The Buffalo Bills have a chance to get to the .500 mark this Sunday. A great showing from Josh Allen would help the cause.
Things looked dire for the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.
Nathan Peterman looked lost in his one half of play and the defense was destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens. Things got so bad early on that Vontae Davis decided to call it quits.
Then Josh Allen stepped in and while he hasn’t been great in any sense, he has helped bring some stability to the offense.
Stability is a start, but Allen has a long way to go before anyone considers him successful. That is why he showed up at No. 31 overall in NFL Spin Zone’s quarterback rankings this week. C.J. Beathard held the No. 32 overall spot.
Allen has only thrown two touchdowns this season, compared to five interceptions. However, he has rushed for three touchdowns and is the team’s second leading rusher behind LeSean McCoy. So for all his struggles in the passing game, he has helped make up for it on the ground.
That included a rushing touchdown against the Tennessee Titans that served as the team’s only touchdown in the win. This hard-nosed, fearless play from the rookie has clearly earned the respect of his teammates. This is much better than the alternative of Peterman.
It is easy to jump on Allen and criticize him right away. But he was never supposed to be starting this early and the fact he hasn’t been a total disaster is a positive sign. That is not to say that my expectations are extremely low. It is just easy for fans to forget that rookie quarterbacks often have to struggle mightily before succeeding. The Baker Mayfields of the world are rare.
The good news is that Allen has only made four starts and he has a chance to keep getting better with each passing week. A big road win in Houston would go a long way in moving him up these QB rankings.