The advanced metrics of Next Gen Stats helped tell a couple of stories about Josh Allen’s terrific game Saturday night.
Did you see his throw on the last play before halftime, when Allen rolled right and waited, waited, waited until, just before being forced out of bounds at the Miami 13-yard line, he quick-flipped a line drive to running back James Cook in the end zone for a touchdown. How many quarterbacks could make that play, waiting 7.17 seconds (about three times as long as a quarterback usually takes to release a pass) till the last possible moment before throwing a pass right on target 20 yards away? Not many. Next Gen completion possibility at the time of the throw: 36.4 percent.
ARE YOU KIDDING?!
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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 18, 2022
Allen was superb throwing on the run: six of eight for 74 yards and two touchdowns, per Next Gen. And throwing intermediate passes—areas 10 to 19 yards beyond the line of scrimmage—he was 10 of 13 for 173 yards and three touchdowns. He made 52 more yards than expected on seven carries.
In the 32-29 win over Miami, Allen showed all of his diverse skills. As long as he can stay upright in the face of so much physical punishment, his duels with the top passers in the AFC—Mahomes, Herbert, Jackson, Tagovailoa, Burrow, Watson, Lawrence—will be great for years.
Read more in Peter King’s full Football Morning in America column
