Josh Allen is one of the most difficult quarterbacks in the NFL to defend in large part because of his mobility, but head coach Sean McDermott may want Allen to change his approach a bit in 2023.
Judy Battista of NFL Network spoke with McDermott on Sunday at the start of the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. The reporter pointed out to McDermott that there is data showing Allen gets hit on 66 percent of his runs past the line of scrimmage. McDermott admitted the amount of hits Allen takes “absolutely” concerns him. The coach said it is something Allen and the Bills need to work on.
I asked McDermott the annual "how do you get Josh to stop taking so many hits?" question. I started to ask him about the Competition Comm. data that shows Allen gets tackled on 66 perc. of downfield runs. Does it make him nervous? "Absolutely, yeah."
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) March 26, 2023
McDermott on Allen taking so many hits: "I don't think that's a healthy way to play QB in this league and it's undefeated that things are going to happen when you play that style, brand of football."
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) March 26, 2023
More McDermott on Allen taking hits: "We have to get that adjusted and it's never going to go completely away, but it has to get where it's workable."
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) March 26, 2023
“I don’t think that’s a healthy way to play QB in this league and it’s undefeated that things are going to happen when you play that style, brand of football,” McDermott said. “We have to get that adjusted and it’s never going to go completely away, but it has to get where it’s workable.”
Allen is 6-foot-5, 238 pounds. His big frame allows him to absorb a lot of hits, but he initiates a lot of big collisions. At the very least, the Bills probably want him to cut back on that.
The Bills have been trying to get Allen to slide more for a long time. One veteran player even came up with a hilarious way to incentivize Allen to do just that.
Allen finished with 762 rushing yards last season to go along with his 4,283 passing yards. He also had seven scores on the ground. Buffalo’s offense would be a lot less effective if Allen significantly reduced his rushing attempts, but he can certainly improve with protecting himself.
