Josh Allen continues to look nothing like last year’s MVP candidate for Bills

Josh Allen was legitimately one of the best players in the NFL last season but the first six quarters of 2021 have been just plain bad for the Bills QB.

Buffalo Bills quarterback entered the 2021 NFL season as one of the favorites to win MVP after finishing second in voting last year. He made an unprecedented leap from 2019 to 2020 and seemingly established himself as a superstar. So big things were expected for an encore — only he’s not delivering on them.

Though Allen threw for 270 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Bills, many of his old bad habits cropped up again in a troubling way. He was forcing balls, making errant throws and just not being a good decision-maker. But against the Steelers defense, perhaps that was excusable.

But it’s continuing in Week 2. Not that the Dolphins are a slouch defensively but Allen looked even worse in the first half against Miami than he did against Pittsburgh. Thanks to Devin Singletary and some opportune turnovers, the Bills went up 14-0 on their AFC East rivals, but Allen went 7-of-16 for only 62 yards with an interception, though he did pass for a touchdown. And he could have thrown another one had the Dolphins defender made the play.

Is the Josh Allen regression narrative taking shape before our eyes?

Because Josh Allen made such a monumental leap from year two to year three, there were many people that thought regression was inevitable for the Buffalo quarterback. And yes, we’re only six quarters into the season, but maybe that’s not so crazy.

For as good as Allen was in 2020 — something no one can deny or take away from him — it was a bit of a perfect storm. The offense improved the weaponry during a short offseason when defenses had less time to prepare than ever before. Furthermore, there were no crowds and the Bills just got hot and rolling.

Now there are more elements. The book is out on this offense and it’s showing. And Allen hasn’t adapted to that just yet.

This isn’t to say that Josh Allen is going to be a bad quarterback for the rest of the 2021 season. However, if the start to his campaign is any indication, he and Buffalo clearly have quite a few things to figure out if they want to get even in the ballpark of what they were a year ago.