Outside of either outside linebacker Gregory Rousseau or kicker Tyler Bass, quarterback Josh Allen was undoubtedly the most important player on the field for the Buffalo Bills to end Week 5 in the National Football League.
The team’s prized gunslinger almost single-handedly willed the Bills to a win against the Los Angeles Rams under the primetime lights of SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football.
The ninth-year veteran’s performance, in every sense of the word, was simply electric from the quarterback spot.
However, despite what his positional title might imply, it was Allen’s legs—not his “golden” arm—that was the difference-maker during Buffalo’s seemingly improbable road victory in Inglewood, California.
Allen was more of a runner than passer vs. Rams
In comparison to his counterpart on the Rams’ sideline, Matthew Stafford, who completed 74.1% of his passes on 54 attempts for 383 yards, three passing touchdowns, and no interceptions in the losing effort, Allen completed just 12 of his 19 throws—which was good for a completion rate of 63%—for only 210 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one interception.
On the ground, however, the former 2018 first-rounder, who stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 237 pounds according to the team’s official roster, accounted for more than half of Buffalo’s total rushing output (234 yds) for the night as he registered an astonishing 121 rushing yards and one touchdown on only 10 carries against Los Angeles.
And, considering the glaring fact that the Bills’ only had two wide receivers—Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman—record a reception during their most recent win, it’s a good thing that Allen was able to have such a big day in the running department.
Of course, that’s not all that unusual.
Buffalo’s offense would be nothing without Allen’s improvisational skills
The former University of Wyoming playmaker has made quite a habit of being a thorn in the sides of his opponents when using his legs in the past ever since first entering the league nearly a decade ago, but right now it seems like more of a necessity than ever.
Why?
Well, not only is Buffalo experiencing issues with injuries to wideouts D.J. Moore and Joshua Palmer at the current moment, but the 30-year-old franchise superstar admitted after Monday’s game that he’s struggling with some of the finer points of playing the position right now.
It’s frustrating, but the Firebaugh, California, native is pushing through the adversity . . . just like the Bills collectively did as a team against the Rams when their backs were against the wall.
Right now, Allen leads the league in total touchdowns with a mark of 15, but he’s tied for only 16th in the NFL in passing touchdowns with seven and is sitting at 10th in passing yards with 1,249 yards on just 91 completions.
And, given running back James Cook’s struggles with putting the ball on the ground right now, it’ll be prudent for Buffalo’s aerial attack to start picking up steam a little more as the season progresses, regardless if there are injuries at wide receiver or not.
Buffalo’s gunslinger working through things ‘mechanically’ right now
Doing so this week against the Las Vegas Raiders would be a good start.
“It’s football. You can be down and out one play, and the next play you’re on top of the world. And, again, that’s just how it rolled for us today. A lot of things to clean up. Early on, (I) just didn’t feel like I was in a rhythm, (and I) wasn’t taking some of the underneath stuff.
“(I’m) fighting—mechanically—some stuff right now that I’m working on. But, I felt like in that second half I got into a rhythm, (and) guys made some plays,” Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen said following the overtime thriller out West on Monday night.
“(We’ve) gotta’ be better in the pass game . . . we understand that, but we’ll take a win no matter what. It’s just kind of the way the game rolled. It’s a really good secondary, (and) it’s a really good defense. . . . Just (keep working on) ball position. You know, it coming out of my hand, I want it to feel as good as possible.
“And, that second half, I just said, ‘You know what? Turn off the mind, and throw the dang ball.’ And, that’s kind of what I did, and (it) felt pretty good.”
Allen settled down, stats provide further context
While the split differentials between the first half to the second half weren’t drastically different for Allen, they were slightly better as he was just 4-of-7 passing for 60 yards and an interception in the first 30 minutes of game action before finishing the final 30 minutes of regulation by going 8-of-11 on his passing attempts for 93 yards and one touchdown.
In overtime, in addition to his two carries for 32 rushing yards, the veteran completed his only registered pass attempt for 57 yards, which went to wide receiver Khalil Shakir after his first attempt of the extra period was negated by a penalty thanks to a hold by rookie wide receiver Skyler Bell.
So, with that in mind, the statistics did seem to improve for Buffalo’s quarterback through the air as the game progressed, which is exactly what he referred to in his postgame press conference.
The yardage gained on the passing play in overtime, however, is a bit misleading. But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Why?
Well, when provided further context that Shakir caught the ball just five yards past the line of scrimmage on the explosive play before proceeding to run free for the remaining 52 yards, it proves that Allen doesn’t need to be putting several air yards under his passes in order to make an impact with his arm.
Bills’ QB needs to better manage risk vs. reward
Yes, he might have the strongest arm out of any of the other quarterbacks in the NFL, but in back-to-back games he’s thrown questionable interceptions on deep passes that seemingly had no business being put in harm's way in the first place.
If Allen would just take what the defense is presenting him, then maybe the offense would be able to operate even more effectively, which would certainly be a scary proposition for opposing defenses considering that Buffalo is currently averaging 32.8 points per game—the highest in the NFL through five weeks of the 2026 season—while scoring on 54.7% of their drives, which would be the highest rate in the history of the league if it were to stay that way for the remaining 12 games. Right now, the 2007 New England Patriots hold the record with a points-per-drive rate of 52.7%.
First-year head coach Joe Brady has already stated earlier this fall that he believes Allen has a new level to reach in his career. And, apparently he’s not the only observer who feels that way.
During a segment on ESPN2’s ManningCast during Monday Night Football between the Bills and Rams, two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning said that Buffalo’s franchise leader isn’t always living up to the standard of what it takes to be a successful passer in the NFL.
Former Super Bowl MVP shares thoughts on Allen’s struggles
While nobody seems to question his lack of intimidating weapons at wide receiver, especially with the previously mentioned Moore and Palmer currently sidelined, there are moments when Allen gets way too greedy in Manning’s opinion.
The film shows that there are options available to him, but Allen—for whatever reason—is simply choosing not to throw it . . . which is obviously a concern.
“Sometimes, Josh—he has guys open—he doesn’t always throw it. . . . He kind of has the quick out right here to the right to Coleman. You know, it’s 3rd-and-7, you can throw that, and he can turn it up and get the first (down),” former New York Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning said on Monday as he was pointing out a particular play where Allen was sacked by Rams’ EDGE defender Josaiah Stewart on the opening drive of the first quarter.
“Sometimes, because he has such (an) ability to scramble and make plays, he kind of won’t always take the open guy. You know, sometimes it’s, ‘Hey, let’s take it. It’s 3rd-and-7, we called a quick out, (so) throw the quick out.’ Take some of these completions. Just because you have the ability to scramble, we can still get the ball out on time a little bit more.”
Smoother Allen would be spooky sight for opposing defenses
While Brady and the offensive staff certainly won’t want to handcuff Allen by taking away his ability to scramble, there’s no denying that capitalizing on the easy “gimmes” would make Buffalo’s offense even more profitable.
At times, Allen can be a bit clunky in his game . . . but can you imagine if he were to become an even better well-oiled machine moving forward?
Spooky would be an understatement.
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