Josh Allen on Bills’ Offensive Mistakes in Loss to Broncos: ‘A Lot of Bad Football’

AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a blunt assessment of his team’s 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

Allen told reporters the Bills, who committed four turnovers and had two fumbles that were recovered, played “a lot of bad football.”

He added he’s “still confident” but that there’s a sense of urgency with seven games left in the season and Buffalo sitting at 5-5.

Monday night encapsulated why the Bills championship credentials are being called into question and also why Allen is facing increasing scrutiny.

Buffalo was its own worst enemy and threw away a winnable game thanks to a series of unforced errors that extended beyond the turnovers. A pass interference penalty on Taron Johnson inside the final minute put the Broncos into field-goal position. Then the Bills had too many men on the field when Wil Lutz missed his 41-yard attempt. Lutz was on the money from 36 yards out.

Plenty of fans will argue the problem starts with Allen. The two-time Pro Bowler is on pace to set a career high for completion percentage (70.3) while leading the NFL in touchdown passes. His league-high 11 interceptions can’t be ignored, though.

Matthew Stafford throwing for the NFL’s most interceptions in 2021 didn’t stop the Los Angeles Rams from winning a Super Bowl. But there’s no question Buffalo’s path to a title is more difficult when it star quarterback is this sloppy.

To some degree, this is who Allen is. He has 71 picks for his career, hitting double figures in all but one of his six years so far. You take the good with the bad because the good can be great.

However, Allen’s interception rate (3.1 percent) is his highest since his rookie season, per Pro Football Reference. This simply isn’t sustainable if the Bills want to avoid another disappointing playoff exit.