Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills clearly have their work cut out following their awful performance against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, especially quarterback Josh Allen.
The Madden 24 cover star completed 29-for-41 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown, but committed three interceptions, all of which were completely avoidable, and lost a fumble. Allen led the league interceptions last season and earned that title again after Week 1.
The most frustrating part, and the 27-year-old admitted this during his postgame presser, he was once again “trying to force the ball,” Allen said. “Same s***, same plays, different day.” Bills head coach Sean McDermott didn’t mince words during a press conference on Wednesday, September 13 when asked if he was frustrated by having the same conversations over and over again with Allen, and him not seeing the point.
Josh Allen throws his THIRD Interception
“He’s competitive. We all know that. You see it on dull display every weekend. But those are conversations that have been had, and will continue to take place,” McDermott said. “At the end of the day, he’s got to do it. I’m not out there running the ball and throwing the ball.
“It’s a mental skill in the course of performance. If you’re mentally highjacked you’re not being the player they need you to be.”
“At the end of the day, he’s gotta do it ’cause I’m not out there running or throwing the ball… I know he has that ability. I’ve seen him do it.”
-Sean McDermott on Josh Allen’s decision-making & the need for the #Bills QB to be smarter with the ball & his body.
McDermott believes Allen can turn things around. “It gets back to, as Josh and I discussed – being a great decision-maker. Not only when you throw the ball but what you do when the ball is in your hands. And I know he has that ability, I’ve seen him do it. Everyone deals with their own challenges… in this case, Josh is working on these areas of his games and I fully expect him to make the adjustment.
“We can only do so much, he needs to make the adjustment on his own. He wants this game back like we all do, I just know when he’s had situations like this before he’s rebounded and come back better for it.”
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky’s Assessment of Josh Allen Went Viral:’Grow Up’
Here’s a breakdown of Josh Allen’s night by the insightful @danorlovsky7 :
While watching Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ season come an end at MetLife Stadium after just four offensive snaps stunned the NFL world, Allen appearing to show zero improvement from the end of last season left analysts bewildered.
During an appearance on “Up & Adams” on Tuesday, September 12, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky gave a harsh but fair assessment of Allen’s performance.
“I love Josh. I’m a huge fan of the person as well,” Orlovsky said. “(Monday) night is one of those games and you sit there and you watch it and if I was his coach, I would look him dead in the eye and say, ‘We’ve got to grow up. We’ve got to grow up, man.’ We can’t have this conversation all the time.
When Aaron Rodgers goes down, there is one chance, one way they lose that football game, and for $250 million, it can’t be because of you, dude. And I understand that you think you’re great, you are. And you’re competitive, you are. And I love all that, it’s why you’re great, but we gotta grow up.”
“We’ve got to handle the situations better… I have it in my notebook, rewatching the game… I have seven clips where I can describe him as completely out of control. Can’t have that… Your eyes are all over the place, your feet are all over the place, you’re running before you have to, you’re forcing the football down the field into double coverage again… This isn’t being a jerk. He’s a grown adult. He makes a ton of money. He’s a great player. We’ve got to grow up.”
The Bills Face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen at Allegiant Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Buffalo has a short week heading into their Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, which means Allen and co. need to figure out a way to get back on track quickly. The Raiders (1-0) are coming off an exciting upset win over the Denver Broncos in Week 1 and will look to keep that momentum going.
Despite losing to the Jets 22-16 in overtime, the Bills enter their home opener as 8.5-point favorites.
McDermott said of the team’s approach this week, “They’ve been professional. They look at themselves first and think this is what I can do better and then we move forward as a team. There’s a lot we need to be better.”