When most people think of Bills star quarterback Josh Allen, his style is often the first thing that comes to mind. He’s built (6’5″, 237 pounds) like traditional signal-callers, so he can withstand the rigors of being a pocket passer. Despite his hefty frame, the seventh-year star tests defenses with a blend of size and speed in the running game.
His style fits into the current crop of quarterbacks who are duel threats. Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jordan Love all represent the new blueprint for successful quarterbacks.
Owners, head coaches, and general managers shifted focus to players who can keep defenses honest both through the air and on the ground. Allen has become a template of what teams looking for a new quarterback may look for.
Allen has thrown for over 4,000 yards and rushed for over 500 yards in three of the last four years. He still utilizes his duel-threat ability. However, the penchant for playing “hero ball” also appeared more in his earlier seasons.
Taking deep shots has been a staple of Allen’s game throughout his NFL career. He’s thrown for 30 or more touchdowns in three seasons but also resorted to forcing throws to make big plays. That habit held Allen and the Bills back for years as the Wyoming product felt he could rely on his overwhelming athleticism to keep the Bills in games.
Bills Star Working on Impressive Streak to Start 2024
Superstar Growth
Reliance on his skills and the desire to make the big play often blew up on Allen, especially in 2023. Despite leading the Bills to another AFC East crown, Allen threw 29 touchdowns with a career-high 18 interceptions.
The gunslinging style often led to exciting results and playoff runs, but also to disappointing losses. Keeping up with the rival Kansas City Chiefs often forced Allen to push the ball down the field. Those acts have shattered Bufflao’s playoff aspirations over the last few years.
With another playoff berth likely, will a current streak finally lead Josh Allen and Buffalo to their ultimate goal of a Super Bowl win?
With Buffalo sitting at 5-2 atop the lowly AFC East, Allen has put up an impressive start through the air. After a career-high in interceptions last year, the Buffalo signal-caller has tossed 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions in the first seven games of 2024.
The streak will end at some point this year, but Allen’s last regular-season interception came in last year’s season finale against the rival Miami Dolphins. In that game, Miami picked Allen off twice but still lost 21-14.
Allen’s completion percentage was a robust 78.9% with 359 yards passing. The AFC East crown was on the line, so Buffalo and Allen pulled off all the stops to keep their streak of division crowns alive.
Star Watch
Such a streak seems more likely to come from a precision passer like Drew Brees or Tom Brady. One of Allen’s contemporaries, the Lions Jared Goff, knows a few things about impressive streaks in 2024. Detroit’s quarterback has two games with over 80% completion percentage, including a perfect game against Seattle in Week 4:
- Week 4 vs. Seattle – 18-of-18, 292 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 42-29 win
- Week 7 @ Minnesota – 22-of-25, 280 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 31-29 win
Those results come from another team with Super Bowl aspirations. Many of the risks Allen took were because the Bills weren’t known for running the ball consistently. He also tried to force balls to former receiver Stefon Diggs to keep him invested in the game. While his start to 2024 has been impressive, it will be hard to keep it up.
New Offense
After trading Diggs to the Houston Texans, Buffalo relied on several targets rather than one big mouth to feed. It led to a quick 3-0 start but only worked against teams likely to be out of the playoff chase by late November.
Khalil Shakir is better as a possession receiver and screens to running backs have less of a chance of being picked off. Buffalo acquired Amari Cooper from the Browns last week, giving the team a low-end top receiver. He’s not as flashy as Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, but he’s a reliable target at every level of the defense.
More reliable targets on the roster will help Allen’s streak alive, but the competition only gets tougher going forward. After a Week 8 match-up with the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo will play five teams that made the playoffs in 2023:
- Week 9 vs. Miami
- Week 11 vs. Kansas City
- Week 13 vs. San Francisco
- Week 14 @ Los Angeles Rams
- Week 15 @ Detroit
Some of those opponents (Miami, Los Angeles) have their own problems, but most teams will start to gel more as the season progresses. The Bills only played one game with Cooper added to their offense.
Figuring out the best way forward will likely test Allen’s interception streak. Will he take fewer big shots to hit the open receiver? Could tougher opponents force Allen to revert to “hero ball” and thus end the streak sooner rather than later?
The longer Bills star Josh Allen goes without throwing an interception, the better their post-season odds become. That goes double against formidable defenses like Tennessee and Kansas City. However, the pressure will also mount the longer he goes without such a mistake.
Main Photo: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
