Patriots Defenders Explain Why Facing Josh Allen Can Be Challenging

FOXBORO — The Buffalo Bills nearly won a thriller against the Houston Texans last winter. They eventually lost 23-19 on a night where Josh Allen was sacked eight times. Lost in the shuffle of that Thursday Night Game? Texans safety Jaylen Reed racked up a career-high 12 tackles and recovering a fumble in the win.

That's a game that's been brought up this week, as the New England Patriots (and Reed, who was traded to New England in August) prepare to face off against Allen and the Bills for the first time this season.

"Jaylen and I talked about it," safeties coach Scott Booker said Thursday after practice. "We talked about some of the things that they did. But again, that was last year. Obviously, we don't play exactly the same scheme Houston does, but we definitely talked to Jaylen about it and he definitely played a really good game."

Reed has gotten a larger role in the Patriots defense in recent weeks after injuries hit the secondary. He got a PBU in last week's loss to Jacksonville that led to a Marcus Jones interception. With another shot to go up against an Allen-led offense, Reed explained what makes that challenge so difficult.

"Really, just Josh Allen," Reed told Patriots On SI on Thursday. "He's an elite quarterback. The offense is set up to revolve around him to make sure he's feeling he's best. When you got an MVP quarterback like that, he does a lot of running around, going downfield after the play. He extends the second play.

"It's hard to stop that type of stuff, so like playing against a quarterback like that, championship-level quarterback like that with the playmakers he's got ... that's a hard thing to stop."

Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) drops back to pass against the New England Patriots during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dre'Mont Jones Says Allen Is "Not Afraid To Let His Nuts Hang"

The Patriots are not strangers to the Allen experience. He's gone up against them 16 times in his career since being drafted in 2018 (one of those times was when he was pulled for a backup in the final week of the season), and he's gotten the best of them nine of those times (one of those being in the playoffs). And yet, the Patriots defense feels like they know what to do when it comes to stopping the former MVP winner.

"He does everything right, it seems like," said edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones. "He's not afraid to let his nuts hang, put himself on the line and do what he has to do. So, I mean, he's a hard player to play against."

Allen is on another MVP-like trajectory to open up this season. Through three games, he's gone 56-for-86 with 786 passing yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, he's added 114 yards and six more touchdowns. The Bills are sitting pretty atop the AFC East with a 3-0 record, and the Patriots remain in their shadow with a 1-2 showing.

New England can try and bounce back from last week's loss, but it will take something they struggled with against the Jaguars. Going up against Trevor Lawrence, the front seven really struggled to bring him down to the ground. Too often, the quarterback would evade a would-be sack and squirm his way to a positive play.

Allen might just be the best in the entire NFL at doing that exact same thing. Jones knows that, and it's being preached this week in practice.

"I think the underrated part of his scrambling is his breaking tackle ability," Jones said. "I mean, he's not the easiest guy to break down. Just recently heard that he's one of the leaders in breaking sacks, so he's a difficult guy (to bring down) and doesn't miss a game. So a guy like that is difficult to navigate with."

How Can Patriots Truly Stop Allen This Week?

The Patriots defense allowed five touchdowns in the red zone in Week 3. The Bills are among the league's best offense when it comes to capitilizing inside opponents' 20-yard lines. Just solely based on that number, it might not be a good outcome for the visitors when Sunday rolls around.

Allen, who Jones said was like a "faster Big Ben (Roethlisberger)," can easily impact the game in the red zone. How do the Patriots stop that from happening?

"Wrap up, be strong," Jones said. "Hopefully he goes down."

Last season, the Patriots were able to knock off the favored Bills on the road. There's a lot of great offensive weapons on that side of the ball, including James Cook, D.J. Moore and Dalton Kincaid, but the Patriots know it all starts with how Allen performs.

"It goes by the quarterback," Reed said. "However he's going in the game, that's how the game is gonna do. If he's hot, they're hot.'

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