Why Bills QB Josh Allen is thriving under Buffalo’s interim OC

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

Josh Allen’s meetings with interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady, just completing his first month on the job, must look something like a negotiation. Because in some respects, the Buffalo Bills have let Josh be Josh.

But not in every respect.

One element of Allen’s game has clearly emerged since Brady took over for Ken Dorsey, fired Nov. 9 after the Bills lost to the Denver Broncos. Allen is rushing the ball, both on scrambles and designed quarterback runs, including a designed quarterback draw that went for a touchdown in the low red zone in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Allen charged upfield, and though he met a scrum of Chiefs defenders, he stayed upright and a few Bills helped shove him the extra yards into the end zone.

“It was the first time in my life I’ve ever felt my legs turning and kept the pile going,” Allen said with a huge smile on Wednesday. “And then looking back at the video copy, I didn’t do anything. It was just the offensive line pushing me in.”

It’s unclear if Allen wants to run the ball more, but it’s clear that — earlier this year — head coach Sean McDermott did not want Allen running the ball as much as he did in 2022. (And the offense has since suffered in 2023, in part due to Allen seemingly holding that part of his game in check.) But I’d bet that Allen has been champing at the bit to get more carries, if only because it tends to get the team more wins.

“This time of year we all do what you got to do,” McDermott said Wednesday when asked about the increased amount of carries and, in turn, contact for the QB.

The Bills (7-6) are currently outside the playoff bubble, with just a 48% chance of making the postseason, according to ESPN. They have a massive game on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), who are the No. 2 team in the NFL, per our power rankings. Buffalo has its back against the wall and…


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Publish date : 2023-12-14 21:07:59

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