Few NFL teams prop their postseason hopes as wholly on one player as the Buffalo Bills have with quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills live and die with the performances of the former MVP. He is consistently asked to put on superhuman performances, especially in the playoffs.
Other contending franchises have invested heavily in backup quarterbacks in recent years. The San Francisco 49ers have Mac Jones, the Cincinnati Bengals have Joe Flacco, and the Seattle Seahawks have Drew Lock. These second-stringers spend most days on the sideline, but their presence is enough to keep the team afloat should the starter miss time.
The Bills are set to rely on Kyle Allen as their backup quarterback in 2026. According to early training camp reports, he has not been up to par. If Josh Allen goes down at any point this season, Buffalo's postseason aspirations could go down with him.
Kyle Allen isn't giving Bills much confidence in training camp
Kyle Allen has struggled in the early practices of Bills training camp. Team reporter Dan Fetes put it simply, saying, "I don’t know what I expected from Kyle Allen… but he has been ROUGH so far at Bills camp."
Outside of sharing a last name with Josh Allen, the Bills' backup doesn't have many common characteristics with his starter. He's slightly undersized at 210 pounds and operates primarily as a pocket passer. In over 200 dropbacks since 2021, he's scrambled seven times.
The 30-year-old has seen minimal work in recent years. He spent the 2025 season with the Detroit Lions, throwing just two passes, which were both incomplete. His last two starts came with the Houston Texans in 2022. In those two games, he threw for two touchdowns and four interceptions, fumbling four times and completing just 58.4% of his passes.
If the backup is thrust into the starting lineup at any point this season, it could be a disaster for the Bills. The offense is built to lean heavily on the running game when necessary, but losing any threat from the quarterback would leave defenses with no reason to respect the passing game. Buffalo would face stacked boxes on nearly every play, limiting James Cook's ability to impact games.
The Bills would take a major step back without Josh Allen, no matter who his backup was. But many second-string quarterbacks around the NFL would be able to keep the team going for a few games. Kyle Allen doesn't provide that kind of security.
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