Try as they might, the Buffalo Bills can’t seem to break the habit of using Josh Allen as a rushing weapon.
It’s a successful habit, no doubt. But like a lot of habits, it probably would be better if it were used in more moderation.
Allen ran 12 times for 109 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 33-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That pushed his season total to 87 carries for 531 yards, which already surpasses his yardage totals in each of the previous two seasons.
The Bills’ quarterback ranks No. 3 among NFL quarterbacks in rushing attempts and rushing yards, and he leads all NFL starting ball-carriers in yards per carry at 6.1.
All that is good for the Bills, except for the obvious question: How much punishment is too much for him?
Allen drew the admiration of the Bucs for his toughness.
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“He’s more like Cam Newton but with a bigger, stronger arm,” said Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians. “We talked about the designed quarterback runs are tough. I wouldn’t put my quarterback in that much harm’s way because he did get nicked up a little bit. But they did a heckuva job.”
In fact, Allen accounts for 33.8% of the Bills’ rushing offense this year, which is a greater percentage than in any of his previous three seasons. Last year he gained 24% of the Bills’ rushing yards. In 2019 it was 24.8%, and his rookie year it was 31.8%.
Now that Allen is dealing with a turf toe injury, the Bills surely will want to be more careful with running him.
How much is that going to hurt the offense and the Bills’ desire to have at least a minimal semblance of balance?
In Sunday’s overtime loss, four of Allen’s runs were scrambles, and they gained 30 yards. There were eight designed QB runs for 79 yards and a TD.
“Oh man, that boy is fast,” said Tampa’s Devin White, one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL. “I told him after the game he’s fast. At the end of the day that’s what I’m out there for. I’m fast, too. Every time he got loose I went and got him.”
The designed runs were a successful strategy against a Tampa Bay defense that is beefy up the middle and that entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NFL in run defense.
The Bills managed to get the running backs going a little in the second half, when Devin Singletary and Matt Breida combined for seven carries and 64 yards.
The 173 total rushing yards for the Bills were the most given up by the Bucs’ defense in its last 51 games, dating to the 2018 season.
“It’s 240 pounds you’ve got to bring down, it’s still going to be a tough job,” said Bucs defensive end Shaquil Barrett. “I just think they came out running the ball a little more when we expected them to pass. They were lining up in pass formations and still did the quarterback powers, so that threw us off a little bit.”
So far this season, Allen has 49 designed run plays, according to Buffalo News charting. That’s the same number he had in 16 regular-season games last season.
Baltimore's Lamar Jackson leads NFL QBs in rushing with 767 yards. Philadelphia rookie QB Jalen Hurts is second with 695 yards.
