Bills All-22: Josh Allen is getting the ball out quicker, offensive linemen among top performers
Sep 23, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) throws against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Joe Buscaglia
Joe Buscaglia
Sep 24, 2024
17
The Bills made it three-for-three on Monday night in as smooth-sailing of a contest as you’ll see in the NFL. The 47-10 trouncing of the Jaguars was yet another statement win on a national stage, putting the team in a great spot ahead of a difficult stretch of games.
Road games against the Ravens, Texans and Jets await in Weeks 4, 5 and 6. But before the Bills get to that test, what stood out on the coaches’ film to produce the result everyone witnessed on Monday against the Jaguars?
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After studying the All-22, here is a full analysis of the Bills’ game plan and the individual performances that stood out amidst the blowout.
How Josh Allen and Joe Brady unraveled a previously competent Jaguars defense
Just hours removed from the blowout victory over the Jaguars, the offense’s performance remains atop the minds of Bills fans. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s great game plan combined with Allen’s seemingly effortless accuracy to dismantle the Jaguars’ defense. As we alluded to following the game, the Bills took away the Jaguars’ defensive calling card by running it just enough to keep them honest. They focused the attack on the passing game and exploited the Jaguars when they ran man coverage looks. However, upon reviewing the film, a few more things stood out about the performance, making Allen’s day even more impressive.
The one word that comes to mind about Allen’s showing against the Jaguars is “unflappable.” Without the real threat of a pass rush, Allen rarely looked like someone without an answer to the next question on the play-to-play test. When the Jaguars were in man coverage, he identified quickly after the snap and got the ball out of his hands. When the Jaguars actually ran zone, Allen recognized it, took one look at his first couple of reads and if they weren’t there, he fired it to the short area target to keep it all moving.
The offensive line looked great for the Bills, partly because of how decisive Allen was all game. Over the first two quarters, Allen averaged only 2.66 seconds per drop back on his time to throw. This is a remarkable stat for Allen, who over his career has had a 3.03-second average time to throw. The 2.66-second mark is the sixth-quickest of his career, according to TruMedia. For all the good that Brady did in his game planning and strategy, Allen was the one who made the Jaguars feel helpless with how quickly and effectively he pushed the ball out of his hands.
But the Jaguars didn’t do themselves any favors, either. They inexplicably ran man coverage on 64 percent of their defensive snaps in the first half, even more prominent than their two-week average of 55 percent coming into the game. Allen has long been known for his ability to defeat man coverage over the past several years, but the Jaguars apparently wanted to see what it felt like to fly close to the sun. They got burned, as Allen completed 12-of-16 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns against man coverage.
Those statistics are good for an uncanny yards-per-attempt mark of 10.8. When the Jaguars were in zone in the first half, Allen averaged only 6.3 yards per attempt — a massive difference of 4.5 yards. Making their overall game plan more head-scratching was when they chose to only rush three defensive linemen at Allen. The Bills offensive line already had the advantage against a Jaguars pass rush that hasn’t generated pressure at a high rate in 2024, and allowing five players to work against three people is asking for trouble.
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On top of all that, there was the use of Khalil Shakir as a weapon against the Jaguars’ most exploitable defender — rookie slot corner Jarrian Jones. Of all the plays, this one truly took the cake with how it combined Brady’s game planning, Shakir’s skill set, Allen’s recognition and accuracy, and using the Jaguars’ identity against them. And it set the tone from the first drive through the rest of the game.
On a pivotal 4th-and-3 play at the Jaguars’ 44-yard-line, Shakir is to Allen’s right in the formation, with Jones lined up over him. The next step for the Bills is to put Shakir in motion, confirming the man coverage look they’re expecting.
(Courtesy: NFL+)
As Shakir trots toward the left side of the formation, Jones travels with him, tipping the Bills off that they have the man look they were hoping for with the specific play call.
This point of the motion is a crucial one, because Shakir slows down and begins to turn, getting Jones to also begin to turn his body to mirror Shakir’s movement. The ball, obviously, still hasn’t been snapped.
