Three reasons Josh Allen isn’t the issue for the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are experiencing what can only be a fever dream while watching Patrick Mahomes’ success in Kansas City after trading back in the draft with Kansas City.
The Bills had an early exit in the Playoffs once again at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills are still a great team, but Kansas City seems to win when it matters. Buffalo doesn’t have a Josh Allen problem despite what the fans think. While the Bills have many things wrong with them, Josh Allen is way more of an asset than the fans. In the offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders laid all the blame for their issues on the feet of Derek Carr, and look how that turned out. The Las Vegas fanbase turned against Derek Carr and the head coach was one of the reasons for the early exit of Derek Carr from Vegas.
The same shouldn’t be said for Josh Allen. It also can’t be ignored that Josh Allen had the most turnovers in the NFL over the past few seasons. Allen has also turned the ball over in crucial parts of the game and even some coming off of handing the ball off like in the Denver game. This all being said, Allen isn’t the problem in Buffalo, but some problems need to be resolved.
It’s time to have an uncomfortable conversation about Bills’ QB Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen has played in 10 playoff games, and he’s won five of them. The team has clearly hit a ceiling in recent postseason appearances, and I think a tough conversation needs to be had. The Bills had the Chiefs right where they wanted them; playing an away game in Buffalo in front of Bills Mafia.
The Bills had rode a late-season surge to clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and the AFC East title. They had beaten the Chiefs in the regular season, so they owned the tiebreaker. Plus, with no Joe Burrow in the postseason, this was the year for Allen and the Bills, right? It sure seemed that way. The Bills made mostly easy work of the Mason Rudolph-led Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round.
Clearly, the Bills had their sights set on something bigger. They all surely knew that they had to get past Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs if they wanted to make the Super Bowl. They had their chance. They had multiple leads during the game, and the Bills just simply could not get it done. Sure, Allen might be way down on the list of who was at fault for this loss.
Their kicker, Tyler Bass, missed a game-tying field goal. Stefon Diggs didn’t have a great game. And the Bills’ fake punt attempt in the second half was just downright embarrassing. However, playoff games especially in the NFL are typically decided by which team has the better QB. And yes, while wins are not necessarily a QB stat, teams have to sometimes rely on their QBs to push them over the edge.
And time and time again, for the fifth-straight postseason, Josh Allen has not been able to do that. It’s becoming a trend, and I think it’s time to have a tough conversation about the QB. Many people have called the Mahomes/Allen rivalry this generation’s Tom Brady/Peyton Manning rivalry. But if we’re being honest, is Allen this generation’s Manning? Frankly, he seems closer to Philip Rivers than anything.
Josh Allen has a 5-5 record in the postseason. His five wins have come against the following QBs:
An old, washed-up Philip Rivers, an injured Lamar Jackson, a rookie QB in Mac Jones, Skylar Thompson, and Mason Rudolph.
His five playoff losses have come against Deshaun Watson, Joe Burrow, and Patrick Mahomes three times.
Folks, this isn’t nothing. I get that many people are sucked into Josh Allen because of his insane dual-threat nature. He’s already one of the best rushing QBs in the history of the NFL and could at any time, rip off a huge run. I understand why people are so enticed by him, but the little playoff success is becoming a scary trend.
The Buffalo Bills have again seen their season tragically end, and Josh Allen has been at the center of it.
Has Patrick Mahomes already built a Hall of Fame career before turning 30?
The accomplishments from Patrick Mahomes during his six-year starting career in the NFL are almost too long to list. Has he already built a Hall of Fame career? Mahomes is set to play in yet another AFC Championship Game after taking down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Mahomes has played in three Super Bowls, winning two of them, and could make his fourth Super Bowl this season.
The Chiefs face off against the Baltimore Ravens. Even if the Chiefs lose next weekend or in the Super Bowl, would Patrick Mahomes already be a Hall of Famer if he were to retire? Has he already built a HOF resume in just six years as a starter in the NFL?
Let’s look at some numbers.
He’s made the Pro Bowl six games. He’s been an All-Pro two times. He’s won two MVP awards and has won two Super Bowl MVP awards. In the regular season, Mahomes and the Chiefs have gone 74-22 together. He’s thrown for 28,424 yards, 219 touchdowns, 63 interceptions, and he’s earned a passer rating of 103.5. In the postseason, Mahomes and the Chiefs are 13-3. He’s thrown 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions during 16 postseason games
He’s led the NFL in passing yards once, touchdown passes twice, and yards per game twice. He also ranks first all-time in passing yards per game, with 296.1 yards per contest.
