Transcript of Josh Allen is the Best Player in the NFL After Three Weeks

Two receivers to the right along with the tight end. One to the left, and now, knocks in motion, right to left. Here's the snap. Back to pass. Pressure coming. Throes has Ty Johnson for a countdown. A 16-yard countdown reception for Ty Johnson. And Josh Allen has four TD passes in the first half. Are you kidding me?

We are not kidding you. Chris Brown of WGR. Josh Allen was on one Monday night. Four TDs in the first half of this game, 247 yards in the first half of this game. By that point, the score was 34 to three, and the game was over. I mean, this is... If you're a beat writer, you love a game like this. You're writing at halftime, you barely have to update that thing because the story was told, and that throw, to me, Shook was typical. Here's Josh Allen fading to his left, feathering a beautiful ball over a stumbling, bumbling Jaguar's linebacker. Who was that? Mumma, Chad Mumma. He hits his backup running back, like his third string running back, Ty Johnson. It's just an absolute thing of beauty that he makes look so easy.

Yeah, throwing it over Chad Mumma. That's Wyoming on Wyoming crime, by the way. I love that. How dare you, Josh Allen? Take out one of your fellow Cowboys. Yeah, this is just another example of an offense that is just absolutely blossoming before our eyes. It makes me think back to the Ken Dorsey era with the Bills and where we are now with Joe Bradian. I'm just like, How did they stay in that for so long? Because it's just so much better. Obviously, in the first couple of weeks, it was about the running game, and it's still predicated on the run. But you have Josh Allen back there, and you're not asking him to also lead the running game. He can just go be himself. There was a period in the first half where he was getting out to his right and ripping missiles for touch downs. I heard the broadcast crew just talk about, Where do you not want to let him escape to? To his right. That's where the Jaguars were letting him go. He could do whatever he wanted on Monday night. It's a thing of beauty. The bills are absolutely rolling. You're right.

This is one of those games where Beat writers could just sit back and kick their legs off in the second half. My write-up's done. I know what happened here. Let's get Mac Jones in time for the Jags. Let's get Ray Davis some carries.Oh, my gosh. This one's over.

Yeah, by the end, Mac Jones was getting stripsacked, and I'm just having flashbacks to some ugly Patriots afternoons and evenings.

To discuss that in therapy.

Even a playoff game in Buffalo, although Mac Jones wasn't really the problem in that particular game. That was another game where a team did not punt or turn the ball over. But it wasn't both teams in the Washington game. My God, this Bills team. They did something only one other Bills team had ever done, which was score four straight touch downs to start the game in a row. I was surprised only one team had ever done that, but it is hard to do four straight without even a field goal. You mentioned he's not killing them with his legs, but it's still the most effective play in football. I'd like to bring this up that just by success rate, there is nothing higher than a Josh Allen run. He went 6 for 44 tonight. The success rate, so that's defined as... It depends which down it is. Obviously, a first down is a successful play. I think it's four yards on first down. It depends on the down in distance. He had I have three down conversions, Shook, that really stick in my mind from the first half. One was a designed run. Actually, two of them were design runs, and then one was a scramble.

It's just like, no matter what you do, if you cover them up, you're screwed. If you spread out and you're in man coverage, you're screwed. Then he calls a design run and he just goes up the middle. And now he's actually being smart about it. He's sliding. And it reminded me, actually, these two runners tonight, Jay and Daniels, too, his on the runs he had in the game was sky high, and it's been sky high throughout the season. It's just that little extra something that makes a quarterback like Allen, who's at the absolute peak of his powers. My MVP pick is feeling pretty good. My Super Bowl pick is feeling good. It's week three, but I still like it. Were you the only one who did that? It's just one of those things that you don't know how to stop them. What were you saying?

Were you the only one who did that, who picked the Bills?

I don't know. I got a good check. You went on nfl. Com? I should check.

You might have been on Bills Island by yourself.

Let's go.

Let's go. That's why the NFL has shifted in this direction over the last decade. The running ability of quarterbacks makes it so hard to prepare for an offense as a defense. It makes it so hard to predict what they're going to do, and especially when you have a running game that you have to respect that doesn't involve the quarterback. As soon as you mix that quarterback into the element, it's that much more difficult to stop them. The bills are firing on all cylinders. The funny thing is that so much of this offseason we spent talking about, How are they going to replace Stefan Diggs? They lost Gabe Davis, Khalil Shaq here, Mac Holland, Dalton Kincaid, Ty Johnson. Keon Coleman has one catch for 24 yards for a countdown tonight. Otherwise, didn't need to do anything else. They put up 47 points on the board. It doesn't matter because they can go anywhere because they're firing on all cylinders.

