Josh Allen did not shy away from the question Monday night when he was asked about the struggles he had in the passing game in the Buffalo Bills’ thrilling 37-34 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
“A lot of things to clean up,” Allen said after he completed 12 passes on 19 attempts for 210 yards, a touchdown and a silly interception. “Just didn't feel like I was in a rhythm, wasn't taking some of the underneath stuff. I’m fighting mechanically some stuff right now that I'm working on. Gotta be better in the pass game. We know that, we understand that, but we'll take a win on our way.”
After an electrifying start in the first two weeks of the season when Allen decimated the Texans and Lions by completing 66.7% of his passes and averaging 291 yards with five TDs and no picks, things have taken a turn in the last three.
To be fair, he faced three pretty strong pass defenses as the Rams rank second in passing yards allowed per game, the Chargers are sixth and the Patriots 10th. Against those opponents he has looked tentative in the pocket at times and it’s mainly because he drops back and there’s no one to throw the ball to and thus he is averaging just 222.3 yards per game with two TDs and four picks.
Without wide receivers D.J. Moore and Joshua Palmer, it was particularly problematic against the Rams as the wideouts combined for just four catches - three by Khalil Shakir and one by Keon Coleman. More puzzling than that was a third straight disappearance from tight end Dalton Kincaid, which is a big disappointment after the hot start he had in the first two games.
Bills need Dalton Kincaid to help Josh Allen fix passing game
Buffalo’s passing game goes through Moore and Kincaid, and when they have been on the field together, Allen has been humming. But Moore’s shoulder injury, which happened in the Detroit game and has hampered him ever since to the point where he missed the game in Los Angeles, has had a major impact on the efficiency.
The Bills have needed Kincaid to shoulder some of the burden of Moore’s absence and he has let them down to the point where he has a mere four catches on seven targets for 52 mostly meaningless yards in the last three games.
“I think it's a combination of a lot of things, and him not getting the ball, there are obviously plays on the call sheet that didn't get called,” Brady said, once again taking the blame for his tight end turning into a ghost. “I think Josh would be the first to say there are some that he wishes he had back to be able to get him some touches. But look, I think he’s playing outstanding football and you see what he does for the offense and being able to push the ball down the field and be able to make the plays.”
Actually, no, not in the last three games we haven’t. Brady can fall on the grenade all he wants, but it’s also on the player to perform and if Kincaid was getting open and making himself available, chances are Allen would be looking his way.
With Moore out, the Rams definitely paid close attention to Kincaid with several double teams, and there were a few plays where it looked like Kincaid was supposed to be the primary target but Allen was pressured and couldn’t get it to him. Still, some of that is on Kincaid to defeat the coverage and give Allen a window to throw.
“I think a lot of it can be with me, too,” Allen said. “Taking some of the underneath stuff early and getting him involved early, getting him a touch or two here or there. I haven’t done a good job of that in the last couple of weeks. So, he’s a heck of a player. Teams are understanding that, too, and they’re making an emphasis to kind of put more guys in his region.
“I thought the first couple weeks we were doing a good job with that and the last couple weeks, I haven’t been. So, just a quick recalibration maybe of the mindset and just let’s throw these underneath until they start getting up and that’s when we can take some shots again.”
Allen started poorly against the Rams and at halftime he had completed just four passes for 60 yards and one of those was a 40-yard catch-and-run on a screen to Ty Johnson. There was nothing happening downfield and that really didn’t change later as only one of his 12 completions came on a throw that traveled more than 10 yards in the air.
However, he started to find a groove in the fourth quarter and overtime and was 5-of-5 for 111 yards passing, while also rushing for an incredible 91 yards.
“Just ball position, it coming out of my hand,” he explained when asked what he was working on during the game. “I want to feel as good as possible in that second half. I just said, turn off the mind and throw the damn ball. And that's kind of what I did and it felt pretty good. I don't know the splits from first half to second half, but I felt like we got to a really good place in the second.”
Raiders defense gives Josh Allen a chance to bounce back
Sunday in Las Vegas, it’s uncertain whether Moore and/or Palmer can return, but this is a defense that Allen should be able to take advantage of. The Raiders rank 24th against the pass at 236.4 yards allowed per game, and they have struggled with tight ends, allowing an average of 6.4 catches and 57 yards through the first five games.
You would think there should be opportunities for Kincaid, especially if the Bills can control what has been a pretty good Las Vegas pass rush led by edge rushers Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce and Kwity Paye who have combined for seven sacks and 56 QB pressures.
“We're not good enough on offense to start,” Brady said, referring to Buffalo’s 23 first-quarter points and just two scores on a game-opening drive, a TD against the Lions and a field goal against the Rams, though that was due primarily to Ray Davis’ 70-yard opening kickoff return. “I feel we're leaving stuff out there and we got to be way more efficient despite whatever the statistics kind of show. So we have to find ways to continue to get better.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills passing game has lost its rhythm. Josh Allen thinks he knows why