Mahomes is already 65th all-time in passing yards. He ranks 39th all-time in passing touchdowns, and has the second-highest passer rating ever. His 13 playoff victories ranks tied for the fourth-most in the history of the NFL. He’s tied with Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Favre, and Roger Staubach.
What is there left for him to do? Yeah, he does not have the gaudy career numbers just yet since he’s only started for six years, but what he’s done in those six seasons are what many Hall of Fame QBs accomplished in 15-year careers. It’s truly insane just how much Patrick Mahomes has been able to do in the NFL, and he’s not yet 30 years old.
In fact, he’ll turn 30 in 2025, as he is set to enter his age-29 season in 2024.
So what’s next for the Buffalo Bills in 2024?
So what’s next for the Buffalo Bills in 2024?
The reigning AFC East champions had their ups and downs in the early stages of the season. The Buffalo Bills split their first 12 games. A 6-6 record not only meant that the team had already lost twice as many games as they did in 2022, Sean McDermott’s squad trailed the 9-3 Miami Dolphins in the AFC East with five weeks to play.
The Bills would run the table, which included a 21-14 victory in South Florida in the final game of the 2023 season that clnched the division title. A 31-17 wild card win over Pittsburgh by the AFC East champions set up yet another playoff meeting with the Chiefs, this time at Buffalo. A game-tying field goal attempt in the waning moments went wide right, and the Bills were sent home by Andy Reid’s team for the third time in four years.
Will Josh Allen and company ever get over the hump? There’s still a lot of talent on this team, but some tweaking is in order.
What’s Next for the Buffalo Bills?
A return to the Super Bowl continues to elude a franchise that made a record four straight appearances in the “Big Game” (all losses) from 1990-93, but hasn’t been back since. So, what can head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane to cure what ails this franchise?
The team parted ways with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after a Week 10 home loss to the Broncos. The Bills promoted quarterbacks coach Joe Brady to take over, and in their final nine outings, including the postseason, the offense totaled at least 28 running plays and 100-plus yards on the ground in each contest. Making running back James Cook a bigger part of the offense was a huge positive, and that figures to continue going forward.
Biggest Offseason Concern?
The two biggest names that could hit free agency in mid-March are safety Micah Hyde and wide receiver Gabe Davis.
The Bills have a slew of defensive linemen that could also hit the open market in DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle and Jordan Phillips, as well as pass rushers Leonard Floyd and A.J. Epenesa. Buffalo’s defense finished with 54 sacks (10.5 by Floyd) and the team came away with 30 takeaways. Only the Ravens, Chiefs and 49ers allowed fewer points than McDermott’s team, yet the Bills fell short in terms of that long-awaited return to the Super Bowl.
Should the Buffalo Bills move on from Sean McDermott?
Should the Buffalo Bills move on from Sean McDermott?
You would think at some point, someone with authority in the Buffalo Bills organization would recognize that continuing to keep the status quo is only hurting the team. Yet another year has gone by with the Buffalo Bills failing to make a deep playoff run. And it’s the same story year after year. At some point, big change needs to happen.
Sean McDermott has mastered winning a ton of games in the regular season. Over seven years, McDermott has a 73-41 regular season record. He’s won double-digit games in five-straight seasons, which includes four AFC East titles. However McDermott’s playoff record is 5-6, including yet another loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, again coming in a heartbreaking fashion.
The Bills have won a ton of games under McDermott; that’s a fact. The Bills have been a competitive team nearly every season during his tenure. His regular season success is evident, but like other head coaches in the NFL, the playoff success just is not there. The Bills have won one or zero playoff games in five of the six seasons that they have made the postseason in the McDermott era.
And the one year that they won two playoff games, Mahomes and the Chiefs embarrassed them in the AFC Championship Game. And it’s not like the Bills showing much progress or improvement in the postseason. They are losing in the same way they have for years now. The Buffalo Bills need to make a change, and they need it desperately. Buffalo has not been able to get over the hump with McDermott at the helm.
Much like Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh and Mike McCarthy in Dallas, the three teams have clearly hit a ceiling with their head coaches, so why keep everything the same? What value do these coaches bring to their respective teams if there is little to no postseason success? Are teams embracing playoff appearances instead of Super Bowl championships?
Teams do not win Super Bowls in the NFL without taking major risks, and the Buffalo Bills should take a major risk and part ways with Sean McDermott. He has clearly hit a ceiling with this team, and the two sides should seek a fresh start.