Pro Football Focus recently laid out the worst-case scenario for the Buffalo Bills during the 2020 regular season. When names like Mitchell Trubisky and Blake Bortles are tossed out there, you know which way this one is going.
Entering his third season as a pro, Bills quarterback Josh Allen has had his ups, but a couple downs, too. As compared to some of his counterparts at the 2018 NFL Draft, aside from Lamar Jackson, Allen’s done pretty well.
Still, it’s hard to argue PFF on this one. The absolute worst-possible thing for the Bills in 2020? Allen going down the drain.
Here’s why PFF pegs it exactly that:
Josh Allen’s deficiencies sink the team offensively. Buffalo had some success with Allen and his 61.4 passing grade in 2019, but so did the Jacksonville Jaguars with Blake Bortles in 2017 and the Chicago Bears with Mitchell Trubisky in 2018. It’s hard to consistently string together winning seasons with underwhelming quarterback play, and Allen’s underlying numbers — both in terms of PFF grade and more traditional metrics like completion percentage or yards per attempt — point to a below-average NFL quarterback. For the 2020 season to go all wrong for Buffalo, Allen’s struggles would have to be at the forefront because the Bills have surrounded him with one of the more well-rounded rosters in the NFL.
In terms of finding a bad situation, yes, Allen going the way of Trubisky and Bortles might do a lot of damage. In such a scenario, PFF pegs the Bills as a potential 5-11 overall team. If Buffalo does just that, they’ll have a top pick at the 2021 NFL Draft. If Allen lays a stinker, does the team flex his fifth-year option on his rookie contract? Doubtful. So clearly, this would be a nightmare for the Bills because at that draft, quarterback will absolutely then be in play for Buffalo.
And, on top of that, that’s a big black mark on the resumes of general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott. Those guys have done great things in western New York, and might’ve bought themselves the very, very rare second swing at finding a franchise quarterback.
A close second to poor play from Allen in the hunt for the worst of worlds, would be an injury to Allen. At minimum in a brutal 16-game season, you get to see Allen play. If he has to sit out, boy oh boy, then what do you do?
All things considered, let’s hope Allen does enough to avoid this situation for Bills Mafia, because they’ve endured enough. Especially because in truth, Allen’s a totally different type of quarterback than either Trubisky or Bortles, and has some foundation already in place for a solid NFL career starting up in Buffalo.
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