Few NFL quarterbacks , either now or from the past, can match Josh Allen’s ability and arsenal at the position. Which is why one prominent NFL defensive coach has compared the Buffalo Bills signal-caller to one of the all-time greats.
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has faced Josh Allen four times as both a head coach and a coordinator, including two weeks ago in Miami, and has lost on all four occasions.
As expected, Fangio has developed a healthy respect for Josh Allen’s quarterbacking skills. Asked about Allen two weeks ago in preparation for the Bills-Dolphins Week 18 clash, which Buffalo won 24-17, Fangio said Josh Allen compares favorably to another multi-talented quarterback: Hall of Famer John Elway.
“Yeah, they are very similar,”said Fangio. “Different body types. Different running styles. But the same problems, for sure.
“Allen’s just a beast of a guy, a physical specimen. What John Elway was in the mid-’80s to the mid-’90s? (Allen) is the new John Elway on steroids.”
Fangio was quick to quell any notion he was suggesting that Allen takes performance-enhancing drugs: “I don’t mean he’s taking steroids. He’s just bigger, faster, cannon for an arm, tough. So, he’s a dude.”
Josh Allen, who leads the Bills into their divisional round game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, went on to prove he’s still “the dude” against Fangio’s Dolphins. He completed 30-of-38 passes for 359 yards and two TD passes while throwing two interceptions and adding 67 yards on the ground.
Allen followed that up with four-TD performance in a 31-17 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which he threw for three touchdowns and ran for one more on a highlight-reel scamper that showed off his versatility as a dual threat.
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Vic Fangio has faced both Josh Allen and John Elway
Fangio’s Allen-Elway comparison comes from personal experience against both quarterbacks. He faced Elway, who played for the Denver Broncos, as the linebackers coach for the New Orleans Saints in 1988 and as the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator in 1997, going 1-1 in the two games.
Elway, the No. 1 overall pick in 1983, played 16 NFL seasons and led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl championships before retiring after the second Super Bowl victory in 1999. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
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Elway, who was invited to nine Pro Bowls and won both NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP honors, has often been considered the QB prototype, given his size (6-foot-3, 215) pounds, arm strength, running ability, intelligence, leadership qualities, and overall acumen for the position.
At 6-foot-5, 237 pounds, Josh Allen is taller and heavier, but — as Fangio suggests — offers a similar overall skill set to Elway, obviously paying the Bills quarterback an extremely high compliment.