Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen limited due to offensive struggles against Steelers

When it was announced by Buffalo Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott that quarterback Josh Allen would get the start for about a quarter and a half, it was supposed to be a chance to see how the offense would perform with most of the starters. The only notable weapon that Allen would not have was tight end Dawson Knox who was ruled out due to injury. However, the Bills took Allen out of the game after the end of the first quarter. 

Allen himself did not have a bad game, as he completed seven passes on ten attempts for 64 yards (but did add one rush for -6 yards). Although, he was limited because of how the rest of the offense performed.

The offensive line was getting pushed back into him and the pocket was breaking down. The running game with James Cook could not get going as well. However, nothing was worse than the amount of penalties that the Bills were called for. 

Whether it was called during a play or at the pre-snap, Allen and the offense could not get anything going as they failed to put up any points in the first quarter. Allen was able to distribute the ball to Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Deonte Harty and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid. Allen’s first drive was a quick three-and-out, the second drive was affected by three consecutive penalties that set the Bills back to 2nd and 34 at one point. 

While Allen did not have the best couple of drives, there was not a ton he could do because of the other chaos that was happening everywhere else for the offense. Now that Allen is expected to start looking into fixing his performance against the Steelers, he must also step up as the leader and hold others accountable for their mistakes that hurt the Bills starting offense.

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