Josh Allen needs to start being smarter with the football
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and coach Sean McDermott seemed to be on a path to certain victory after Aaron Rodgers' injury on Monday night.
Within the first three minutes, Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers, tearing his Achilles tendon and ending the New York Jets quarterback's season. However, Buffalo lost 22-16 in overtime.
Tyler Bass was the most busy Bills player as he kicked three field goals to keep them in the game. Meanwhile, the offense that was so electric last season mustered only 16 points against an impressive Jets defense.
Josh Allen was 29-for-41 for 236 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, all by Jordan Whitehead. He also had two fumbles.
Since the 2020 season, Allen has thrown 42 interceptions, four more than Derek Carr. He's also tied with Matt Ryan for 32 fumbles (with Buffalo losing 15 of those) in that span. That's far too many for an elite quarterback.
Allen, who threw 14 interceptions last season and 15 in 2021, can't afford to be this turnover crazy all season or Buffalo will fall out of the running in the tough AFC East.
It was baffling on his first interception that Josh Allen opted not to run for a seemingly easy first down only to have his downfield shot picked off. Whitehead intercepted Allen for the second time with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter.
Allen's next miscues were backbreakers that led to 10 New York points.
Whitehead's final interception led to a 57-yard drive, and Zach Wilson found Garett Wilson for a 3-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 13-13 with 4:55 remaining in the game.
Josh Allen fumbled on his own 21-yard line on the next play from scrimmage, leading to Greg Zuerlein's 30-yard field goal that gave the Jets a 16-13 lead with 1:48 to play.
Although Allen led a drive to set up Tyler Bass' 50-yard field goal that sent the game into overtime, the Bills could do nothing on offense in the extra period as they went three-and-out. Then, Xavier Gipson returned the punt 65 yards for a touchdown to win the game.
Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs were on it on Monday
Although technically Sauce Gardner forced a penalty out of the Bills receiver Stefon Diggs on the overtime drive, Diggs had 10 catches for 102 yards and scored Buffalo's sole touchdown.
It's not the strongest total receiver room, but Diggs is one of the NFL's best receivers. In three seasons in Buffalo, he's had three seasons of at least 1,200 yards. Josh Allen and Diggs are a consistent duo and always find a way to work together effectively.
A good campaign for Diggs this season will make him a member of the 10,000-yard club. He's at 8,914 career receiving yards.