Josh Allen was questionable to play all week due to an elbow injury, but the quarterback suited up under center for the Bills on Sunday afternoon.
It turns out that may have done more harm than good as a wild back-and-forth finish resulted in more questions than answers surrounding the Buffalo quarterback.
Allen threw for 330 yards and a touchdown and ran for 84 yards on top of that. However, his three turnovers – including a fumbled snap late in the game and a game-ending interception in overtime – overshadow all of that.
Andrew Fillipponi of the Audacy Original Podcast “1st & Pod” talked about how Allen looked against the Vikings and if it’s time to worry about the quarterback.
“Josh Allen’s turnovers – he’s gone from MVP to ‘Is there something wrong with Josh Allen?’ in a very short amount of time,” Fillipponi said (5:37 in player above). “Not just the physical with the UCL, the elbow that – is it a Tommy John situation? Is it just going to get better? Is it not going to get worse? But the psychological component of things.”
The Bills silenced some critics early in the season with blowout wins against the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans. They then lost to the Dolphins in Miami, but bounced back with four straight wins – including in Kansas City.
However, Buffalo has since lost two straight games to drop to 6-3 on the season.
“They’ve been the favorites all year, but this, to me, there seems to be for Josh Allen a knowledge or a knowingness that he has to do way too much in order for the Bills to win,” Fillipponi continued. “On paper, they’re supposed to be the most complete team. They can’t run the ball unless he’s doing it. After Stefon Diggs, Davis is up and down, not always reliable. Tight end play inconsistent. They’ve got a million running backs, they can’t pick one that they really want to go with.
But it’s not just the players on the field, according to Fillipponi.
“I don’t think McDermott has come through in all the game management situations,” he said. “And the defense. The 96-yard drive by the Jets at the end of the game that ends in the field goal to win it.”
Despite all of that, it comes back to Allen. The MVP candidate hasn’t looked the same in recent weeks, especially late in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota.
“The number one thing is Josh Allen from their perspective. What’s going on with the guy to fumble the ball, the muffed snap like that was just insane,” Fillipponi said. “That’s a game you got to win 99% of the time.”
After the defense came up big to stop the Vikings on 4th & goal, Allen fumbled the snap to give the Vikings a 30-27 lead in the final minute. Buffalo was able to force overtime, but an Allen interception ended the game after the Vikings kicked a field goal on the opening drive.
The Bills will look to bounce back from back-to-back losses when they host the Browns on Sunday afternoon.
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