Why Josh Allen is looking back to move the Bills' offense forward

BUFFALO, N.Y. — For quarterback Josh Allen, part of preparing for the upcoming season has involved looking back.

Although the Buffalo Bills won 13 regular-season games last season, the offense finished with the third-most points scored per game (26.9) and Allen finished with the second-highest total QBR (71.4), the offense became inconsistent in the second half of the season and struggled at times. Allen led the league in turnovers (19) despite the team having one of its games canceled, and the Bills had the highest percentage of dropped passes (6.2%).

So, part of the work he did this offseason was to look back at himself and break down why he does certain things on the football field.

“I think more, dive into what went wrong last year, understanding myself a little bit more in terms of ‘Why are my eyes starting here?’” Allen told ESPN when asked what he has done differently this offseason while talking about being chosen for the cover of Madden 24. “And again, just being more in depth about my entire process, whether it’s film work or studying myself a day after practice and just making sure that my feet are marrying up with my eyes and my eyes are starting in the right spot. I think that that’s been maybe a cause of some of the problems that I’ve had in the past.”

To help correct some of the offense’s problems, Allen is entering this season trying to fix what went wrong last year and with a new focus, which has been noted by teammates and coaches. Part of that is communicating more with second-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and working with teammates on the intricacies of what the offense entails so they can be in sync.

All of that is with the goal of having a more consistent offense that is on the same page throughout the course of the season.

“I just think that Josh taking his game to another level really means being a great decision-maker,” coach Sean McDermott said during OTAs. “We’ve talked about … adjusting his style of play enough to keep himself healthy, and to play smart, smarter, at times as well, and then I just think overall approach to the game.

“I’ve seen a different Josh this offseason, not that it was bad before, but he’s got a new sense of focus, I would say, and determination, which is good.”

In 2022, success on downfield throws wasn’t necessarily the problem. Allen improved his production on pass attempts with 15 or more air yards, including having the lowest percentage of interceptions on such passes for his career (3.7%). The quarterback threw the ball 15 or more air yards on a higher average per game in 2022 (8.4 pass attempts per game) than his prior career average (7.3) and had a significantly higher quarterback rating on those throws (92.2 in 2022, 78.6 from 2018 to 2021).

Allen’s struggles later in the season came partly because defenses became more familiar with what Dorsey was trying to do, and the quarterback tried to do more to save plays that broke down instead of taking smaller gains.

His completion percentage on long passes dropped from 52.2 in the first eight games to 46.3 in the last eight, while his touchdown-to-interception ratio on those throws went from 4.5 to 1.3. Also, the offensive line struggled at times, as defenders contacted Allen more in the second half of the season (pressure rate: 26.1% in first six games, 31.9% in final 11) and played a part in Allen making more rash decisions — something he is trying to become smarter about.

“If my eyes are starting here, but I know it’s Cover 2 and I’ve got my little stick route on the right side — [you] don’t go broke taking a profit … just continue to start taking the little stuff and not getting bored with it,” Allen said as an example. “So just continue to refine my knowledge of the game and be as efficient as possible.

“And we talk about in our room a lot — being aggressive but not conservative. So, we’re trying to be as efficient as possible, but still at the same time take those big shots when they’re there and keep that explosiveness about our offense.”

Allen cited the entire quarterback room — backups Matt Barkley and Kyle Allen, quarterbacks coach Joe Brady and assistant quarterbacks/game management coach Marc Lubick — as well as Dorsey and other offensive position coaches for helping him grow this offseason.

“Coach puts on this film, it’s like, all right, why am I starting on the left side? I see it. I’m standing there, and sometimes the game gets the best of you, and you try to start doing too much,” Allen said. “So, it’s little things like that and … if I do get astray and get a little too juiced, just getting back into the rhythm of our offense and being an extension of Coach Dorsey.”

Improving the offense extends beyond Allen’s play alone. A key part is keeping the entire offense communicating because that’s when it is most efficient.

Some of that extends to conversations he had with wide receiver Stefon Diggs, like when the wide receiver was dismissed by McDermott for the first minicamp practice, with the quarterback saying there is more he and the organization can do to get Diggs the ball and have him more involved in the game plan. It also means integrating the new offensive players and taking time to discuss the specifics.

The Bills brought new players to the offense this offseason, including first-round pick tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receivers Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty, to help production in the middle of the field and create more yards after catch after the team finished last season with the fourth-lowest YAC per reception (4.49).

“[Allen is being] more intentional with some of the new guys, just kind of bringing them to the side, like if the [second team is] going and Josh is done for that period, he can bring one of the receivers up next to him and kind of go through certain signals or certain calls that he might give up at the line of scrimmage,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “Just kind of being more direct with some of the guys on the specifics.”

The first four years of Allen’s career were spent with Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator, and much of the communication will come down to Allen and Dorsey, who was the Bills’ quarterbacks coach from 2019 to 2021, being on the same page. A year of experience under their belts should help with that.

“I think when you are learning a new coordinator and new playcaller and that type of thing, there is time to kind of grow and develop,” Dorsey said. “And so, I think that comfort level continues to grow, that communication. Because I’m the type of person, I love having that input.”

Additional reporting by ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.