The last five weeks have not been good for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, but their Monday Night Football loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 10 was a new low point in a frustrating season.
Coming into their game on Monday, the Bills had lost three of their last five and were slowly slipping down the AFC East and playoff standings. Yet, it seemed like their matchup against the Denver Broncos at home was a perfect opportunity to reset, refocus, and right what had been a sputtering ship over the last few weeks.
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Unfortunately for Bills Mafia, that did not happen Monday. There was a lot of blame to go around in what was a sloppy performance on both sides of the ball during their 24-22 loss to Denver. However, a lot of the fault will be heaped on quarterback Josh Allen, and understandably so.
The 27-year-old signal caller delivered his worst performance of the season in one of the last few “winnable” games left on a second-half schedule that is one of the toughest in the league. His 177 passing yards, 57.7 completion percentage, and 59.3 passer rating were all his lowest in those categories in 2023. However, his season-worst three turnovers were really the biggest differences in a game they could have easily won.
Certainly, running back James Cook’s fumble on the opening drive — the first of four turnovers on the night — set a bad tone. Then after Cook had a fantastic final drive, and Allen ran for a touchdown to take the lead, the defense and special teams blew the game on two occasions, including a face-palm-inducing 12-men on the field penalty after the Broncos missed on a kick that would have ended the game.
Yet, where could this game have been if Josh Allen — a man who was an MVP candidate last season — had not turned over the rock three times and played mediocre ball for much of the game?
Buffalo Bills are .500 after Week 10 for the first time since Josh Allen’s rookie season
Unfortunately, this was just the latest installment in what has become a frustrating run for the two-time Pro Bowler. In five of the team’s last six, Allen has posted all but one of his six sub-70% completion percentage games this season. Yet, that inefficiency has also been filled with killer mistakes as he has tossed at least one interception in every game during that time.
- Josh Allen stats (2023): 2,656 total yards, 24 total TDs, 9 INTs, 99.6 rating
The player many saw as one of the faces of the NFL, alongside the likes of Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, and Patrick Mahomes has only thrown more than two touchdowns twice this season for an offense that heavily leans on its passing game since their overall rushing attack is one of the worst in the league.
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As the Buffalo Bills head into NFL Week 11 they have another “winnable” game against the New York Jets on Sunday. However, this is the same Bills team that lost to the Jets after league legend Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles after four plays. And it is also the same Josh Allen who threw a season-high three INTs against their division rivals.
The Bills’ chances of winning a fourth straight AFC East title seem in a perilous position as the team is .500 this late in the season for the first time since Josh Allen’s rookie year in 2018.