Have people forgotten this man turned around one of the worst NFL teams in just 3 seasons? After the Bills disappointing playoff exit to the Cincinatti Bengals, Josh Allen is getting A LOT of uncalled for criticisms about his talent and playstyle.
I never thought I’d find myself in this position: a Patriots fan defending the Buffalo Bills franchise quarterback. Yet, all of this silly and unnecessary Josh Allen hate has forced my hand.
From being hailed as the second best QB in the NFL just behind Patrick Mahomes a few weeks ago to now being called a choker, turnover artist, and fraud, Allen has been dragged through the mud by the media with a ferocity seen only with the most outspoken/reserved (both are equally hated by the media) and “controversial” QBs (aka: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, etc.).
And, truthfully, it’s completely uncalled for.
Sure, Allen had a really bad game against the Bengals as he completed 25/42 passes for 264 yards and 1 INT, while he rushed 8 times for only 26 yards and 1 TD. Like I said, not a fantastic game by any stretch of the imagination, though who on Buffalo had a good game?
I’ve seen a lot of talk about Stefon Diggs outbursts on the sidelines as justification for ganging up on Allen, but Diggs had a horrendous game just 4 catches for 35 yards on 10 targets. Yes, it’s the job of the QB to get the ball to his playmakers, but doesn’t Diggs have to take some responsibility for only catching 40% of the passes thrown his way in a Divisional playoff game? All the incompletions throw his way were not “uncatchable”.
And what about the Bills defense? Against a Cincinatti offensive line that was missing three starters and had rookies and backups littered all throughout its ranks, the Bills vaunted defense had a grand total of 1 sack, 2 TFL, and 3 QB hits as the Bengals running game had 172 total scrimmage yards and Burrow threw for another 242 yards and 2 TDs.
Obviously, going up against Joe Burrow is an incredibly difficult task that would challenge any defensive unit, but to only sack him once and hit him on four occasions with players like Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, Matt Milano, Tremaine Edmunds, and Shaq Lawson is pitiful.
Moreover, is Josh Allen really supposed to be the Bills entire passing and running game each and every season?
Devin Singleterry was the Bills leading rusher this season with 819 rushing yards. Can you guess who was the second leading rusher? JOSH ALLEN with 762 yards, a mere 50 yards less than the supposed #1 running back on the Bills roster.
Teams like the Cowboys (Tony Pollard: 1,007 yards, Ezekiel Elliott: 876 yards) and Dolphins (Raheem Mostert: 891 yards, Jeff Wilson: 860 yards) had multiple rushers with more yards than the Bills leading rusher, which just shows how Allen-focused this offense really is.
Unlike a San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles offense that features multiple quality, hardnose running backs with the support of an efficient passing game, or a Cincinatti Bengals or Kansas City Chiefs offense that revolves around the QB but gives him enough support to flourish, the Bills simply say, “Here’s the ball, Josh Allen. Go do something with your cannon arm or legs to win us the game.”
Yet, people in the media act like he’s been given an arsenal of weapons like the Final-4 QBs still playing have been. In the NFC, the 49ers have given Brock Purdy weapons like George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Kyle Juszczyk, Trent Williams, Mike McGlinchey, etc. on the O-Line, and Kyle Shanahan as his HC and de facto QB coach.
The Eagles have given Jalen Hurts weapons like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Myles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, an O-Line of Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Isaac Seumalo, and a very good offensive HC in Nick Sirianni.
In the AFC, the Bengals have given Joe Burrow weapons like JaMarr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Hayden Hurst, Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, La’el Collins, and Jonah Williams on the offensive line, and a Zac Taylor as his head coach.
And, lastly, Patrick Mahomes has given Travis Kelce, Marquez Vandling-Scantling, Isiah Pacheco, Jerrick McKinnon, Kardarius Toney, and offensive lineman of Joe Thuney, Orlando Brown Jr., Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, etc., and the offensive genius of Eric Bienemy and Andy Reid as his coaches. Plus, Patrick Mahomes own personal greatness just makes this weapons core 10X better than it looks on paper.
I know I would take all of those rosters and skill position players over what Buffalo has right now.
Can you see why Josh Allen hasn’t won yet? He’s facing off against far superior and better developed rosters year after year, while he also has the misfortune of playing for the Buffalo Bills.
Don’t take this the wrong way, Bills Mafia, but I think we can all agree that the Bills haven’t been the model franchise when it comes to winning important games. Losing four straight Super Bowls in the 90’s and then being stuck in a division with a dynasty (and losing almost every game to them for 10 years) that won 6 Super Bowls and reached 10 tends to hurt one’s winning image.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, losing in big moments is in the city and teams’ nature.
Anyway, that’s enough of me defending Josh Allen. I’ll get sick if I have rave and support the Bills franchise QB more.
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