Buffalo Bills: 3 Takeaways from the preseason opener

Josh Allen shows potential

The Bills took a chance trading up to seventh overall for Allen hoping that his talent would round out to one day being the franchise quarterback. As of right now, it would be tough to anoint the rookie as the starting QB in Week 1 and that shouldn’t be an issue.

As Chris Wesseling of NFL.com wrote, Allen didn’t waste time showing his arm strength going for a big pass play but Robert Foster was unable to stay in bounds. When he found the open receiver, Allen was able to put the ball on target and give his receiver a chance to let his momentum carry through the catch.

Wesseling also points out that the young QB struggled with his footwork, timing and picking up the pressure when he didn’t have clean pocket.

Considering how much the passing game has struggled the past couple of season, it was a welcomed site to see a QB not afraid to try and make a big play. However, there were moments where it was clear that Allen was trying to do too much and it got him in trouble.

Allen finished the game 9-for-19 for 116 yards and a touchdown which should provide some optimism considering he was not shy to show what he has to offer. His TD pass to Ray-Ray McCloud was a rocket which would’ve been nice to track on a radar gun.

Clearly, McDermott understands the pressure on Allen to pan out in Buffalo who has been begging for a franchise QB to get them back to being a Super Bowl contender. Understandably, the head coach kept his expectations in check when talking about the rookie postgame.

It is clear that if Allen has a clean pocket and his receiver is open, Allen will be able to launch a missile in their direction. He just needs the other parts of his game to catch up to his arm talent.

This should be an interesting time going forward especially if Allen pushes for the starting job.