The offense for the Buffalo Bills has been dynamite since 2020 when Josh Allen took his major leap towards MVP level. He has had his growing pains, but he showed more flashes of greatness with his arm strength and running ability. For the last four seasons, the Bills have had one of the most dominant offensive units in the league. There were games where the offense was lighting up the scoreboard and Buffalo rolled to an easy victory. On the other hand, we have seen the offense struggle heavily.
You can ask any NFL fan and the majority of them will say that Buffalo’s offense regressed this offseason because they let Gabe Davis walk and traded Stefon Diggs away. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but the matter of the fact is that Diggs and Davis were not big contributors in the second half of the season last year, yet the Bills still managed to steal the AFC East away from the Miami Dolphins.
One key factor of success that the Bills had last year and are hoping to bring into 2024 is their rushing attack led by third-year back James Cook. Being the first Bill to rush for over 1,000 yards since LeSean McCoy, there are high expectations that he can have a repeat of his 2023 season. With that being said, since the Bills have this intriguing rushing attack, there is one crucial adjustment that the Bills need to make heading into next season.
The Bills need to heavily limit Josh Allen designed-runs
When you have a quarterback like Allen who is a dual-threat with his arm and legs, it opens up the playbook in many ways. We have watched Allen hurdle defenders and even be the Bills’ rushing attack at one point. Up to this point in his career, Allen has not suffered an injury due to him running the ball. Buffalo should consider themselves very lucky because he has taken a lot of contact.
Allen is averaging over 600 rushing yards per season. In addition, Allen is rushing for 9 touchdowns on average in his career (including 15 last season). When Allen takes off with the ball (whether it is a scramble or designed run), it usually ends with something great. At the same time, the Bills also take a huge risk when Allen runs out of the pocket on a designed run.
The Bills made a huge commitment to Allen by signing him to a massive six-year deal back in 2021. Buffalo has been in the Super Bowl mix since 2020 because of the way Allen has performed. There are critics about the Bills who believe that the team will already take a step backwards because of their offseason losses. If the nightmare scenario of Allen getting injured because of a run play comes true, it will become a literal nightmare for Bills fans.
In three of the last five regular season games, Allen had double digit rushing attempts. While some of it may have been running away from pressure, there were also designed runs that will put Allen at risk for an injury, minor or major.
Joe Brady will need to strongly consider keeping his star quarterback from running wild like he has in his overall career. Buffalo has a lot to prove in 2024 and they cannot be messing around with Allen’s availability.