Josh Allen’s legs part of Bills’ winning formula

When it comes to NFL quarterbacks making plays with their legs, very few are as good as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. In the Bills’ Thanksgiving Day clash with the Detroit Lions, Allen used his feet on more than a few occasions. He finished the afternoon having rushed 10 times for 78 yards while constantly escaping pressure.

Allen minds his rush lanes

One thing teams cannot do when playing Allen is have bad rush-lane integrity. On this play, Allen is in the shotgun, and drops back to pass at the snap. A rush lane opens in between the left tackle and the left guard. Allen runs through this massive hole for the first down, and defenders in man coverage with their backs turned are slow to react.

Allen’s athleticism bests Aiden Hutchinson

Allen drops back from under center. Rookie edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson uses a spin move on right tackle Spencer Brown, and pressures Allen. Allen runs right and throws sidearm to an open James Cook leaking out of the backfield.

Allen displays deadly read-option deception

The Bills use the read option on this play with Allen in the shotgun. Allen does a typical read option with running back Devin Singletary, who then runs into the middle of the Lions’ defense. This play was sold so well that defenders were trying to tackle Singletary. Allen then pulls the ball out, gets to the edge, and outruns Detroit defenders for the first down.

In summary

What makes Allen so special is the way he can do multiple things well. We saw him run on a scramble, throw on a scramble and use the read option. This creates a lot of pressure for a defense to defend. But where do you draw the line with Allen running — is he doing too much?