The Bills’ best version of Josh Allen is the one who doesn’t just throw the ball

Josh Allen is an NFL quarterback. His Bills are better when he’s doing more than just throwing the ball.

That was on full display Saturday as Buffalo took its opening possession of a Wild Card Round showdown in Houston and marched three quarters of the field to take a 7-0 lead over the favored Texans. Allen accounted for all but six yards of that scoring drive, but the reason why it worked so well was because only a fraction of that output came from his arm.

The Bills’ playoff opener began predictably. A checkdown pass to Devin Singletary and a Frank Gore run gave Buffalo an early first down before a short carry from Singletary set up second-and-8. Head coach Sean McDermott decided to keep the ball on the ground, but rather than rely on the rookie-veteran platoon in his backfield, he called up Allen’s number.

The second-year quarterback streaked 42 yards downfield before getting tripped up well into Texans’ territory. This was the second-longest run of his career, but it was no surprise. Since entering the league in 2018, he’s run for 1,141 yards — second-most among quarterbacks behind only Lamar Jackson, and more than notable dual-threat passers like Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, and playoff opponent Deshaun Watson.

That punch put the Texans on their heels. Two plays later, McDermott would send them to the canvas for an early flash knockdown.

Another second-and-manageable situation provided the opportunity for another trick play. This time, Allen flipped the ball to John Brown for a presumptive end-around. Only the wideout — a five-year NFL veteran whose only other pass attempt had ended in a 28-yard touchdown to Singletary in a Thanksgiving Day win over the Cowboys — searched downfield and found his quarterback, wide open and streaking toward the end zone.

That play made Bills history in a couple different ways. It was, remarkably, Buffalo’s first postseason touchdown since 2000. It made Allen the first Bills QB to catch a playoff touchdown pass and just the second, behind Jim Kelly, to catch a pass in the playoffs, period. It also made Allen only the third NFL starting quarterback since 1970 to net a receiving touchdown, joining Nick Foles and Marcus Mariota (who famously also threw the pass he caught for six points).

McDermott made a statement with that opening drive. He wasn’t afraid of Houston, even with J.J. Watt back in the lineup. Rather than play it safe and hope his defense could provide opportunities for Allen, McDermott got creative and created those chances himself.

By opening up his playbook for an athletic quarterback, McDermott got Buffalo out to an early 7-0 lead that proved his club was ready for the rigor of the postseason. Allen’s output through his first drive in Texas looked like this:

That’s a ridiculous ratio, but it’s one that takes advantage of Allen’s strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. While the second-year player improved as a passer in 2019, he still struggled when it came to big throws. Per SIS, he completed just 67 of 154 passes of 10+ yards downfield (43.5 percent) this fall.

In the Bills’ first drive, McDermott kept the gameplan simple for Allen as a passer. Then, just when the Texans thought they knew the answers, he switched the questions. And when Buffalo needed someone to step up with an intermediate throw in the red zone, they shuffled Allen to the other side of that equation.

It worked, and it showed just how dangerous a Josh Allen offense can be ... when you’re not asking him to force throws downfield and instead relying on the athleticism that helped guide the Bills to the playoffs in the first place.

The Bills saw a 16-0 lead turn into a 19-16 deficit thanks to an inefficient offensive attack that failed to move the ball with any kind of consistency in the second half. Houston’s defensive pressure shut off Allen’s running lanes, and while he was still able to create some space in the pocket, two different strip sacks — including one that led to a Texans’ field goal minutes later — were a clear downside to his willingness to run.

That put a premium on his passing, which remained lackluster. Allen came up big on third downs when his team needed him — he completed four of seven passes for 50 yards on third down in the fourth quarter and overtime — but otherwise struggled to move the ball. He finished his day with 264 passing yards, but needed 47 passes to get there. He finished the day with zero touchdown passes and zero interceptions, but the latter was also a function of several drops from the Houston defense.

Allen’s trick-or-treat play behind center was on full display with the game on the line. He drove Buffalo to the Houston 25 to set up a potential game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, which was good! Then he took back-to-back sacks (absorbing an intentional grounding penalty on the first) that not only snuffed out the Bills’ scoring hopes, but also gave the Texans the ball at the Buffalo 39 yard line with 1:35 left to play.

That was a function of what McDermott would later describe as allowing his quarterback “do too much.” While his offense performed best with Allen working as a jack-of-all-trades, he ultimately failed when trying to be a master of one.

Allen showcased his upside as an athlete and occasionally shined as a passer. McDermott did his best to hide his weaknesses, but he couldn’t do it all evening. That was eventually the difference between the Bills’ first playoff win since 1995 and Saturday’s loss in Houston.