With Week 1 coming up, let's predict how Josh Allen will fare against the rival Baltimore Ravens. Last year, Allen led Buffalo to victory over Baltimore in the playoffs, although he did not light up the box score with lots of yards.
He completed 16 of 22 passing yards for 127 yards, and rushed for 20 yards in ten attempts on the ground. He did, however, score two touchdowns on the ground, and he did not turn the ball over.
Last September in Baltimore, Allen struggled. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 180 yards, and rushed for 21 yards but failed to find the endzone, and was replaced by Mitch Trubisky in a blowout loss, as the Bills fell 35-10.
In 2022, the Bills took down the Ravens in a thrilling 23-20 matchup. Allen completed 19 of 36 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown, while throwing one interception. He also rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Overall, in his past three games against the Ravens, Allen has been just above average against the Ravens. He's thrown just two touchdowns and one interception in his past three games against Baltimore, but has also scored three touchdowns on the ground.
Predicting Josh Allen's stats in Week 1 vs. Ravens
Going off those stats, it's probably not fair to expect Allen to light up Baltimore's defense in the first game of the season. He'll probably throw for around 180 yards and complete around 60% of his passes. He'll probably score a touchdown with his legs, and while he won't turn the ball over, he won't be leading scoring drives on every possession either.
A more optimistic stat line could look like a 65% completion rate, 215 passing yards, a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and 30 rushing yards. If Allen can provide that kind of value and James Cook can add a rushing score of his own, Buffalo can easily eclipse 24 points. That should be enough if the defense pulls its weight, but if Jackson torches them like he did last September, things could get dicey.
Don't expect Allen to struggle on Sunday, but don't expect him to look like the MVP either. Expect Baltimore to play the Bills tough, and expect Buffalo to squeak out a close victory.