(Courtesy: NFL+)
As center McGovern snaps it to Allen in shotgun, with the ball halfway to Allen, Shakir sprinted back toward the right side of the formation. This automatically signaled Jones to think he was going to need to fight through the traffic of his own teammates just to get back to Shakir. And that brings us to the “gotcha” moment of the rep.
(Courtesy: NFL+)
The inexperienced Jones, still putting all his energy into getting back over to the right side of the Bills formation fails to recognize that Shakir slammed on the breaks and jogged out to the left side of the formation once again. Dealing with the commotion of the defensive line and all his teammates gathering their assignments, Jones is rudderless and effectively lost at sea.
(Courtesy: NFL+)
As Shakir heads to the flat, no other Jaguars defender picks him up. Dalton Kincaid and Mack Hollins were both heading from the left side of the formation to the right at different depths. At the same time, Marquez Valdes-Scantling went from right to left with a deep crossing pattern. Once again, no one is paying attention to Shakir.
(Courtesy: NFL+)
And here’s the payoff point. As Shakir catches Allen’s pass, there isn’t a single defender past the hashmarks closest to Shakir. And Jones, realizing what just happened, is frozen on the wrong side of the formation while his assignment had a lane the size of a garbage truck to get the necessary three yards with some more on top.
Allen, Brady and Shakir were the most critical trio of the evening for the Bills offense, and they all executed at near-perfect levels all evening.
Quick thoughts on the Top 5
*Without any really poor individual performances, we’ll focus solely on the Top 5 this week.
QB Josh Allen (A) — Allen put together his second ‘A’ grade in just three games. He is minimizing his errors, and giving opposing teams absolute mayhem to deal with between his processing, his accuracy and his legs. He made one turnover-worthy throw against the Jaguars, but that was the extent of his errors. He is the reason the Bills have one of the most dynamic offenses in an NFL that has seen its point totals fall over the first three weeks.
WR Khalil Shakir (A-minus) — Shakir’s ability to exploit a plus matchup in only one half of work was another masterful performance. He crushed the man coverage when given a chance, allowing his sneaky shiftiness to take hold while also remaining the Bills’ best yards-after-catch threat in the receiver room. Shakir has been their best receiver in 2024, and it hasn’t been close. Shakir should be on the field far more than he has been even, but promisingly, he was on the field for some 12 personnel snaps Monday.
RT Spencer Brown (A-minus) — Outside of a holding call that didn’t cost the Bills any yards, Brown was a significant strength both as a pass blocker and a run blocker. The Jaguars didn’t have an overwhelming pass-rushing presence at left defensive end and Brown won those matchups pretty handily, but more impressively handled his matchup with stout run defenders.
LT Dion Dawkins (A-minus) — Matched up with the ever-impressive Josh Hines-Allen almost all game, Dawkins did an excellent job of keeping the pass rusher away from his quarterback for almost the entire game. He even got Hines-Allen to the ground a couple of times. Dawkins’ impressive start to the year has continued through his most difficult matchup to date.
CB Christian Benford (A-minus) — The third-year cornerback has simply been superb, and he continued his potential breakout season Monday. His ability to stick with any receiver, regardless of speed or size, looks effortless. He can flip his hips after a cut and stay with the wideout. He makes plays on the ball, he’s active in run support. He also helped neutralize rookie Brian Thomas Jr.
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Underrated standouts
LG David Edwards — Seeing a trend here? The offensive line is all over the top of the rankings against the Jaguars. Edwards has been a sneaky star for the Bills so far in his first year of starting. He’s a consistent pass blocker and has been terrific in combination blocks both in pass protection and run blocking. He worked extremely well with center Connor McGovern all game.
LB Dorian Williams — The first couple of starts had some negative moments, but Williams turned in his best game as a pro on Monday. He was active in run support, he showed off his athleticism in coverage, and most importantly, he was far less reactive to the Jaguars running play action than he had been in previous games. Williams seems to be making strides.