The playcalling against the New York Jets shows that confidence is growing on the Buffalo Bills coaching staff in Josh Allen.
There is no question that Josh Allen had a career game against the New York Jets in Week 1 as the Buffalo Bills went on to win 27-17. He finished with a career-high in passing yards (311), tied his career-high in attempts (46), and for the first time completed over 30 passes with 33.
The Bills offense was clicking early in the game as the team scored on three straight drives with Allen throwing two touchdown passes and running in a third.
Typically, when the Bills would build this big of a lead they would become conservative and start to run the ball to try and chew up the clock. However, that wasn’t the case on Sunday and the reason is that the coaching staff have seen development in Josh Allen to trust him to continue to throw the ball.
Entering the NFL, Josh Allen was one of the rawest in comparison to the other quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was named the starter after the first week of his rookie season and one of the reasons he was able to do that is because of how physically gifted he is.
During the first two years in the league, he was able to mask any deficiencies as a passer by his ability to scramble and make plays with his legs. However, against the Jets fans saw a Josh Allen who was getting the ball out of his hands quickly and to his playmakers.
The stat that stands out the most showing the confidence Brian Daboll and Sean McDermott have in Josh Allen is that he threw 39 pass attempts when leading. This is a significant number when considering last year, Allen only attempted 137 passes when the Buffalo Bills were leading.
The Buffalo Bills Week 2 opponent, the Miami Dolphins, is going to be a great test for Josh Allen for just how far he has come as a passer. The Dolphins this past week limited Cam Newton to only 155 passing yards thanks to offseason additions Byron Jones and first round draft pick Noah Igbinoghene to join Xavier Howard.
This is a tough secondary that will present a much bigger challenge than the New York Jets. However, there is no question that the improvements Josh Allen showed, and the trust the coaching staff has in him, could spell a big year for the third-year quarterback.