Let’s get this out of the way immediately: This piece is in the vein of “self-scouting.” Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has improved his interception percentage every year and was tenth-best in the league (tied with three other players). Now according to my rule of four that means he’s in the “average” cluster. And that bears out if you take a close look at stats. But if you’re doing fantastic work overall, this is still sitting pretty for interceptions.
The idea here is to take a look at the full list of 11 interceptions, including postseason, and see if there are some trends. Doing this type of analysis might help defenses cue in. Or, as might be expected with Allen, it’ll give him another thing to practice and get better at moving forward.
Interception 1
Did I say 11 interceptions because it should be ten. Allen is a bit off platform-wise but still delivers the ball to Tyler Kroft. Though apparently the refs didn’t care about the rule book on that play. Kroft was also called for OPI so two bad calls for the price of one. What a bargain!
Interception 2
Being fair to Andre Roberts, this ball is delivered a bit low and behind. That happens. The ball popping up in situations like this is just a thing that occurs sometimes.
Interception 3
The game was still in reach at this point and Allen has a good enough pocket. Allen doesn’t see Malcom Butler undercutting the route and this is the result.
Interception 4
The game is nearly decided at this point already, and the Bills really need some big plays to even pull out a miracle. Allen arguably times this well with Beasley’s route, but again a defender comes from underneath. There’s coverage up top too that made this a very low-percentage play regardless.
Interception 5
This is a good decision and good timing. The weather wasn’t great and the pass drifts a bit. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
Interception 6
Allen has a lane to both Dawson Knox and Stefon Diggs and he’s made tougher throws. Unfortunately Patrick Peterson positions himself well for where the throw is actually going. Had this been thrown to Diggs, the result might have been different. When it’s three-on-two, sometimes you wanna bet on the three.
Interception 7
Slowing this down, it looks to me like Gabriel Davis slows just a bit to adjust to the ball. That suggests this is a bit behind. If Josh Allen leads this throw better I’m not convinced it’s a completion. Dre Kirkpatrick closes well on the ball. It’s a razor’s edge and the Arizona Cardinals are the beneficiary.
Interception 8
Allen is pressured, throws from a bad platform, and the ball flutters.
Interception 9
This is a lot like the last one but there are two notable differences. Allen’s arm actually gets clipped. And Stefon Diggs has a path to catch the ball above, but Cole Beasley has a touchdown if Allen can step into this. Great decision that’s unable to be executed because of a defensive victory.
Interception 10
Allen takes so long scanning the field that Byron Jones has plenty of time to get in front of Gabriel Davis. This was right out of the gate in a meaningless game for the Bills. Allen likely hadn’t game planned much for this one. Still, the Miami Dolphins went up by three as a result of this interception. Then Buffalo made them pay.
Interception 11
Tight coverage and a well-timed pass breakup puts the ball in the air and into the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. Another good defensive play.
Summary
Defensive line victories led to a few turnovers. That’ll be true for any quarterback. Tight coverage and excellent play in the secondary led to another few. That’ll be true for any quarterback. A couple unlucky breaks account for some more. That’ll be true for any quarterback. Several imperfect passes are to blame. That’ll be true for any quarterback.
Josh Allen wasn’t flawless, and there are a few of these that lie squarely at his feet. That said, there’s no fatal flaw for a defense to attempt to exploit. Allen seems to be the victim of pretty normal circumstances when it comes to interceptions. If he continues to play above normal overall, interceptions won’t be anything to worry about.