Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 19th time in his career this week, but head coach Joe Brady believes he still hasn’t reached his ceiling.
Allen earned the honor after his five-touchdown performance in a win over the Detroit Lions, which pushed the Bills to 2-0 despite a pair of playoff-caliber opponents to start the year. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Brady issued a challenge of sorts for Allen, saying there’s still room for him to improve.
Josh Allen Can Still Clean Up His Game a Bit
Speaking about the award, Brady said Allen will always do anything asked of him — but said there’s still more he can do.
“He just wants to do whatever he has to do to win the football game,” Brady said, via USA Today’s Bills Wire. “I think there’s more there and he knows it.”
Bills Wire reporter Nick Wojton noted that it was a bold claim from Brady, but noted that Allen still taking some unnecessary risks during plays. The Bills have gotten lucky a few times early this season, including a dropped interception one play before the game-winning touchdown pass against the Houston Texans.
“There’s times it works, there’s times it doesn’t work,” Allen said. “I’ve always played the game the same way, even from a young kid. It’s what I do best and have most fun at.”
Joe Brady Giving Josh Allen the Green Light
Brady, Allen’s longtime quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, has opened up the playbook for the star signal-caller since becoming head coach.
As John Boccacino of SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings noted, the Bills have moved away from a run-first approach on early downs and put the ball in Allen’s hands more often.
“Unlike in past years under former head coach Sean McDermott, when the tendency was for Buffalo to run the ball with dynamic running back James Cook on first down—including last year, when the Bills ran more than 50% of the time on first and second down—so far this year, Joe Brady has given Josh Allen the green light to attack downfield in early-down scenarios, and Bills fans have to love the results so far,” Boccacino wrote.
Boccacino added that the Bills are throwing the ball at a 55% clip on first and second downs, putting them at No. 8 in the NFL through the first two weeks of the season.
“In leading an offense that has scored touchdowns on 10 of its 18 possessions (not counting end of half kneel down situations), Brady is dialing up more passing plays on early downs, and those passing plays are taking place downfield and resulting in big chunk plays instead of bubble screens and checkdowns,” Boccacino wrote.
Bills HC Joe Brady Issues Bold Challenge to Josh Allen Before Chargers Game