Among the many heart wrenching moments during the Buffalo Bills loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 13-12 in the penultimate game at Highmark Stadium was the sound of Bob Geldof’s song, “In The Pouring Rain”, blasting intrusively into my thoughts. It was a totally Buffalo moment in time. Emotions running high by a fanbase about to kiss 50+ years of memories into the history books.
I was feeling it all from 2,000 miles away in Wyoming,
There in Orchard Park were the angry clouds and precipitation that might have easily been snow if the temperature was colder… our beloved Bills did what they do best… confuse us. In a season full of first half offensive comas, this one was true to form. Buffalo came out flat on offense, but the uncompromising weather wasn’t conducive to a shootout anyway.
As the 13-0 score dragged into the fourth quarter, I was pretty sure my mitral valve flipped over like an inverted umbrella in the wind and rain at the stadium. If ever there was a game to remind fans how much better life will be at the shiny new Highmark Stadium, I can’t think of one at the moment.
However, also true to form was a late fourth quarter ‘manic Josh Allen’… donning the cape and mounting a ferocious comeback.
Again.
Only this time Allen failed to connect with Khalil Shakir on a two-point conversion attempt and the Bills lost the game.
What was not true to form in this game was Josh Allen’s overall performance. Weather aside, he missed several wide open receivers throughout the game. His 23/35 for 262 yard performance with two fumbles (one lost) was as uninspiring as the pouring rain.
I’ll let the hoo-hoos argue about whether or not Joe Brady, Sean McDermott or Josh Allen is responsible for the mess of an offensive performance we witnessed on Sunday. Buffalo’s defense came to play and as we have seen far too many times this season it was the offense that sputtered and puttered around.
Having watched Josh Allen during his formative years at the University of Wyoming, the behavior we saw during the game was reminiscent of “manic Josh” making bad decisions and not seeing wide open receivers. It’s like his brain gets vapor locked in a frenetic attempt at bailing out of a bad situation in the worst possible way.
And yet it is these very frustrating moments that also produce ‘Super Human Josh’ enough times to know how foolish it is to doubt his ability to come back from the dead… or at least playing with enough foot pain to affect his throwing motion yet denying there is any serious injury at all. The man has an abnormally high pain tolerance.
So for those wondering which version of Josh Allen we will see moving forward, you will just have to wait and see what happens. Why we are seeing some vestiges of bad behavior on the field again is far more interesting for me to think about.
What is going on in Josh Allen’s brain that has resulted in the reemergence of bad habits during games?
His curt answers to media members and foul mood after the game doesn’t give us enough specificity to know where the issues are coming from, but it’s clear Allen’s performance on the field has been been up and down at times throughout the season.
While it’s true most players have up and down productivity throughout any given season, most players are not Josh Allen.
Regardless, Buffalo is one Jets game away from closing down 50+ years of history at Highmark Stadium. The Bills will then move on to the playoffs and get ready for their next opponent, likely either the Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild card matchup.
We’re not likely to get any notion about Josh Allen’s mindset and injury status during the last game of the season against the Jets. Hopefully, players like Dalton Kincaid and Jordan Poyer can get another week of rest.
The Bills’ defense was a pleasant surprise against Saquon Barkley and Philadelphia’s offense overall. This despite DaQuan Jones being unable to play and Terrel Bernard leaving the game with a calf injury. The defense did their part.
Now it’s time for Josh to get his mind right moving forward.
Editor’s babble: Hopefully Dr. Dez is working a little overtime with Josh. You can find this and more of my nonsense on Xwitter @RobynMundyWYO.
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