The Buffalo Bills went into last Sunday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Rams with a lot of the NFL world watching. Through the first two games of the season Josh Allen looked Pro Bowl caliber. The noticeable difference in his accuracy especially on deep balls, which was the biggest knock on him, jumped out at you. All of the sudden you found national NFL pundits talking about him and the Bills. He was being talked about with Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. He was doing things statistically that only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning had done before. But it was after all, only two games. And, people said, they hadn’t played a team yet that will most likely be in the postseason this year. So, the NFL watched the Bills take on a very good-looking Rams team with a defense that shut down Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz in their first two contests. Many to watch Allen’s new way of piling up yards and touchdowns through the air. Just as many to watch and see if he would falter and stumble facing the Rams.
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Josh Allen Setting Records
Josh Allen has arrived. Although his first game in the NFL was in 2018, this season he is being reintroduced. Like that high school kid you vaguely remembered, and only because someone else mentioned them, who walks into the reunion unrecognizable. It’s a small sample size but through the three games this season, Allen has 1038 yards with over a 71 percent completion rate. He has 10 touchdowns and only one interception. That pick, such an egregious error by the officiating crew, even former ref and now FOX NFL analyst Mike Pereira seemed confused as to how it could be called. Allen’s passer rating is almost 125 and oh yeah, he’s got 84 yards rushing and 2 more touchdowns. He’s already set franchise records this season. He’s the only Bills QB with four touchdown passes in consecutive games. His 12 total touchdowns in three games is two more than Hall of Famer Jim Kelly had in 1991. Those are franchise records yes, but he’s also now the proud owner of the league record with at least 1,000 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns and two rushing scores in the first three games of a season.
Defense Having Issues
Not much attention was being given to Josh Allen before the season started, but there was a lot of attention focused on the Bills defense. Last season the “D” ranked third overall, 10th against the run, fourth against the pass and second in points allowed. Limited losses and a few additions in the off season set up Buffalo for having a defense this year battling for the top spot. After surrendering a 25-point lead to the Rams by the way of giving up 29 consecutive points, they find themselves struggling. They are currently 20th in yards per game, 16th in points per game, 27th in passing yards per game and 9th in rushing yards per game. It stands to reason that the top 10 rushing defense is aided by the opposition having to play from behind the vast majority so far. After being commonplace for the Bills defense to keep the struggling offense in games for a chance to win, this season has flipped that early on.
What it Means
Just as it’s not practical to hand Josh Allen any trophies just yet, it’s not time to panic about the defense. Allen has the right attitude that he can always improve and knows that no team has won the Super Bowl after only three games. Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier built a top tier squad and has the calm demeanor and experience to get there again. The Bills find themselves leading the division at 3-0 with a trip to Las Vegas this week. If the defense can get its ship righted and Allen continues to gain more whispers of being in the MVP race, a deep playoff run is a very good possibility.
