Josh Allen has gained notoriety for turning the ball over, with his boatloads of picks being one reason why he couldn’t win the MVP award. He broke his personal interception record last season, throwing 18.
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However, it seems like the work he has put in this off-season has finally paid off. The Bills QB has started the season with a strong note and no picks, outclassing both former MVPs, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.
Even in the huge loss (35-10) against the Ravens, the Bills quarterback didn’t throw any picks. By comparison, according to the NFL’s official website, Mahomes has already been picked off 5 times, ranking just behind Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, both with 6. Lamar, on the other hand, has thrown just a solitary pick so far.
One might think that by not turning the ball over and being conservative, the star quarterback wouldn’t have thrown as many TDs. However, Allen ranks third in passing TDs with seven, tied with Joe Burrow. Surprisingly, he’s only behind Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, who have thrown 11 and 8, respectively.
However, when it comes to passing yards, he’s nowhere near in the top five or top 10. Allen has tallied only 814 yards this season. This could also be attributed to the fact that, among the top 25 QBs, he has the second-lowest passing attempts, with 101 — completing 70 passes so far. His 8.1 yards per attempt rank him 6th in the league, and he boasts the second-best passer rating with 116.5, just behind Sam Darnold.
Josh has been thriving this season under Joe Brady’s playcalling. Being surrounded by rookie receivers or inexperienced wideouts, he has taken over the offense, carrying the burden all by himself.
He has stepped up as a leader and is focusing on the bigger picture. The offense has split the load equally between the passing game and the run game. So, if Allen isn’t at the top of the passing yards charts after four games, then who is?
Allen is not a passing yards leader as of yet
Geno Smith, Brock Purdy, and Dak Prescott are leaders when it comes to the passing yards category with 1182, 1130, and 1072 yards thrown, respectively. Even both Jackson and Mahomes are ahead of Allen in this metric, with the Ravens QB throwing for 858 yards while the Chiefs signal-caller has just over 900 yards under his belt.
Interestingly, the Bills QB is even below the likes of Daniel Jones and Gardner Minshew in terms of passing yards. This highlights the skewed nature of this metric, as it doesn’t tell the full story of the game. A QB might accumulate unnecessary yards when his team is down significantly and has little chance of a comeback.
As good as Josh has been this season, even he can’t do it all on the field. This was evident in the game against the Ravens, where Baltimore dominated. The Bills’ defense struggled, giving up 30 points, while the offense looked lackluster against Baltimore’s elite defense, managing just 236 total yards and averaging 4.1 yards per play.
Buffalo will need to regain their momentum as they face another tough road challenge against the Houston Texans next Sunday.