I don't even know if I mentioned the final score was 47 to 10. The second half was such an afterthought. Like many people, by the fourth quarter, I just have it in a small screen in the corner, just loosely paying attention to Mitchell Trubisky get into the game. But yeah, you mentioned it. Like, Kylian is wide receiver five now because He didn't, at least for this game, it's probably a game plan thing, but he was behind Valdas Scantling and McHolland and Curtis Samuel and Shaq here. And then they just put him in for one play, and he's talented enough. He can win those one-on-one situations. So they find a role for him. But you mentioned Shaq here, 72 yards, TD. He had more yards after the catch than he had yards. Because he had a play where he made a big play that he caught behind the line of scrimage, and everything else is just... He's a great runner with the ball. He reminds me a lot of Cole Beazley. Just a perfect guy to add to this offense. James Cook drops what would have been a 40-yard countdown. Of course, they score later that drive anyway, so Josh Allen got his.

But James Cook gets 87 yards from scrimmage, and a shutdown has been about as consistent in terms of his success rate as any running back in the league. This offensive line is awesome. And I wasn't just picking them just because whatever. It It's like Josh Allen is at the peak of his powers, and he has the best offensive line he's ever had, and they've got enough around him. That just seems like a year where I don't want to pick the Chiefs. I'm sick of picking the Chiefs. I got to pick someone else that it could happen. And they're a long, long way from making it happen. But it's really positive that they can take advantage of bad defenses. And I think the Jaguars defense right now is bad. They lost Jerrion Jones, who's a rookie cornerback. They are now down three of their top corners. They're Nickel Campbell, Darnell Savage, their top cornerback, Tyson Campbell. So there are reasons for this, and the Bills have had a relatively easy schedule in terms of the defenses that they played, but whatever. That's what great teams do. They beat up on bad defenses. Yeah.

We went into this game with Washington, Cincinnati. Washington was the worst defense in the NFL last year, and look what happened. It didn't really... I mean, they put up a ton of points, but at the same time, they still weren't able to win that game. You have to say that with a grain of salt because you still have to go win that game. It's so amazing to see them doing this, yes, against some bad defenses earlier or whatever, but to do it so early in the season when we just had so much worry about where they were going to be. Like you said, it's all Josh Allen. Now I just wonder, can they... I want to see them tested. That's what I want to see. I want to see them tested because these games are great and they make the fans happy and everything else. But I want to see them tested.

I've got a game for you next Sunday night. How do they do it? All the primetime games are great. The ESPN, it didn't look like it was going to be a great game tonight, Washington, Cincinnati, necessarily. That ended up being one of the best games of the year, so you never know. But NBC always just seems to have that stroke of luck, and they got Ravens bills next week, which to me is perfect. I know the Ravens are one and two. They're also third or fourth in overall DVOA. They are better than their record shows, and they are the Ravens, and that's That is a great matchup next week. Keep an eye on that. One note I had of a Spencer Brown, the right tackle who just got a contract extension, has faced the most amount of dropbacks without giving up a pressure all year. So they're getting great protection on the right side. I Trevor Lawrence can't say the same. My God, it wasn't all on the offensive line, but it's been partly on the offensive line all year. They have not been able to run block. They have not been able to pass block.

And they had run three plays by the time they were down 14-nothing. So they had a three and out their first possession. By the time they get the second possession, they're down 14-nothing. And you could almost see Trevor Lawrence panic. He did not play well in this game. His stats at halftime, 10 for 21, 51 yards in an interception, and an overthrow on that interception.

It was better than last week. I think he was five for 15 or five for 16 for 15 yards by halftime. They're in a bad spot offensively right now. This started last year, honestly, watching Trevor week to week. It was as if I heard them talk about in the broadcast, and it made sense where he's trying to make the perfect play, and it was just near misses all year. And this year, it's just getting worse. He has a guy open over the middle of the field, early third quarter, and he misses him, throwing it low, bounces it off the ground. He makes some nice throws. He ripped another one, a nice pass down the seam, but it's just too inconsistent. And this was my fear. I knew they had to pay him because they believe he's the guy, and they were in a situation where they had to pay him. But I just wonder if he's ever going to take that next step. And behind an offensive line like this, it really concerns you. If you look at some of the next-gen numbers, he was 5 for 10 against pressure for 29 yards. But he also had 28 attempts where he wasn't pressured, and he threw a pick when he wasn't pressured.

So that, of course, that pick being Demar Hamlin. Highlight moment, by the way, for a guy like DeMar who has traveled an incredible road back. Really cool scene to see on primetime. He gets his first career interception in Buffalo. That was really nice. But yeah, Trevor, man, bad spot. I mean, they're struggling. It's only week three, and you don't start looking at coaching jobs and everything else really at this point.

Oh, no, you can.

God, I'm worried about Doug Peterson's job because I just don't see any signs that it's going to get better.

Oh, no, you can. Here's a quote from Shad Khan, the team owner. Now, this was as part of a team documentary that they released, and it was actually a message to his players in the building. He said, I met... This was him confirming some things he had said recently. He said, I met with the reporters, and the discussion quickly turned to football. I was quoted saying, For us, winning is now the expectation. So really, I've been looking forward tonight to set the record straight. I was not misquoted. And let me just repeat, Winning now is the expectation. Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever. Best players, best coaches, but Most importantly, let's prove it by winning now. And to me, that quote, and the quotes that he said to the reporters that winning is the expectation, they have to win now, that is a clear message to Doug Peterson, and it informs something I heard last week. John Shippley, who does a great daily podcast on the Jaguars with SI, said Doug Peterson was about as down in his press conference after their loss last week as he's ever seen them, that he's usually very upbeat and afterwards talking positively.

