Why Josh Allen doesn’t have to be one-man show for Bills anymore

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills shouldn’t make it look this easy.

For one, Allen is dealing with what seems like a serious injury to his left hand. (Just look at the size of the glove he was wearing on Thursday night.) Allen also lost star receiver Stefon Diggs in the offseason and the Bills replaced him with Mack Hollins, Keon Coleman (a rookie) and Curtis Samuel. None of the new guys have been all that effective. 

And then there is the defense. The Bills said goodbye to Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White in the offseason. Then they lost star linebacker Matt Milano to a biceps injury before Week 1, cornerback Taron Johnson to a forearm injury in Week 1, and linebacker Terrel Bernard to a pectoral injury in Week 2.

None of that mattered. 

Buffalo stomped the Dolphins 31-10.

Allen and the Bills took control last Thursday from the jump. It was probably over before Tua Tagovailoa left the game with a concussion — one that overshadowed the game. But by the time Tua exited in the third quarter, there was no doubt that the Bills would win.

The defense was more important than the offense. We’ll get back to Sean McDermott’s unit. But after Allen was a one-man offensive unit in Week 1, he went to his reliable guys from the second half of last season: James Cook and Khalil Shakir. Those two players are clearly going to be at the center of this offense as the Bills try to keep Allen away from contact, which they could not do in Week 1, hence the hand injury.

But that’s the plan for Buffalo: Have a different plan every week.

Not every team can feel comfortable saying goodbye to a guy like Diggs (in the same offseason as they said goodbye to WR2 Gabe Davis, by the way). But clearly, the Bills did. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have traded him. At the end of the 2023 season, they diminished Diggs’ role and you could see the birthplace of this year’s offense, with Cook and Shakir taking center…

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Publish date : 2024-09-16 16:56:58

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