For the first time in franchise history, the Buffalo Bills have won their first two games of the regular season on the road. And second-year quarterback Josh Allen has invariably played a prominent role.
First came his exploits in the season-opener against the New York Jets. He ran and passed for a touchdown and helped the Bills erase a 16-0 deficit en route to a 17-16 comeback win. And then there was Sunday’s Week Two matchup with the New York Giants, once again taking place at MetLife Stadium. Allen threw for 253 yards and added another touchdown both through the air and on the ground as Buffalo cruised to a 28-14 victory.
It’s a promising development for a fanbase that’s been in search of a franchise quarterback for, seemingly, a generation. Though the jury’s still out on whether Allen truly is “the one,” it’s pretty clear that early in the 2019 season, he’s a markedly improved signal-caller from his rookie year.
Josh Allen Looking the Part After the First Two Games of the 2019 Season
Huge Jump in Completion Percentage Numbers
One of the biggest criticisms of Allen after his debut season in the NFL was his rather anemic completion percentage numbers. He completed a mere 52.8 percent of his passes which, per ESPN statistical data, was dead last among players who averaged a minimum of 14 passes per game played. Obviously, showing improvement in this aspect of his game would go a long way towards showing legitimate progress.
Two games into the 2019 season, things are looking on the up and up. Though he’s certainly not at the level of Drew Brees just yet (few NFL quarterbacks are), his completion percentage currently stands at slightly over 64 percent. As it stands, that’s roughly an 11 percent year-over-year improvement. To put that in perspective, Jared Goff finished with a 64.9 percent completion percentage last year and we all know what game the Los Angeles Rams played in to finish the season.
So early in the season, Josh Allen is completing his passes at a rate commensurate with quarterbacks who boast a track record of success. But some passes are more important than others. From a situational standpoint, being able to move the chains on third down is among the more indispensable traits a quarterback must possess. Similar to the aforementioned completion percentage issues, Allen struggled with this as a rookie.
Improved Ability to Move the Chains on Third Down
That much was fairly evident considering the Bills finished their 2018 campaign third from bottom with a 31.63 percent third-down conversion rate. Fast forward to this season and, thus far, the improvement is noticeable. Against the Jets, Buffalo converted half of their third-down opportunities. And though that number dipped to 38.5 percent against the Giants, Allen made plays when he needed to in order to ensure victory for his team.
It clearly wasn’t the case on their opening drive as they went three and out. But after the defense responded, Allen went out and strutted his stuff. He completed four passes for 46 yards while also running it three times, including the game-tying score after New York got out to a 7-0 lead. Among his passes was a nine-yard toss to Cole Beasley on third down which kept the drive alive.
In the end, all five of the Bills third-down conversions on the day were successful passes from Allen. It included a massive 17-yard throw to John Brown on third and six with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. It initially led to a field goal which made it a two-possession game. But after defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence got whistled for an unnecessary roughness personal foul, Frank Gore eventually punched the ball in from a yard out to make it 28-14 and ostensibly put the game out of reach.
The Scene Now Shifts to the Home Opener
Last year, the cupboard was certainly bare with respect to the weapons at Allen’s disposal. Kelvin Benjamin turned out to be a complete bust and the team’s salary cap situation hamstrung general manager Brandon Beane from fielding a competitive roster. And yet the team managed to win six games with Allen responsible for five. Two weeks into the season, this revamped receiving corps is already proving capable of making plays that win games.
Suffice it to say that this two-week business trip to East Rutherford went completely as planned. They became the first team since the 2006 Chicago Bears to play consecutive games on the road against the Jets and Giants. That team also won both and eventually played in a Super Bowl. While it’s still too early to gauge how competitive this team can be against the league’s best, there’s certainly a lot to be excited about.
New Era Field will certainly be rocking when the Bills welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to Western New York for next Sunday’s home opener. On paper, getting to 3-0 looks fairly feasible given that Cincy is coming off a 41-17 loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers. If they can emerge victorious, a home clash against the New England Patriots looms. And given that the Pats host a Jets team who’ll be without Sam Darnold due to mono in Week Three, there’s the very real possibility that the game will feature two unbeaten teams.
What a stage for Josh Allen to truly announce his arrival.
