2018. Allen had ten alone. So I think the numbers are a bigger indicator of how poorly built we were to throw the ball and how terrible the talent was on this team. 
 

in another note, forgot to mention Daboll as a major factor here. Another difference from 2018 and beyond 

[PonyBoy]

Well based on mathematics.... Allen improved in passing yards 48.9% after 2018. 47.1% after 2019 which is an average increase averaged over that period of 48%. Based on these improvements and continual growth at this rate he will pass for 6725.12 yards 92.75 touchdowns this season due to average increase of 72.98% over the same 2 years!

I like our chances 😁

 

[Buffalo Boy]

Truthfully, 2019 was worse for me because of the dropped passes and the over reaction at every mistake Josh made.

[brianthomas]

42 minutes ago, PonyBoy said:

Well based on mathematics.... Allen improved in passing yards 48.9% after 2018. 47.1% after 2019 which is an average increase averaged over that period of 48%. Based on these improvements and continual growth at this rate he will pass for 6725.12 yards 92.75 touchdowns this season due to average increase of 72.98% over the same 2 years!

I like our chances 😁

 

i was gonna say 6900 yards for my prediction, so that lines up with my math too

Edited August 16, 2021 by brianthomas

[Malazan]

2 hours ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

WRs - Zay Jones (652), Robert Foster (541), Jason Croom (259)

 

🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

[TPS]

2 hours ago, NobesBLO13 said:

Fail. You must show your work.

😔 Sorry...

 

(4544 - 2074)/1760

[Albany,n.y.]

2 hours ago, Allen2Diggs said:

In 2018 we could barely get a proper team out on the field and it was mainly a year to eat our dead cap money and start from scratch. Considering the lack of talent and that Nathan Peterman began as our starting qb, 6 wins is pretty remarkable.

 

Josh Allen led the team in rushing yards and had more rushing tds than everyone else on the team combined in only 12 games.

 

Robert Foster and Zay Jones had career years (Zay led in yards and tds) and then both fell off the map since.

 

I think we all remember the Vontae Davis halftime retirement 🤣

 

The media has this narrative that Josh Allen "came out of nowhere" to become a star qb, but in 2018 he won games with bad protection and bargain-bin receivers with little more than willpower and his running ability. Putting most rookie qbs in that situation may have wrecked their careers (David Carr, Tim Couch, Sam Darnold (too soon?) Josh is wired to thrive in adversity and that's why I have zero regrets about paying him the big bucks.

 

 

 

 

Wow!  I could have written this because I've been saying the same thing every time I hear someone say that Josh had a rough 2 years. Going back to 2018.  I didn't really have an opinion when he was drafted, but after hearing camp reports I was on the bandwagon early.  I went to opening day in Baltimore & my biggest disappointment was Josh didn't start.  After the Vikings game I went to the mall & bought his jersey in a small sports store since the big ones like Dick's only had Giants & Jets jerseys in Albany.  

 

 In 2018 he had nothing to work with.  Not only were there no receivers, but the O-line was among the worst, if not the worst in the NFL, but may just have been the worst O-line in Bills history.  Only 2nd year OT Dion Dawkins had any business starting in the league.  I laughed when people were saying Josh Rosen had it bad in Arizona.  Josh Allen had it just as bad or worse.  Rosen at least had a HOF WR.  Josh made Foster & Jones look good yet got no credit.  All the anti-Joshers were looking at was the completion % and TD/INT ratio. 

 

What really drives me up the wall are the ones that said Josh was a question mark after 2019.  I made some good $ betting on the Bills both in win over futures & games (4 of 5 wins on Bills games) in 2019 because I saw his will to win as a rookie & by his 2nd year, even though he had some down games, he was a lot more up than down.  He dominated the Thanksgiving game in Dallas & I was able to tell my relatives they were watching the next great NFL QB.   2020 was predictable if you ignored stats & just watch him play his 1st 2 seasons.  

 

 

[scuba guy]

3 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

But 20 total TD's and lets not forget he missed a little over 4 games as a rookie too.  So his rookie stats look worse, I mean his final 6 games he already looked like a completely different QB after returning from injury.  So the 12 passing TD's definitely lack context and paint a worse picture.  

 

I always felt Allen takes more crap for his first season because no one looks at the context of it or his development down the stretch (speaking media and non Bills fans, not about you).  I mean he missed 4 games, turned it on down the stretch and was working with WR's who are either out of the league now or barely hanging on to a roster spot.  

 

He finished with 20 total TD's, and based on how he played those final 6 games, he probably reaches 25 to 30 total TD's as a rookie had he not got hurt in that Houston game despite a bad OL and terrible weapons around him.  

 

So I always say his rookie year wasn't as bad as its made out to be.  

U will always remember his rookie year down in Miami when he ran around at the end of the game to throw the ball down to Charles Clay and Clay just stood there didn't move his feet and let the ball drop to the ground. All he had to do was catch the ball and turn and he would have scored the winning td.

[Alphadawg7]

19 minutes ago, scuba guy said:

U will always remember his rookie year down in Miami when he ran around at the end of the game to throw the ball down to Charles Clay and Clay just stood there didn't move his feet and let the ball drop to the ground. All he had to do was catch the ball and turn and he would have scored the winning td.

 

Dude I just sent that play to a buddy of mine like last week that was talking about Clay lol.  I was like yeah, this is what I will remember hi for...this and never reaching his true potential.  Didnt have a terrible career, but he had the tools to be more, just lacked the mental focus and passion to be great.  

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

Off-topic sort of, but I wouldn't call the Houston loss embarrassing. The Jax one for sure, though.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

9 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Off-topic sort of, but I wouldn't call the Houston loss embarrassing. The Jax one for sure, though.

Fair, but I can’t shake a few of the bad plays (Allen attempted pitch to Knox, Siran Neal whiff on blindside hit of Watson in the backfield, Cody Ford penalty, etc) they have tainted the game for me.