Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are the two best quarterbacks (maybe ever) off script and off schedule, but that’s really where the similarities between the two ends.
For much of the 2022 offseason following the Buffalo Bills' devastating loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round, the infamous "13 seconds game", talk of Allen being on the same level, or even better than Mahomes, was being discussed on every form of media.
Not that it took last night's four-turnover performance to open people’s eyes, but I think even Bills fans are beginning to cool on the "this guy’s the best in the league" talk.
Allen leads the NFL in turnovers since entering the league, and has nine interceptions in his last five games played dating back to last season. That’s simply scratching the surface of some uglier truths about Allen and the Bills offense at large.
Let’s go back to Mahomes for a moment. He is one of the best improvisers in all of football, maybe ever. But he also has the luxury of working with one of the greatest modern offensive minds ever in head coach Andy Reid. Mahomes and Reid create the full package of elite-level play-calling and quarterbacking.
When the Chiefs need to rely on Mahomes to improve, he can do it. When Mahomes needs to rely on scheme and structure, he can do it. But most importantly, Mahomes has elite-level composure and patience, and it’s consistently on display.
Mahomes' demeanor is a lot like Tom Brady’s: When the moment is big and the lights are at their brightest, it’s like they find a deeper level of Zen. Like some kind of cool confidence only the elite few possess.
After Allen’s performance in the infamous "13 seconds game", people began to believe Allen possessed a similar calm, cool demeanor that made the greats great.
However, it’s become increasingly clear since that AFC Divisional Round game that Allen lacks in the category of cool and calm, and rather embraces chaos.
Embracing chaos doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. In fact, the greats all have their own ways of combatting chaos in the midst of games. It is, after all, the NFL, and chaos is always afoot.
The broader point I am trying to make here is although Brady had Bill Belichick, the greatest defensive-minded head coach ever, he also had some incredible offensive minds at the coordinator position that built the ideal structure for Brady to succeed.
Brady was clearly nothing like Allen or Mahomes off structure, but what Brady lacked in play-extending acumen, he made up for with smarts and headiness. He had scheme and structure to fall back on, but he knew the offense as good, or better than his own coordinators.
Right now, Allen doesn’t have the offensive mind he can lean on in times of chaos like Mahomes and, at times, Brady had. It feels all off structure, all the time, and it’s proven to be an unsustainable model for success.
In real-time, you could almost see all of the reasons Stefon Diggs has been frustrated with the offense and play-calling. Before the final game-tying drive, Diggs was targeted just once during the entire second half in the midst of the offense sputtering.
The plan is to let Josh be Josh, but there is no Plan B. There is no structure to fall back on.
I spent a lot of Monday night defending Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, because he did give Allen some answers, but it’s clear this coaching staff cannot reel in their franchise quarterback.
Whether it’s leaping into the air seven yards short of a first down or deciding not to run out of bounds to gain an additional yard, inviting more contact, Allen’s decision-making is both poor and reckless.
The Bills just extended head coach Sean McDermott, and the guy has done nothing but have success since taking over for Rex Ryan.
The problem in today’s NFL with having a defensive-minded head coach was on display two offseasons ago when the Bills lost, then, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to the New York Giants. When you have good offensive minds, they will eventually leave to become head coaches.
Without that structure to lean back on, I fear the Bills, as currently constructed, have maxed out Allen’s potential.
Without a true offensive mind that can hold Allen accountable and build an offense that maximizes his skills in structure, the Bills may let this window pass them by without ever fully knowing how good Allen could truly be.
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