And he just sounded like a little defeated. He didn't know what the answers were. I was thinking about that press conference and then watching a team that looked completely defeated tonight. Yeah, it's only week three, but they're win this. They got to have nine or 10 wins this year or else he's losing his job. So just do the math.

Yeah. Now I'm wondering, do we get an I'm pissed, Angelo situation like we did in Philly before he got fired by the Eagles? Because But if he doesn't have that much energy in him responding this early in the season, I feel like he's not going to have it at that point in the season when it actually gets really dire. Not saying it's going to, but as it looks right now, it's certainly trending that way.

You remember Lawrence after last week's games? He was like, We just suck right now.

Yeah, you suck tonight, too.

That interception was typical. It points out my problem that I've had with Lawrence, other than he just seems to be missing something in terms of... I don't know whether it's processing or intangibles of just not always putting together making the right decisions at the right moments, that it's just a little uneven. But the main thing I've had the problem with, because I used to do it charting QB index, is just he misses way more throws than top-tier quarterbacks, then you would expect for him. He'll just miss three or four a game, and he makes so many great throws that you don't get it. And that interception was one of them. He just missed his throws. His completion percentage over expected coming into this game was third or fourth worst in the entire NFL. It's probably It's only getting worse after this.

Yeah, and that's my biggest concern. When they paid him, I was like, Are you sure? Because that's what showed up last year as well. The occasional misses, the inconsistency, and it seems like it's just getting exacerbated through three weeks this year. That's just not a good... That's supposed to be the guy who's carrying your offense, and it's just not happening right now. I feel bad for guys like Brian Thomas, who he could be leaned on like a Malik Nabors is with Daniel Jones in New York, but they can't even get the ball there because they're just so dysfunctional offensively right now.

Yeah, they had a sequence where they had the ball in the seven-yard line. False start, incomplete pass, drop, false start, sack. They ended up on the 27-yard line. It's bad football It's rough. The lines are bad. The pass rush actually has been their one saving grace, usually. But in this game, like I mentioned, the Bills just dominated up front. Josh Heinz-Alan, one pressure out of 26 rushes. Their best player. Trevon Walker, the number one overall pick who's played pretty well this season. Zero pressures. Eric Armstead, the big free agent pickup, one pressure. And yeah, it's just a rough night. Let's end this recap on a positive note. You mentioned the DeMar Hamlin interception. What an awesome moment. Let's take a listen.

One receiver to each side in the two tight-end look. Here's the snap, takes the hand off, going to roll to his left, has time, throws deep over the middle. He overshoots Thomas, intercepted Recepted by DeMar Hamlin, coming the other way to the 45 as he races to the far sideline and is tackled at the 41-yard line by Farrell. It's an I&T. And another takeaway for the Buffalo defense. This time, DeMar Hamlin.Case.

In point. That's awesome.Case in point right there. If you look at that footage right there, that's everything you need to know. Thomas has four yards of separation on both sides of him, and he just misses him over the head by three or four yards too high. A great moment for DeMar Hamlin.

You need to know with the reaction from the teammates and the crowd? That sneaky, just one of the most electric moments that that stadium is going to have all year because when he got over to the sidelines, it was like, The teammates, and he said it after the game with Laura Rutledge, who did a good job on the interview, just saying, Hey, seeing them, they were even more excited for me than I was for myself. And she asked him, How do you process this? Because he's having a He's starting. They're playing really good defense. His coverage numbers, for what you want to put into that from PFF, are outstanding. More importantly, they're just not giving up big plays, and that's his priority number one. He actually asked him, How do you process a night like this? And then he gave a very honest answer. It's like, Everything that's going on with me is like, I'm still in the middle of processing it, honestly. It's a day-to-day thing, and it's still not not that far away when he was in Cincinnati. And for him to be out there, it's amazing.

Yeah, they cut to that during the bangles' commanders game. Buck and Akeman mentioned that the last time they were in the booth in Cincinnati was the game in which everything happened. I mean, that's fitting. I know that obviously the Bills game isn't taking place in Cincinnati, but the fact that that game was also on, that just tells you we are not that far removed from it. No. What a story, man. Like you said, he's playing well. He probably wakes up every day and thinks like, Man, I'm lucky to be here. Now, look, I'm starting in the NFL, and I'm delivering.

It's awesome. He said, I'm just so glad that I'm a Buffalo Bill, that this is the perfect place for me. I'm so happy to be there right now. That was the Bills. That was the Jaguars. Bills moved to 3-0, Jaguars at 0-3. I'll see you in a few weeks, Jaguars. Let's get some wins before I see that Jag's bear's game. Okay? It's not over. Please. We can respond.