Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen is still a roller coaster ride and it’s a lot of fun

The Buffalo Bills opened their 2020 season with a 27-17 victory over the New York Jets.  Quarterback Josh Allen provided both scintillating plays and massive mistakes along the way.

One of the best things about watching Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen is that anything is on the table on any given play.  He seems capable of running for an 80-yard touchdown or fumbling three times on the same play.

On Sunday, we saw a little bit of everything from the Bills signal-caller.  Some plays took your breath away and others took the air out of your lungs.

This has been a common theme in the Josh Allen experience, and his floor and ceiling were both on display Sunday:

The good

We all know how dangerous Allen is with his legs, and he did rack up 57 yards rushing and a touchdown, but he also passed the ball very efficiently.  For the game, the 2018 first-round pick went 33 of 46 for 312 yards and two touchdowns.  He also did not throw an interception.

The Bills also won the game, which never really seemed in doubt against a train wreck Jets team.  Allen spread the ball around nicely, hitting eight different receivers in the game.

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The Wyoming product found new weapon Stefon Diggs eight times on nine targets and speedster John Brown another six times.  He used his halfbacks and tight ends and looked as polished as he has in his entire career.

Per Football Outsiders, Allen had the fourth-best DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement) on Sunday, which is the value of the quarterback’s performance compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage.  In other words, his passing was elite against the Jets.

The bad

For all the highs with Allen, there seems to be an equal number of lows and head-scratching plays.  The Bills’ franchise man fumbled the ball twice, and both were recovered by the Jets.

Allen also missed wide-open receivers twice in the end zone.  The first was to tight end Dawson Knox in the opening quarter when he tried to throw on the run.  The second was an absurdly poor pass to Brown in the fourth quarter.

Yikes.  The Bills ultimately cruised because the Jets are a complete tire fire, but against better opponents, these mistakes cannot continue.  The more troubling issue was the fumbling.  I have no idea what Allen was attempting on this first-quarter fumble.

As good as his day was for DYAR passing, Allen ranked dead last among quarterbacks in rushing DYAR on Sunday.  The fumbles, of course, are the biggest reason for that, and he needs to take care of the football better for the Bills to contend this season.

What did you think of Josh Allen’s Week 1 performance against the Jets?  What does he need to improve moving forward this season to help the Buffalo Bills?  Let us know in the comments below!