Josh Allen Takes Blame For Bills' Struggles in One Area of Passing Attack

It's no secret the Buffalo Bills had major issues throwing the ball downfield last season, an issue that greatly limited the offense.

Not only did the Bills not throw downfield much (Buffalo ranked 15th in downfield pass percentage, per Next Gen Stats), they weren't very successful when they actually did.

Much of the blame has been placed on the shoulders of Buffalo's wide receiving corps along with then-offensive coordinator Joe Brady, but quarterback Josh Allen is taking some blame, also.

“Honestly, a lot of it was to do with me mechanically, where the ball was coming out and putting it in better spots for receivers to go make plays," Allen explained. "I think the more we’ve thrown, the more comfortable we are and the more you can find out how you throw those types of balls."

"Every receiver's got a little different nuance to them when they're running those and understanding who you're throwing to is a big part of that, so we've been getting a lot of reps and it's been great," Allen added.

Nobody will dispute that Allen needs to improve in his own right, but receivers also must do a better job getting open and Brady needs to get more aggressive.

Josh Allen, Joe Brady — Bills quarterback Josh Allen talks with head coach Joe Brady during the final day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Friday, August 7, 2026 in Pittsford. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

We wrote about the dazzling connection developing between Allen and wide receiver DJ Moore. The Bills are hoping Moore can help improve the wide receiver issue, and the hope is that Brady will look for more plays down the field after he identified the Bills' lack of a downfield passing game as a shortcoming of sorts.

“That’s an element of our game that has to improve,” he said. “And it will improve.”

If offseason practices are any indication, the Bills are going to look for more downfield passes in 2026, as Buffalo throwing more deep balls in training camp has been something that has stood out to observers who have been on the ground at practice.

But doing it in practice and actually deploying that strategy in real games are two different things, and simply trying isn't enough; we need to see positive results when the Bills do so.

And with what we know, it's going to take a village for the Bills to have actual success in an area where they were sorely lacking in 2025.

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