Chiefs Game Will Be A Defining Moment In Josh Allen’s Journey
Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Leading into the 2024 season, there was doubt surrounding the Buffalo Bills. The allure and hype surrounding the team over the last few seasons left along with Stefon Diggs and a key group of veterans that had been a big part of the organization’s recent success. But Josh Allen remained, and he’s proven that as long as he’s around, the Bills will be competitive.
After winning their last five games, Sunday’s matchup against the Chiefs is another opportunity to drive that point home. Allen has been good this season. He’s eighth in the NFL with 2,281 passing yards and is tied for fourth in passing touchdowns (17). But to beat the undefeated Chiefs and capture another signature regular-season win Allen needs to bounce out of a recent funk he’s been in. That starts with how the Bills have been attacking opposing defenses.
Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Bills had a balanced offense that included a strong running game highlighted by James Cook and Ray Davis. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady was able to take the pressure off Allen, allowing him to become more of a game manager, without sacrificing his ability to make big plays when the team needed it.
When the Bills started off 5-2, Allen attempted 30 or more passes three times. But there were also games where he threw the ball 25, 23, and 19 times as the Bills put up a combined 88 points. Allen no longer needed to carry the load.
However, over the last three weeks, Allen has thrown the ball more often than he has all season long, and the problems that have plagued him in the past are starting to show again. Allen was picked off once against both the Seahawks and the Dolphins, but still threw for a combined 518 yards and five touchdowns on 73 attempts. He attempted a season-high 39 passes against the Dolphins and completed a 63-yard pass, his longest of the season, to Davis.
But despite accumulating 280 passing yards against the Colts (his third-highest total in 2024), Allen didn’t find the end zone through the air for the second time this year and was picked off twice. He hadn’t thrown an interception in Buffalo’s first seven games but has had four passes intercepted over the last three weeks. He also completed just 59% of his passes against the Colts and tallied a QBR of 48.1, his third-lowest mark of the season.
The Bills overcame Allen’s struggles to still capture victory, but this is something they can and should fix. To put it into perspective, Allen threw the ball 35-plus times in nine games last year and the Bills lost six of those games. Of the seven games in which Allen attempted 30 or fewer passes, the Bills won six of them.
Allen has oftentimes been criticized for his scattered play, which is a result of having so much on his shoulders. He thinks he always needs to play hero ball and make the big play. But when he’s able to slow things down and properly manage the game, he’s at his best. The Bills’ early-season approach allowed him to do just that.
The Bills have also been without Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper, two of Allen’s top targets over the last two weeks. Coleman caught just one pass for 21 yards against the Dolphins before suffering a wrist injury, while Cooper is dealing with a wrist injury himself. Because of those two being out, Mack Hollins was Allen’s top receiver this past week, catching four passes for 85 yards.
Allen has been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL for the last five seasons, but he has his flaws. Brady had found a way to mitigate those early on this season, but now they’ve strayed from that approach. If the Bills can get back to that, Allen can capture a signature win over an undefeated team and solidify his team’s status as a Super Bowl contender.
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