Going into the AFC Divisional Round, many are talking about Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his “reckless” type of play.
His style and decisions have gotten he and the Bills in trouble this season, at times, but Buffalo continues to win games. Many have questioned whether the Bills are winning in spite of Allen, but that’s taking it a bit too far.
The truth is, the Bills would have had no shot this season, without their quarterback. Allen may have given the ball away a few too many times this year, but he’s also been a huge reason why they continue to win football games.
Sure, Allen gave it away three times against the Miami Dolphins during the Wildcard Round. However, one of those giveaways was off of a tipped pass and you could technically argue it wasn’t Allen’s fault.
And, not to make too many excuses, but the Bills’ offensive line was absolutely atrocious versus the Dolphins last weekend.
Too many people are talking about Josh Allen’s questionable decisions, and not enough about the Bills’ offensive line
Just how bad was the Bills’ offensive line last week against Miami? Pretty bad, according to Zebra Technologies:
“Allen was blitzed on 52.2% of his dropbacks, his highest rate faced since Week 14, 2020, and faced a career high 47.8% pressure rate. (@ZebraSports)”
Just let that soak in. Last week against Miami, Allen was blitzed on over half of his drop backs. And he also faced pressure on nearly half of them. That means, nearly fifty percent of Allen’s drop backs did not include a clean pocket to throw from.
How can anyone, in their right mind. put the majority of the blame on Allen for his giveaways? Sure, you can blame him to an extent. But, the fact of the matter is, the Bills’ offensive line has been a question mark all season long.
This is nothing new. Buffalo has not fixed their offensive line, despite draft picks and free agent moves over the last couple of seasons. The front office has tried, but they have not succeeded. Allen is still not protected enough, and if they’re going to stand a chance against Cincinnati, they’ll have to figure out how to keep him upright and throwing from a cleaner pocket.