Patriots Bill Belichick on Bills QB Josh Allen: ‘MVP’ Candidate
FOXBORO — The New England Patriots pursuit of the postseason may face its biggest potential roadblock when they welcome the reigning AFC East division-champion Buffalo Bills for a highly-anticipated Week 13 matchup.
Though the health of some key starters already provides adequate adversity for the Pats on Thursday night, their most difficult task may be attempting to contain Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen.
Despite some mid-season inconsistencies, Allen will enter the game as the focal point of the Patriots' defense. Through 11 games, the 26-year old has thrown for 3,183 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His dual-threat ability with the pass and run makes him a metaphorical nightmare for opposing defenses … including the Patriots.
Unsurprisingly, Pats coach Bill Belichick is well aware of Allen’s talents and capabilities.
“They’re explosive [in the passing game] on offense,” Belichick told reporters on Sunday. “Allen’s the leading rusher, so that tells you all you need to know about what you have to defend every time he touches the ball, it could be any number of things and does them all well. Great player, certainly an MVP candidate. He does a lot for their team in a lot of ways.”
Despite struggling against the team early in his career, Allen has played quite well against New England. During the Week 16 meeting between the Pats and Bills in 2021, he threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He also proved himself more than capable of extending plays with his legs, rushing for 64 yards on 12 carries, many of which came in key spots to pick up first downs. en route to a 33-21 victory in Foxboro.
After securing their second straight AFC East division title, the Bills hosted the Patriots in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL playoffs. Amidst the frigid temperatures in Orchard Park, Buffalo became the first team in NFL history to score a touchdown on all seven of its offensive drives, not including kneel-downs. The team amassed 482 total yards and converted six of seven third downs. Allen had more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (four) while throwing for 308 total yards, adding 66 more on six rushing attempts. Buffalo attempted neither a punt, nor a field goal in handing New England an embarrassing 47-17 loss to end their season.
In short, Allen seemed to have an answer for everything Belichick’s defense threw at him.
So, how do you solve a problem like Josh Allen?
For the Patriots, it starts with smartly applying additional pressure.
New England has seldom, if ever, been known as a blitz-heavy defense. However, they will have little choice but to put more pressure on Allen during their upcoming Week 13 contest. In their previous meetings, the Patriots used five-man pressure while deploying a linebacker as a spy in hopes of keeping him from scrambling against their man coverage. As such, New England’s edge rushers attempted to contain him within the pocket. Allen answered by keeping his rushing attempts to a minimum. When he did run the ball, he made it count; earning double-digit yard gains on most of his rushing attempts. In the instances when the Patriots employed a soft zone to shorten the field, Allen utilized quick checkdowns to gain yardage.
While their previous attempts to do so were less than successful, the Patriots need to bring pressure against Allen, while finding the right balance in containing him. Rather than utilize the rapid rush, New England would be best served by deploying a power rush to collapse the pocket. Due to their previous failures, the Pats defense left empty gaps. This allowed Buffalo’s star quarterback the freedom to make plays with his arm, as well as his legs.
Belichick and the Pats defensive brain trust may look to unleash edge rushers such as linebacker Matthew Judon to keep Allen on the inside, while using safeties Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips to combat his rushing abilities. Regardless of the personnel, the Pats must find a way to defend Allen with both discipline and awareness.
If they can find a way to develop a more systemized strategy, New England’s chances of pulling off the upset dramatically increase. Otherwise, the Pats may be in for a long night on Thursday.
Kickoff between the Patriots (6-5) and Bills (8-3) is set for 8:15 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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