Buffalo Bills: Establishing consistency with Josh Allen under center

Getting Josh Allen back as the starting quarterback should help the offense gain some sense of consistency after so much turnover at the position.

There was a simpler time when Buffalo Bills fans discussed the possibility of AJ McCarron being the starting quarterback for the entire 2018 season.

Instead, four other players have started for the Bills in the first 10 games of the season while McCarron is forced to play under Jon Gruden. Probably not the 2018 he had in mind.

Josh Allen was drafted to be the long-term starter, but it was expected that he would get some time to learn from the sidelines. Some mismanagement led to Nathan Peterman being the only other option and we saw how that went.

Allen became the starter after one game and was doing well until he went down with an injury last month in Houston. His absence in the following three games saw the offense get historically bad as Peterman and Derek Anderson tried to do anything positive.

Then Matt Barkley stepped in and helped lead the Bills to a blowout win over the New York Jets.

Now Barkley is heading back to the sidelines to allow Allen to start on a roster that no longer includes Peterman, who was the Week 1 starter. Everyone following along?

Let’s assume Allen starts this Sunday. That should mean that he holds that job for the final six games of the season.

In the three games the Bills have won this season, there has been some semblance of balance on offense. In the losses, the team has been forced to be pass-happy without much success.

Allen started in two of those three victories and returns to a rather easy schedule over the final six weeks of the season.

Last week’s victory over the Jets gave Bills fans a glimpse of just how important it is to have competent quarterback play. LeSean McCoy had his first 100-yard performance of the season, while the offense also had its first 100-yard receiving performance. That was done by rookie Robert Foster.

Given the positive momentum after that win and the fact the team got an extra week to prepare for this Sunday’s game against Jacksonville, there is no reason why the offense should regress with Allen back in as the starter. In fact, it should return to a normal NFL level. As opposed to what we have seen in most of the losses this season.

Allen can help the offense get comfortable knowing that only one player is going to line up under center. The line can get used to the way he operates at the line of scrimmage and the receivers can get used to the way he throws the ball.

Small things matter and it is a small miracle that the Bills have been able to pick up three wins based on all the turnover at quarterback this season. Having one player set in the role will only make things better.