How Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen got his groove back

Allen’s readied his attack and he’s once again put the league on notice

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was efficiently on fire throughout the team’s Week 11 win over the New York Jets. But perhaps most important, Allen appeared confident, decisive with the way he distributed the ball to pass catchers at every level of the field.

Allen completed 22-of-32 passes for 275 yards, with three touchdowns — and a mostly harmless (though momentarily perilous during the 51-yard return) Hail Mary arm-punt interception right before halftime. Once again, Allen finished a game watching from the bench, because the game was more than comfortably in hand.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Allen’s performance is that wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis were barely involved in the passing game. He didn’t force the football to Diggs or Davis as we’d seen during previous games in moments of frustration, and that proved fruitful. Diggs was the offense’s most oft-targeted receiver, getting eight looks by Allen — but he only caught four of them for 27 yards as a short-field option last Sunday. Davis, on the other hand, didn’t log an official target. And it all worked out perfectly well.

Instead of the usual this season — whether by design, due to matchup struggles, or just a by-product of game flow — Allen routinely connected with receivers who’ve often played second fiddle this season, and of course one supremely talented rookie tight end in Dalton Kincaid who led the team with six catches.

Often we as fans, and even analysts, media, and writers focused on the NFL believe we know what’s best for professional football players. But it turns out, so do those athletes, as well the people who coach and direct them.

When Allen’s in full command of the Bills’ offense, there’s very little capable of holding him back. It’s encouraging to see meaningful production by the offense after one game plan built on a very short week out of interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Of course, Brady has some experience as a play caller, and a relationship with Josh Allen, having served as the team’s quarterbacks coach since 2022. Yes, the Jets on the whole aren’t an offensive juggernaut, the likes of which can keep pace with the best offenses in the NFL. But their defense is capable of shutting such offenses down, and has given Allen fits in recent seasons.

Last Sunday, Allen played a brand of football he’d yet to unleash on the Jets, and he made their defense look anything but elite. Instead of using the gridiron as his personal sandlot football field, Allen and Brady chose to feature the running game as an extension of the pass, leading to receiving touchdowns by running backs James Cook and Ty Johnson. And once the offense had lulled the Jets’ defense into committing more fully to the underneath matriculation, it opened up plenty of opportunities deeper down field within zone coverage. That’s where Dalton Kincaid found plenty of success and of course how wide receiver Khalil Shakir shimmied and shook en route to his 81-yard touchdown scamper.

So, yes — at least for one week, Josh Allen is back. The goal will be stacking these types of performances, while finding ways to better-involve Diggs and Davis. At the end of the day, each game that Allen feels similarly confident should only benefit those around him in the weeks to come — and lead to the sort of production that Bills Mafia has grown accustomed to in recent seasons.

Despite the risk involved by making an in-season change at offensive coordinator, it’s possible that it proves to be just the move necessary to re-igniting the Buffalo Bills’ playoff hopes and more.