Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
Josh Allen goes Supernova and makes a statement to the NFL
When the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins met on Sunday, it was billed as two of the NFL’s best offenses colliding in an early game of the year contender. What we ended up getting was a rather one sided statement game, a 48-20 Buffalo Bills victory that solidified their name at the top of the NFL.
It was a complete team victory, but the stars of course were on offense, starting with Bills QB Josh Allen. Allen was masterful on Sunday, not only taking the singles and doubles that a Vic Fangio defense wants you to take, but then hit the home runs that we’re used to seeing the Buffalo Bills hit often. When Allen and the Bills offense play like this, they become unstoppable, so let’s dig into the film to see what made Allen and the Bills offense so successful on Sunday.
Allen and the Bills struggled last year to consistently hit the short passes and quick game, but this year it’s become more and more effective. This is partially due to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey becoming more versatile with formations and personnel, and the Bills becoming more effective in bigger personnel, forcing teams into a catch-22: play bigger and risk the skill position players shredding you, or play smaller and get run over.
On this play, the Bills are in 22 personnel (2 backs, 2 TE), but they’re in an empty formation; only Josh Allen is in the backfield, and RB Latavius Murray is lined up out wide. The Dolphins match this with their base defense and four linebackers on the field, with one of them walked out over TE Dawson Knox. This creates a mismatch for TE Dalton Kincaid from the slot on a linebacker, and it’s a positive gain. Easy offense for a group that now can take the layups.
In addition, the Bills also stretched the Dolphins defense horizontally, forcing the linebackers and second level defenders to cover the flat areas before hitting them over their heads. That’s exactly what happened on the first touchdown of the day, using a Deonte Harty screen as a decoy for Gabe Davis to find the end zone. It’s a great use of orbit motion to draw the eyes of the defense, and great QB play by Josh Allen to sell the screen then hit the TD without losing any extra time. Zero fat on the footwork.
Speaking of Allen, he was in supernova mode for the entire game on Sunday, creating with his arm and buying extra time with his legs to hit passes that only few in the NFL can make. On the first drive of the game, the Dolphins bring a blitz that just barely gets through. Allen is fading away from the pocket on the right side of the field, but there’s a deep comeback route being run by Stefon Diggs on the left side of the field.
Allen casually flicks this ball as he’s fading away to the left side of the field and Diggs makes the catch for a first down. It’s not a normal throw at all, but Allen makes it look routine. When he plays like this, the Bills are a juggernaut.
Like, what do you even do against this? This is Josh Allen going into Minecraft creative mode and creating a diamond sword. This is what Josh Allen has shown he can do at a very high level, but getting the offense to hit the layups is just as important as these types of plays.
Since the Week 1 loss to the Jets, Allen has been phenomenal. Per Pro Football Focus, he’s first in total touchdowns and passer rating, and the Bills have scored over 30 points in every game. Getting Allen to take the layups while not forsaking the normal Josh Allen shenanigans has built the Bills offense into a wagon, and we know that nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.
