Buffalo Bills: Is the 2020 season make or break for Josh Allen?

The Buffalo Bills have all the pieces of a roster that looks poised to make a deep playoff run but they will go only as far as quarterback Josh Allen takes them. Is 2020 a make or break season for the former first round pick?

The Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen are coming off another season that ended with a playoff appearance, the second time in three years. They have a defense that was one of the best in the league and only lost two starters, with the retirement of Lorenzo Alexander and the departure of Jordan Phillips. Meanwhile, the offense took some steps forward but still felt like it was missing some firepower.

Well that is exactly what general manager Brandon Beane went out and got with the addition of Stefon Diggs. He also didn’t forget the defense, which was the strength of this team, and brought in depth and high upside players across the formation.

The departure of Tom Brady, plus these moves made by the Bills, has many thinking not only playoff berth but also a division title and the potential for a deep playoff run.

There is one key piece that will determine the success of this team in 2020 and that is quarterback Josh Allen. There is no question that Allen is one of the more polarizing players in the league. There are fans that love his toughness, his competitiveness and will point to the strides he made this past season.

This past year he had his completion percentage jump six points from 52.8% to 58.8%, he threw for 1,000 more passing yards, 10 more touchdowns, three fewer interceptions and still contributed nine rushing touchdowns on the ground.

However, many question if Allen really has made improvements and will criticize his inaccuracies throwing the ball. This is certainly an area of improvement but it is not easy to dismiss the strides he has made to this point.

While Josh Allen has done improved, there is no question that he is entering 2020 with the most pressure he has faced at any point in his football career. He is now the leader of a championship winning roster. It is going to be on him to take that next step to get this franchise over the hump.

This is a great deal of pressure to put on a quarterback entering his third year but the Buffalo Bills front office and coaching staff is going to be under just as much pressure. This past offseason Brian Daboll’s name was being mentioned for head coaching jobs but he has yet to coach an offense that has finished in the top half of the league.

The Bills coaching staff have legitimate weapons at every skill position and it will be up to Daboll to not only give them the chance to be successful but build an offense that Allen can operate.

As for the Bills’ front office, they will be watching this season closely as well because they will have a tough decision to make after this season. They will need to decide if they are going to pick up Allen’s fifth year option, something that can have significant salary cap implications.

Are the Buffalo Bills going to find themselves in a situation similar to the Chicago Bears with Mitchell Trubisky? The Bears quarterback had a Pro Bowl season in his second year, he looked to be ascending but struggled this past year and now they are forced to make a tough decision that will impact the next two seasons.

This is not to say that Josh Allen can’t rise to the occasion, that he won’t be able to meet the needs of the Buffalo Bills. He has tremendous potential but the roster that has been constructed puts a ton of pressure on him this year. The window for NFL teams doesn’t stay open for long and this is a chance for the Bills to make a claim as one of the top teams in the AFC this season.

The 2020 season could potentially be the one that defines Josh Allen career with the Buffalo Bills and in the NFL.