It hasn’t been the best 2½ games for Josh Allen.
The Bills quarterback, who got off to a blazing start for the first five games plus two quarters, has suddenly hit a rough patch, specifically in the last three second halves against the Packers, Jets and Vikings.
The latter two resulted in losses and in those six quarters he’s thrown no touchdown passes with a half-dozen ugly interceptions, three fumbles and nine sacks.
But that doesn’t address Buffalo’s other issues: an inability to establish a ground game other than Allen’s rushes, a recent vulnerability to opposing ground games, and some quizzical play-calling.
Of course, those three issues, which are clearly coach-related, are addressed only in vague, peripheral terms.
The lone person pointing the thumb at his own chest is Allen.
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, whose play selection has been under scrutiny, admits with a sense of pride, “He does take ownership … he owns everything that happens on the field because he knows that’s what it takes to be the franchise quarterback of a National Football League team.
“You appreciate that as a coach, but at the same time you look at yourself and make sure you’re putting him in the right positions to have success.”
BUT YOU won’t hear Allen making excuses.
“I just want to be the best quarterback I can be for the Buffalo Bills … every time I step on the field, that’s my goal,” he said. “There’s a play here or there where maybe I did cross the line (on decision-making), I wouldn’t say it’s all the time, but there might be a situation where it’s like, ‘Hey, I shouldn’t have made this decision.’
Allen continued, “You’re going to have bad throws, you’re going to have tipped balls, those are the interceptions you’re going to have to live with. It’s the bad decisions I’ve made in the last couple games. We’ve done a lot of good things (but) sometimes those one or two decisions can cost you a game and it’s come back to bite us. (I have to) clean that up and play smarter football.”
IN A PIECE of self-assessment, he added, “Sometimes it’s that constant (thought), ‘I can make a play or I can trust somebody else to make a play,’ which I’ve battled with my entire football career … trying to do too much at times and it’ll hurt you.
“It’s playing quarterback the right way, the smart way and allowing our guys to make plays in space rather than forcing the ball downfield … having that mindset of being aggressive … smart but not conservative … play freely but not trying not to make a mistake.”
ALLEN CONCLUDED, “I have to just play football and be the quarterback that I know I am, that my teammates think that I am and trust me to be. (I have to) keep that next-play mindset … as a quarterback in this league you have to have a short-term memory and forget about what just happened and move on.
“We look back at that last game and the fumble in the end zone that gave (Minnesota) the lead. We had thirty-six seconds left and we could’ve easily thrown in the towel, but the guys stuck to the script and went down and gave ourselves a chance in overtime.
We’ve got a lot of resiliency on this team and I’m not going to let those mistakes against (the Vikings) bog me down and make me any less aggressive.”
AND TOMORROW will be an interesting test.
The game against the Browns at Highmark Stadium, with its heavy snow and high winds, has been moved to domed Ford Field in Detroit.
Playing in extreme winter weather, even at home, would hardly have been the ideal circumstance for Allen to rediscover his early-season proficiency. However, in ideal indoor conditions, he gets a golden chance to return to the productivity that made him the preseason favorite for NFL MVP.
“Me making smarter decisions is going to help everything else,” he said of a Buffalo offense that hasn’t scored a second-half touchdown in three games. “Sometimes (we have) to allow our check-down game to be our run game — things aren’t going particularly great in that aspect — but coach Dorsey is going to find a game plan that suits us best. If it calls for 40 passes in a game or 40 runs, that’s what our team is willing to do.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that just want to win football games … that’s our mindset.
(Protecting the) ball’s the most important thing … that ball is everybody’s family in your hands.”
(Chuck Pollock, an Olean Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
